I'll Never Heil Again

I'll Never Heil Again is a 1941 short subject directed by Jules White starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Curly Howard). It is the 56th entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring the comedians, who released 190 shorts for the studio between 1934 and 1959.

Plot
In the Kingdom of Moronika, deposed monarch King Herman the $6 7/8$ and his allies, war profiteers Ixnay, Amscray, and Umpchay seek to overthrow the tyrannical rule of fascist dictator Moe Hailstone. Princess Gilda, daughter of King Herman, emerges and employs subterfuge and strategic manipulation to undermine Hailstone's authority. Her audacious scheme to eliminate Hailstone involves the clandestine placement of an explosive Number 13 pool ball within his billiard table, emblematic of her determination to restore her father to the throne.

Meanwhile, Hailstone's despotic reign is depicted through a series of farcical vignettes, including an altercation over a turkey, symbolic of his insatiable quest for dominance. As tensions escalate, Gilda orchestrates a series of events aimed at sowing discord among Hailstone's allies, the "Axel" partners, thereby exacerbating his paranoia and fostering dissent within his inner circle. The ensuing chaos culminates in a climactic confrontation during a pivotal meeting of the Axel partners, wherein Hailstone's authority is challenged, and his regime faces imminent collapse.

In a dramatic denouement, Field Marshal Herring, disillusioned with Hailstone's autocratic rule, delivers a decisive blow by detonating the explosive ball, symbolically shattering the oppressive regime and heralding the restoration of King Herman the $6 7/8$ to the throne. In a symbolic gesture underscoring the definitive eradication of Hailstone and his cohorts, the taxidermied heads of the trio are repurposed as hunting trophies, serving as potent symbols of their humiliating demise and ultimate defeat.

Production notes
I'll Never Heil Again was the first sequel in the Stooge film canon, following the earlier setting in Moronica of You Nazty Spy!. It begins with Moe Hailstone firmly ensconced as the Hitler-like dictator of Moronica. Curly Howard plays Field Marshal Herring (a parody of Hermann Göring), who has so many medals that he wears them on both the front and back of his coat. Larry plays the Minister of Propaganda (a combination parody of Joseph Goebbels and to some extent also Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop). Filming commenced on April 15–18, 1941.

The film title is a parody of song title "I'll Never Smile Again", written by Ruth Lowe. It was released by Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra featuring vocals by Frank Sinatra with The Pied Pipers in 1940. The song reached No. 1 on Billboard for 12 weeks and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1982.

I'll Never Heil Again marks one of the few times the Stooges break the fourth wall. In one scene, Moe Hailstone is ranting in mock German and Larry is responding in an equally mock Southern accent and Curly says to the camera: "They're nuts." One memorable scene has Hailstone's mustache being ripped off and Hailstone rants: "Give me my personality!"

At one point, Moe says, "Hail, you say!" Adults at the time would have recognized it as a play on the then-popular expression "The hell you say," which of course would never have been permitted by the Production Code.

While filming, devoted family man Moe rushed from the set to his daughter's birthday party in full costume. This caused a few calls to the LAPD. Bystanders reported at what they perceived to be Hitler running red lights in Hollywood.

A colorized version of this film was released in 2007. It was part of the DVD collection entitled Hapless Half-Wits.

Historical notes
In the previous film on this subject, You Nazty Spy!, Hailstone is shown as a tool of arms makers. In this film, they are shown as regretting their support, reflecting the real-life fact that all groups attempting to use the Nazi movement for their own ends ended up being controlled by it.

King Herman the $6 7/8$ is a caricature of Kaiser Wilhelm II in his appearance and especially his hobby of chopping wood. I'll Never Heil Again was released 5 weeks and 2 days after the real Wilhelm II died in exile.

I'll Never Heil Again premiered in Argentina in February 1942 (along with the other South American countries), but it was banned during the governments of Juan Perón (1945–1955, 1973–1974) because Perón was a sympathizer of Fascist Italy.