"It was Chaplin's first, then Hitler ruined it."
— Richard Herring, Richard Herring: Hitler Moustache
This trope is when the toothbrush mustache is worn by authority figures and is used to make a visual reference to Adolf Hitler through his mustache. Although characters are usually depicted as having this style of facial hair, this can also be done by drawing one on their pictures or by having them knowingly or unknowingly wear something that resembles the mustache on their upper lip.
Before its severe Fashion Dissonance, the Toothbrush mustache was a fashion trend during the 1920s and 1930s because it was famously worn by Charlie Chaplin and Oliver Hardy. Despite its affiliation with comedy, the Toothbrush mustache was favored by working-class men because it countered Imperial mustaches, which were seen as flamboyant due to their upwardly curved edges. In contrast, the toothbrush mustache was seen as industrial, modest, and neat.
Before its association with the Third Reich, the Toothbrush mustache indicated that the wearer was stern, strict, and had a no-nonsense attitude to the workplace. They run a tight ship and hate it when their workers choose to forgo their duties. It also implied they had aspirations to climb the social ladder or advance their careers. They are portrayed as either foremen or managers. Alternatively, they worked on routine documentation and administrative tasks in offices.
When an authority figure is depicted with a toothbrush mustache, it gives a firm indication that this character is an antagonist to rebellious or lax heroes. At best, they are beleaguered bosses who are at their wit's end with their incompetent and lazy subordinates. At worst, they are mean bosses who are over-aggressive and dominate their subordinates through insults and threats.
After the Second World War, Hitler made it impossible to disassociate it from him and his atrocities, and the mustache was deemed no longer acceptable to wear in public. Although disgraced by history, the mustache still maintains its roots in comedy by using it solely to mock Hitler or reference Chaplin. Due to its connection to fascism, a person wearing the mustache is seen as blatantly evil, hilariously evil, a caricature of Hitler, or a racist.
This trope goes with Good Hair, Evil Hair and is a sister trope to Dastardly Whiplash. Due to its association with Nazism; it can go with Mistaken for Racist, Digging Yourself Deeper, and Not Helping Your Case if a character does not support racism.
No real-life examples, please. The Toothbrush mustache was just an era-appropriate mustache that became inappropriate to wear after a dark period of history.
Examples:
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Art
- The Seven Deadly Sins (Dix): Envy is portrayed as a hunched toddler with a toothbrush mustache. As the painting is a critique of interwar German society, Envy is very much meant to evoke Hitler—after all, he rose in power by fanning the flames of discontent and jealousy toward other countries and ethnic groups.
Comic Books
- The Beano: In this Anthology Comic, many characters with authority are depicted with toothbrush mustaches; such as the Teacher from Bash Street Kids, Dennis the Menace's Dad and Minnie the Minx's Dad. At the time, these characters were drawn with the mustaches in the 1950s and they were redesigned in 2010. Denis's dad and Minnie the Minx's dad lose their mustaches in the redesign to avoid comparisons to Hitler. With the teacher being the only one to keep the Toothbrush Mustache.
- Spider-Man:
- J Jonah Jameson is the publisher or editor-in-chief of the Daily Bugle, a fictional New York City newspaper. He's famous for his temper and irrational hatred of Spider-Man. He's depicted with a toothbrush mustache to reflect his Bad Boss status in the Daily Bugle. During the 1960s, Jameson was depicted with a Toothbrush mustache but it varies from comic to comic in recent years, as Jameson is either depicted with a toothbrush mustache or just a cropped mustache.
- Spidey puts particular emphasis on J. Jonah Jameson's toothbrush mustache when Captain America takes issue with a libelous headline the Daily Bugle is running against Spidey. The comic panels gradually zoom in on Jameson's mustache as Cap puts the squeeze on him, making it very clear who Cap is thinking of. One page later, Jameson has shaved it off as Spidey cheerily signals his approval of the revised headline.
Films — Live-Action
- The Flower Girl: A propaganda film from North Korea, the Japanese officer dining with the Paes note is shown with a toothbrush mustache to show how villainous the Japanese officers are to the North Korean viewers.
- The Great Dictator: The Barber is one of the earliest caricatures of Adolf Hitler and the movie is about a Jewish barber who is mistaken for a tyrannical dictator. He pretends to be a dictator and ultimately gives a speech in which he calls for peace and compassion.
- Intouchables: Towards the end of the movie, Driss shaves Phillipe's face in preparation for his date. He has some fun with it, cutting it 'José Bové' style, then handlebar, before changing it to the infamous toothbrush 'stache. Proceed Driss coming up with Hitler-related banter.
Phillipe: "No. Please. No. No, no, no. No!"Driss: "You mean nein! Don't you feel like invading countries right now?".
- Look Who's Back: Hitler somehow comes back from the dead and finds himself in 21st-century Germany. The public mistakes Hitler for an impersonator and Hitler plays into the assumption so he can rise to power again.
- Mister Lonely: Invoked, a Charlie Chaplin impersonator has his wife, a Marilyn Monroe impersonator, say that his mustache reminds her of Hitler.
- Rat Race: Jon Lovitz's character, Randy, is trying to win $2 million dollars with his family in a wacky, country race. In a series of hilarious misfortunate events, Randy ends up driving into a WWII veteran gathering in Hitler's car and unknowingly comes out on the podium with a square lipstick smudge on his upper lip (as a result of hitting into the steering wheel that had lipstick smear he unwittingly wiped on). And if that's not bad enough for Randy, his tongue is burned, so his attempt to explain the situation makes him look a Hitler impersonator saying German gibberish and giving the finger to all the surviving WWII veterans, leading one of them to shooting at Randy. And this is after Randy insisted his family to not buy or drive anything related to Germany since they're Jewish.
Literature
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: Barty Crouch Sr. is depicted as a ministry worker who has a toothbrush mustache. In the book, he was an abusive parent to his son, Barty Crouch Jr., using mind control and having abusive custody over him. For this reason, he would end up driving a wedge between him and his son that eventually led to Junior murdering his father.
Live-Action TV
- Doctor Who: The Chief Caretaker in "Paradise Towers" is shown wearing a toothbrush mustache to reflect the Nazi inspirations for the Caretakers.
- Hogan's Heroes: Sergeant Schultz wears one in some episodes to represent his role as antagonist, albeit an incompetent antagonist.
- Father Ted: In one episode, Ted makes a racist joke about the Chinese and is caught by the Chinatown community in Craggy Island. Ted tries to apologize to the family by calling the patriarch to his home so they can talk things out. Ted sees them through a window and tries to wave at them, but this upsets them more because he was unknowingly standing behind a black spot on the window, giving him the toothbrush mustache and making his gestures resemble a Hitler salute. After smoothing things over with the Chinatown community, Ted gets in more trouble when Mrs. Doyle decorates his home with Nazi memorabilia.
Father Ted Crilly: "I'm not a fascist, I'm a priest. Fascists go round dressed in black telling people what to do, whereas priests... er... more drink!"
- Mystery Science Theater 3000: In the episode "Yongary", Kinga Forrester collaborates with a coffee brewer from San Francisco named Todd Hitler to launch the Hitler Coffee brand. But when she drinks the coffee, it sticks to her upper lip in the exact shape of Adolf's infamous toothbrush mustache. Upon realizing this, Kinga cancels the collaboration immediately.
- On the Buses: Inspector "Blakey" Blake is a tyrannical bus inspector with a toothbrush mustache who dedicates his life to making the lead characters' lives a misery. However, it's often subverted because he's usually depicted as a killjoy who's simply expecting the protagonists to actually do their jobs and provide a public service.
Video Games
- Metro: Last Light: Maxim Moskvin, the leader of the Red Line; a Neo-Soviet/Stalinist faction wears a toothbrush moustache. Ironically, the leader of their enemy Neo-Nazi faction does not have a moustache.
- Saints Row IV: The Boss is a notorious and vicious gang leader who earned their title as the "The Butcher of Stillwater" for their actions across the franchise. In the fourth game, The Boss has managed to become president of the United States and is explicitly said to be very unpopular as a leader as his approval ratings are at 20 points. The toothbrush mustache is a facial hair option in the game if the player decides to use it.
Web Comics
- El Goonish Shive: Principal Verrückt used to have
both a toothbrush moustache and a dark black toupee with a dramatic side parting that made him look even more like Hilter. When Ellen pointed the toupee part out he was horrified and realized that's why children would cry at the sight of him. He later embraces his baldness and grows out his mustache into a large bushy one to avert this.
- In The Loud House fanfic The Diary of Luan Loud (MSTed here), Luan adopts a cat with a black mark that looks like a toothbrush mustache. She gives him two names: Chaplin (which she calls him in front of others) and Hitler (which she calls him in private).
Web Videos
- Cracked: "The Last Guy to Wear a Hitler Mustache in America" is about a man in 1940s America who adamantly refuses to shave off his toothbrush mustache. When told by his boss about how much it makes him look like Hitler, he responds in increasingly Hitler-esque ways.
"I need this job. I've got nine kids at home. Nine! Nine! Nine!"
- Gnoggin: In "Tapping into the Lore of Mr. Rime!", Gnoggin delves into the history of tap dancing and Charlie Chaplin for Mr. Rime, a Pokemon from Pokémon Sword and Shield. When talking about Chaplin's mustache, Gnoggin quickly explains that Mr. Rime's mustache was different because modern audiences would mock it and turn it into a Hitler reference.
- YouTuber tanman5123's historical videos consistently refer to Hitler as "Mustache Man," because more direct references have a risk of triggering the platform's opaque and capricious content filter.
Western Animation
- Family Guy: "A Fish Out of Water" shows Stewie taking a side job during Peter's unemployment. He suggests to his coworker "Hairlip" Steve — who's mustache is unusually thin— when the two of them need to rescue a Jewish clown from a boat.
Stewie: Hey Steve, you ever think about growing a mustache?
- Fugget About It: In "Royal Canadian Groping Pariah'', McCool is accused of groping Theresa and is promptly fired for his behavior. After trying to explain himself to Jimmy, he tries to use his "For Canada..." catchphrase but is quickly stopped by Daryl, a co-worker with a toothbrush mustache who silently takes his scripts before walking away. Earlier in the episode, Daryl was shown in a boardroom coming up with catchphrases for McCool, suggesting he's an office worker for the government and McCool's killjoy for the punchline.
- The Jetsons: Mr. Spacey is George Jetson's verbally abusive boss who regularly loses his temper towards George. Spacey is usually depicted with the Toothbrush Mustache to further mock his role as a boss of the company.
- Rick and Morty: Abrodolph Lincoler is a fusion of Adolf Hitler and Abraham Lincoln Rick made in an attempt to make a morally neutral superleader. However, the experiment fails and Abrodolph gets into a fight at a party after referring to a black partygoer as "boy".
- The Spectacular Spider-Man Like in the comics, J. Jonah Jameson is the easily angered and verbally abusive boss of Peter Parker in the Daily Bugle but his mustache is altered slightly to add a soul patch to his toothbrush mustache, making it resemble an exclamation mark.
- Whatever Happened to... Robot Jones?: Principal Madman sports one of these, as if his maniacal tendencies, cruel treatment of his students and anti-robot sentiments didn't already make him unlikeable enough.
- "Velma'': In an attempt to clear Fred's name, Victoria has Fred dressed in makeup so he can look innocent to the crowd as he walks to the courthouse. However, due to the rain, the makeup smears and it unwittingly gives Fred a toothbrush mustache, and a picture makes Fred look like he was giving a Nazi salute.
