vincentlynch-moonoi This was the third and final of the "Whistling In..." series of B movies starring the young Red Skelton. And in my view, it's the best, although "Whistling In The Dark" (the first in the series) was darned good. This series was the first time Skelton got top billing in a film, and he really makes the most of it. MGM "got" what Red Skelton did best in this early series. Unfortunately, later they forgot what he did best, and although his performances in musical comedies are interesting, it's when it's pure comedy that he best succeeds.Red plays Wally Benton again here -- radio's "The Fox" -- a detective yarn. This time he gets mixed up with the "Constant Reader"...someone who tells of impeding deaths. For a while, the police think he is Constant Reader. So, the police are after Benton (Red), as are the gangsters.Ann Rutherford is along again as the love interest, with Jean Rogers as her competition. Both ladies excel. Rags Ragland is the buddy again here, as he was in the second and third films, although here his role seems a bit diminished. Venerable character actors Ray Collins (later in "Perry Mason") and Henry O'Neill have decent roles here. William Frawley has a minor role as a detective.Lots of slapstick here, and it all works quite well. Tune in for Red in his third starring role. But, three times was enough. Time to move on after this third installment.

classicsoncall Well 'screwball comedy' doesn't even begin to define the territory this picture covers, with Red Skelton heading the cast as a radio detective personality inadvertently tagged as a murderer by his chauffeur cum press agent (Rags Ragland). I always enjoyed watching Red's variety shows as a kid, but this is the first movie I've ever seen him in, and it was a pretty good introduction. His comic timing is perfect, and it was cool seeing him do a quick tryout for a character he brought to his TV series by name of Clem Kadiddlehopper. That would have been right after the suitcase stuffing scene when he transforms his hat and face into a goofy caricature of himself.The film is so fast paced and frenetic that it's easy to forget where the whole thing started, but basically, Wally 'The Fox' Benton (Skelton) and his bride to be (Ann Rutherford) get sidetracked by a murder case involving a character who calls himself The Constant Reader. Chronicle newspaper reporter Jean Pringle (Jean Rogers) is hastily assigned to cover the case in progress, and instantly gets caught up in the shenanigans. Along with Rags Ragland, the quartet get involved in some fast paced hi-jinx, including an unbelievably staged elevator scene where the four of them form a human chain swinging for dear life. A little tense for a comedy but it works.As if there wasn't enough going on, the action makes it's way to Ebbetts Field and home of the Brooklyn Dodgers, who make an appearance by way of the starting lineup up to bat against Skelton's guise as pitcher Gumbatz of the Battling Beavers. The players, if not the names are virtually unrecognizable today - Billy Herman, Arky Vaughn, Ducky Medwick and Dolph Camilli batting cleanup, while manager Leo Durocher also gets some screen time trading barbs with Skelton. The Beavers were reminiscent of the barnstorming House of David team, with players sporting chest length beards as their signature look.It's almost anti-climactic that the cops finally get their man considering the mad-cap pace that winds up on a ship docked at a Brooklyn pier. The henchman with the high pressure hose on the boat looked an awful lot like Anthony Quinn, but a quick glance at the uncredited cast list reveals it was Mike Mazurki, former pro boxer and wrestler who got an awful lot of parts as a heavy in films during the era.All in all, an entertaining romp that Red Skelton fans should certainly enjoy, with a cast that does a pretty good job of keeping up with the film's manic direction and slapstick timing. To use Red's own words, they all 'dood it' very well.

Neil Doyle The overabundance of physical comedy in WHISTLING IN BROOKLYN is staggering. Most memorable moment has four of the principals hanging from an empty elevator shaft, each hanging on the the other for dear life and managing, somehow, to swing to safety at another level. It's probably the trickiest bit of physical comedy in the whole film, but the story requires a constant display of these sort of antics from its stars.Once again, RED SKELTON is "The Fox", this time anxious to clear himself of a murder the mob is responsible for--with Red being mistaken for "The Constant Reader" due to a remark made by his chauffeur RAGS RAGLAND to newspaper reporter JEAN ROGERS. So, instead of going off on his honeymoon with ANN RUTHERFORD, Red is forced to spend the entire film on the lam from the police and the mob until he clears himself after a hilarious ball game at Ebbets Field with the N.Y. Dodgers, including Leo Durocher.The slapstick is poured on so thick, it almost feels like a silent comedy with Buster Keaton at times. The storyline is slim, the gags fast and furious, and all of it is so far-fetched that it will strain the tolerance of some viewers.But it does show that Red was a gifted comedian and that ANN RUTHERFORD and JEAN ROGERS were good sports to put up with all the shenanigans and stunts required of the cast--and both of them, by the way, show a flair for physical comedy.But--not one of the best in the "Whistling" series.

krorie The man of many talents, Red Skelton, has some of his funniest moments on screen in this third and final installment of his amateur radio detective, Wally 'The Fox' Benton, series. Keeping up with him most of the way are the marvelous Rags Ragland as Chester the chauffeur, aka press agent, and the vivaciously funny dippy blonde, Jean Rogers, as a dumber than Rags (would you believe?) reporter. Two "dolls" are better than one in a comedy gangster flick. So the viewer is treated to the curvaceous Ann Rutherford as Wally's bride-to-be, Carol Lambert, who has fewer funny lines than the others, but is still delicious icing on the cake.There are several scenes that are as fresh today as they were sixty-three years ago. One displays the comedic ability of Rags Ragland, who left us way too soon, to illustrate what perfect timing he could bring to a humorous sketch. He is attempting to use the telephone to assist his new client, Wally, when he is driven to anger by an aloof operator. Ma Bell would not receive such a lampooning again until the equally brilliant Lily Tomlin appeared as Ernestine, the telephone operator, nearly thirty years later. Watch too when the comic quartet is trapped in an elevator shaft. All four are dangling in the air, holding on to a precarious cable. Rags exclaims, "I didn't know I weighed so much." It's also a pleasure to see the Brooklyn Dodgers participating in all the shenanigans at the ball park, with Leo Durocher in the limelight. Then there's the final slapstick-filled sequence that ties the loose ends together. There may be a few clinkers here and there, such as Wally's jibe,"You'll live the life of Riley...that is, if Riley don't come home," a joke that was already stale in 1943. But when a comic is on a roll, there are bound to be a few stale puns. Even Robin Williams and Eddie Murphy fall flat sometimes.Enjoying the antics of these four clowns may cause the viewer to forget what the plot is about. Which is OK since it's nothing new. The story deals with the mob getting even, police corruption, and a popular radio personality, Wally "The Fox," being mistaken for a hit-man, The Constant Reader. All poor Wally wants to do is get married, honeymoon at Niagra Falls, and take a break from his job. Before he can do that, he must clear himself of the murders he is accused of committing.Red Skelton's many fans will love this film. Those unfamiliar with Red's humor may miss many of the inside jokes, such as "I dood it," but should enjoy the rest, especially if fans of old-time radio and lovers of slapstick.