Whistling in Brooklyn (1943)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

S. Sylvan Simon

Writers:

Nat Perrin (screenplay)
Wilkie C. Mahoney (additional dialogue)

Release Date:

December 1943 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Mystery | Crime

Plot:

Wally Benton, "The Fox," master detective on radio, is about to go with his sweetheart to Niagara Falls in order to get married...

Plot Keywords:

Police | Reporter | Chase | Detective | Warehouse

Cast

Red Skelton	...	Wally 'The Fox' Benton
Ann Rutherford	...	Carol Lambert
Jean Rogers	...	Jean Pringle
Rags Ragland	...	Chester (as 'Rags' Ragland)
Ray Collins	...	Grover Kendall
Henry O'Neill	...	Inspector Holcomb
William Frawley	...	Detective Ramsey
Sam Levene	...	Creeper
Arthur Space	...	Detective MacKenzie
Robert Emmett O'Connor	...	Detective Leo Finnigan (as Robert Emmet O'Connor)
Steven Geray	...	Whitey (as Steve Geray)
Howard Freeman	...	Steve Conlon
Tom Dillon	...	Manager of the Beavers
The Brooklyn Dodgers	...	Themselves

Runtime:

87 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #9430) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | USA:TV-G (TV rating) | Australia:G

Filming Locations:

Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Loew's

Trivia:

Brooklyn Dodger players Max Macon, Alex Kampouris, Ray Hayworth, Pat Ankenman, Newt Kimball and Hal Peck were reported (by the New York Times) to be cast in the movie as baseball players, with some of them as "Beaver" players. A few of them had left the Brooklyn Dodgers by the time this film was released.

Movie Connections:

Follows Whistling in the Dark (1941)

Soundtrack:

Auld Lang Syne

Oops, Where Did the Floor Go?

The gags fly thick and fast in this, the last of Skelton's Whistling series for MGM. The pace is so hectic you may have to check your fast-forward. But the first half-hour is near hilarious with the usual Skelton mugging and pratfalls, backed up by experts Rags Ragland and Ann Rutherford, along with clever quips galore, so stay tuned. As usual, the plot amounts to little more than a convenient hat-rack on which to hang Skelton's usual brand of madcap. And what better fare for wartime audiences than a chance to escape the horrors with this slapstick whirlwind. I really did wonder how they would escape the elevator shaft, one of those great moments when you don't know whether to laugh or hide your eyes. And, yes, that is Jean Rogers as the reporter, on a break from Ming the Merciless and his serial effort at conquering the universe and Flash Gordon all in the same breath. There's also a chance to scope out Ebbetts Field and the Brooklyn Dodgers before both were torn down and shipped to LA. All in all, good period fun, even this many years later.