Whistling in Brooklyn (1943)

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:

Last movie Ann Rutherford made with MGM studios.

Movie Connections:

Follows Whistling in Dixie (1942)

Soundtrack:

Auld Lang Syne

"That gag's older than Santy Claus!" ... "You been talking to the Easter Bunny again?"

Radio personality "The Fox", who solves fictional crimes over the airwaves, is fingered by the police to be a real-life serial killer known as the Constant Reader after one of his radio plays features a clue that matches letters delivered by the actual criminal. Third "Whistling" film for Red Skelton and Ann Rutherford following 1941's "Whistling in the Dark" and '42's "Whistling in Dixie" has some funny, inventive slapstick scenes mixed in with a lot of outright silliness and corn. An early bit involving a freight elevator is priceless, though the double-header climax (first at Ebbets Field, later down on the docks) is fairly dire. The ladies (Rutherford and the spirited Jean Rogers) are both terrific foils for Red, but chauffeur-sidekick 'Rags' Ragland is a lead weight--irritating the minute we meet him. Plenty of chases and sight-gags, lots of fast dialogue, a surprising (and funny) gay joke, plus the Brooklyn Dodgers themselves make this a must-see for Skelton's fans. It moves along quickly enough, but the last reel doesn't give the supporting players much to do, and no one bothers to explain why the New York police force are so consistently inept. ** from ****