Whistling in Brooklyn (1943)

Released in 1943, "Whistling in Brooklyn" is the last of the films which starred Red Skelton as radio detective Wally "The Fox" Benton who gets involved in real-life murders. All he wants to do is marry his girlfriend (Ann Rutherford), but something always delays the wedding. Jean Rogers as a reporter and Rags Ragland appear in this "Whistling." This film concerns a serial killer named 'Constant Reader' who is killing people in Brooklyn. Wally falls under suspicion and tries to solve the crime and escape the police at the same time.In one sequence, Wally disguises himself as a ball player on a bearded team playing an exhibition with the Brooklyn Dodgers; he has to go out and play a game, while trying to get a message to the police. Some of the Dodgers appeared - Leo Durocher, Arky Vaughn, Joe Medwick, etc. Fun for old-time baseball fans who remember these players.Skelton can be corny, and some of his humor in this is groan-worthy. But the pace is fast, there are some funny bits, and when Skelton is being serious, he's actually quite sweet and natural. Ann Rutherford is adorable as his girlfriend.Good fun.

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.

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.

If you like old-fashioned corny humor you'll love this. I'm hesitant to give a movie this silly, corny and stupid eight stars but I had to because overall it was fun to watch and provided a number of genuine laughs. In fact, some of the scenes were downright hilarious. A lot of it is innocent old-time slapstick and, if it entertains, it did its job.This was my first look at early Red Skelton films (I had only known him through his TV show) and it reminded of some Bob Hope films except this one had more slapstick and action.It inspired me to go out and buy other Skelton comedies on VHS but, unfortunately, none ever measured up to this one. The real star of film might not have been Skelton, anyway, as Rags Ragland, playing the chauffeur, had perhaps the highest percentage of funny lines. The baseball scene in here also was very good.Yes, this is stupid, generally-speaking, but it's really entertaining. If only two people have reviewed it (as of my review) then apparently a lot of people haven't seen this. That's too bad, especially with the older crowd, because they've missed a funny movie.