Whistling in Dixie (1942)

Director:

S. Sylvan Simon

Writers:

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

Release Date:

December 1942 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Mystery | Crime

Tagline:

"I DOOD IT AGAIN!" (original ad - all caps)

Plot:

Radio sleuth Wally "The Fox" Benton forgoes his honeymoon to help his wife's old friend solve a murder and hunt for Civil War gold inside a spooky mansion and fort.

Plot Keywords:

Fort | Murder | Old Friend | Sorority | Georgia

Cast

Red Skelton	...	Wally 'The Fox' Benton
Ann Rutherford	...	Carol Lambert
George Bancroft	...	Sheriff Claude Stagg
Guy Kibbee	...	Judge George Lee
Diana Lewis	...	Ellamae Downs
Peter Whitney	...	Frank V. Bailie
Rags Ragland	...	Chester Conway / Sylvester 'Lester' Conway (as 'Rags' Ragland)
Celia Travers	...	Hattie Lee
Lucien Littlefield	...	Corporal Lucken
Louis Mason	...	Deputy Lem
Mark Daniels	...	Martin Gordon
Pierre Watkin	...	Doctor
Emmett Vogan	...	Radio Producer
Hobart Cavanaugh	...	Mr. Panky
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Norman Abbott	...	Attendant (uncredited)
Joseph Crehan	...	Deputy Police Commissioner (uncredited)
Hal Le Sueur	...	Sound Effects Man (uncredited)
Charles Lung	...	Brunner (uncredited)
Billie 'Buckwheat' Thomas	...	The Black Boy (uncredited)
John Wald	...	Radio Announcer (uncredited)

Directed by
S. Sylvan Simon

Writing credits
Nat Perrin		(screenplay)
Wilkie C. Mahoney		(additional dialogue) (as Wilkie Mahoney)
Lawrence Hazard		contributor to screenplay (uncredited)
Jonathan Latimer		contributor to screenplay (uncredited)

Produced by
George Haight	....	producer

Original Music by
Lennie Hayton

Cinematography by
Clyde De Vinna		(director of photography) (as Clyde DeVinna)

Film Editing by
Frank Sullivan

Art Direction by
Cedric Gibbons

Set Decoration by
Edwin B. Willis

Costume Design by
Howard Shoup		(gowns) (as Shoup)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Hayes Goetz	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
F. Keogh Gleason	....	associate set decorator (as Keogh Gleason)
Gabriel Scognamillo	....	associate art director

Sound Department
Douglas Shearer	....	recording director

Stunts
Gil Perkins	....	stunts (uncredited)

Music Department
Daniele Amfitheatrof	....	composer: additional music (uncredited)
Wally Heglin	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Bronislau Kaper	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Leonid Raab	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
David Snell	....	composer: additional music (uncredited)
Franz Waxman	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Loew's (as Loew's Incorporated)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1942) (USA) (theatrical)
• MGM/UA Home Video (1993) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2010) (USA) (DVD) (DVD-R included in "Red Skelton Whistling Collection")

Other Companies

• Turner Entertainment  DVD package design
• Turner Entertainment  VHS package design
• Warner Bros. Entertainment  DVD package design

Also Known As:

Runtime:

74 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Australia:G | Finland:K-12 | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (PCA #8663) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review)

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company:

Loew's

Trivia:

"The Screen Guild Theater" broadcast a 30 minute radio adaptation of the movie on May 17, 1943 with Red Skelton reprising his film role.

Goofs:

Factual errors: When The Fox finds the treasure chest, he holds up a coin and says, "Look, a $20 gold piece, 1839." The first $20 gold pieces were minted in 1850.

Quotes:

Wally 'The Fox' Benton:Say, what kind of town is this anyway?
Frank V. Bailie:A town where meddlers should carry heavy life insurance.

Movie Connections:

References Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941)

Soundtrack:

Anvil Chorus

The one that went south

Red Skelton played the radio sleuth known as "the Fox" in three comic mysteries of the early 1940s. All had the word "whistling" in the title.

This is the second of the three, and by far the weakest.

The first one, "Whistling in the Dark," was an excellent remake of the 1933 film of the same. The last one, "Whistling in Brooklyn," was an extremely enjoyable farce. I recommend both.

"Whistling in Dixie" can be funny at times, but too often it's boring. I suspect it was made simply because the title seemed irresistible. The phrase "whistling 'Dixie' " was popular American slang at the time. And Ann Rutherford, who co-starred as the Fox's love interest in all three movies, was best known for her role in a Southern epic, "Gone With the Wind."

This movie is full of corny "Southern" dialog, and there are some dated portrayals of African-Americans. Nothing here is any more more offensive than what you'd find in the typical 1940s film about the segregated South. But gosh, this kind of stuff was tired even then.

Skelton's slapstick routines are weaker than usual. He and Rags Ragland, his sidekick and foil in all three "Whistling" films, work very hard, but some of the material falls flat.

If this movie leaves you cold, don't rush to judgment. You may like the other two "Whistling" entries, because they are much better. And if you love this one, you will definitely want to see the other two.