Whistling in Brooklyn (1943)

Radio crime show host "The Fox" finds himself on the trail of a serial killer while a suspect himself.

Director:

S. Sylvan Simon

Writers:

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

Stars:

Red Skelton, Ann Rutherford, Jean Rogers

Cast

Complete credited 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	...	Brooklyn Baseball Players

Storyline

Wally Benton, "The Fox," master detective on radio, is about to go with his sweetheart to Niagara Falls in order to get married. Unknown to him, his valet has told a newspaper reporter that Benton is "Constant Reader," someone who has sent information to newspapers about murdered people and where to find their bodies, thus making the police look bad. The police are sure that "Constant Reader" is the murderer himself, since no one else could know all of the details. And so they begin a chase after Benton, a chase which leads to old abandoned warehouses and old abandoned mansions. Wally is being chased not only by the police but also by the real "Constant Reader." Can he save his girl, his assistant, and the reporter and solve the crime before either the villain or the police, who have been told to shoot on sight, kill them all?

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Plot Keywords:

police | reporter | chase | detective | warehouse | 

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Taglines:

HIS NEWEST and FUNNIEST! RED SKELTON whistled in the dark, than he dood it in Dixie. He's whistling again in a roaring NEW screenful of merriment and murder! (original print ad)

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Mystery | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

December 1943 (USA)

Also Known As:

Gangsterjagd in Brooklyn

Filming Locations:

Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Loew's, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

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.

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Quotes

Chester: [referring to elevator brake] Hey, Boss, this thing is loose!
Wally 'The Fox' Benton: Well, don't take it off! The elevator'll fall!
Chester: Ah, I did the same thing in jail one time, and the elevator didn't fall.
Wally 'The Fox' Benton: It didn't huh? That's against the law of gravity!
Chester: That was before the law was passed.

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Connections

Follows Whistling in Dixie (1942)

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Soundtracks

"Auld Lang Syne"
(1788) (uncredited)
Traditional Scottish 17th century music
Lyrics by Robert Burns
In the score with sounds produced by the saw Wally uses to deflect objects thrown at him

User Reviews

Whistling Backstage

This is the third and funniest of Red Skelton's "Whistling" movies about the murderous misadventures of Wally Benton, actor, who plays most of the roles on radio's mystery show, "The Fox". It is a breakneck farce. Skelton and a horde of comedians race their ways through a tale about how Wally is mistaken for a suspected serial murderer when all he wants to do is go on his honeymoon with Anne Rutherford -- and who could blame him?

S. Sylvan Simon, one of MGM's terrific B talents, directed. His specialty was high speed farce and he pulls things off here at a terrific pace. Simon is largely forgotten. He had just produced the movie version of BORN YESTERDAY when he died suddenly at age 41 in 1951. He directed Skelton in four of his movies and knew how to get a good comic performance out of that talented clown.

Skelton had a successful career in the movies, simultaneously with his radio and television gigs from the late 1930s through the mid-50s. His movies are unfamiliar to most people because his contract called for extra fees to him when his movies played on television! Fortunately, they play fairly often now on Turner Classic movies. Do yourself a favor and see this one.