The Fuller Brush Man (1948)

Poor Red Jones gets fired from every job he tries. His fiancée gives him one last chance to make good when he becomes a Fuller Brush man. His awkward attempts at sales are further ... See full summary »

Director:

S. Sylvan Simon

Writers:

Roy Huggins (story), Frank Tashlin (screenplay),

Stars:

Red Skelton, Janet Blair, Don McGuire

Cast

Cast overview:
Red Skelton	...	Red Jones
Janet Blair	...	Ann Elliot
Don McGuire	...	Keenan Wallick
Hillary Brooke	...	Mildred Trist
Adele Jergens	...	Miss Sharmley
Ross Ford	...	Freddie Trist
Trudy Marshall	...	Sara Franzen
Nicholas Joy	...	Commissioner Gordon Trist
Donald Curtis	...	Gregory Cruckston
Arthur Space	...	Police Lt. Quint

Storyline

Poor Red Jones gets fired from every job he tries. His fiancée gives him one last chance to make good when he becomes a Fuller Brush man. His awkward attempts at sales are further complicated when one of his customers is murdered and he becomes the prime suspect.

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Plot Keywords:

suspect | fuller brush | trap | salesman | war surplus | 

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Taglines:

WHEN RED GIVES A DEMOSTRATION THE LAUGHS ROCK THE NATION! (original poster - all caps)

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Crime | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

June 1948 (USA)

Also Known As:

As Loucuras de Mr. Jones

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

A major part of the movie involves a murder and a disappearing dagger. Red Skelton's character discovers someone has made the dagger by soaking the handle of one of his brushes in hot water and reshaping it. When the handle is put back into hot water it returns to its original shape. After trying numerous ways to make this look realistic with special effects the producers finally went to a plastics company and had them actually develop a "memory plastic". It was such a big story that it was in an article covered in "Life" magazine.

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Quotes

Keenan Wallick: [as he sees Ann kissing Red, who he thinks is a murderer] Arrest that man!
Lt. Quint: Why, is there a law against it?

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Connections

Referenced in Half a Hero (1953)

User Reviews

Red Skeleton's Best Movie

Even if your not a fan of slap stick or Skeleton's trademark corn this movie captures the best of Skelton in a great comedy. This movie launched his entry into TV and his series still ranks as one of the longest lived. Critics of the show would pan Skelton's unabashed corn, but the Fuller Brush Man was a classic comedy, done as well as your average Marx Brother's work. If you had to pick one Skeleton movie as his best, this is the one.

The movie begins with Red's complete failures in life and love. Unlike many of his movies and later TV roles, this movie show Skeleton as an actor who could show the pathos of his character. As a fuller brush salesman (a common fixture in the 40's and 50's), the occupation fits perfectly with Red's character as the proverbial pesty door to door salesman. Well on his way to another failure in life, Red gets involved in a murder that seems funnier and more convincing than his previous roles as a slap stick detective. The scenes in the WWII surplus wharehouse are both funny and extraordinarily well done. No computer generated action scenes, just excellent stunt work. If you like happy and funny endings, this movie will not disappoint.