A Southern Yankee (1948)

A hapless bellboy in a St. Louis hotel near the end of the Civil War is recruited by the Union secret service to impersonate a notorious Confederate spy.

Director:

Edward Sedgwick

Writers:

Melvin Frank (story), Norman Panama (story),

Stars:

Red Skelton, Brian Donlevy, Arlene Dahl

Cast

Credited cast:
Red Skelton	...	Aubrey Filmore
Brian Donlevy	...	Kurt Devlynn
Arlene Dahl	...	Sallyann Weatharby
George Coulouris	...	Maj. Jack Drumman aka The Grey Spider
Lloyd Gough	...	Capt. Steve Lorford
John Ireland	...	Capt. Jed Calbern
Minor Watson	...	Gen. Watkins
Charles Dingle	...	Col. Weatherby
Art Baker	...	Col. Clifford M. Baker
Reed Hadley	...	Fred Munsey
Arthur Space	...	Mark Haskins
Joyce Compton	...	Hortense Dobson
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Byron Foulger	...	Mr. Duncan (scenes deleted)
Edward Gargan	...	Male Nurse (scenes deleted)
Bert Moorhouse	...	Capt. Jeffreys (scenes deleted)

Storyline

Aubrey Filmore (Red Skelton) is a bumbling bellboy in a Missouri town who pesters the Union officers there; he desperately wants to be a spy for the North in the American Civil War. When Filmore accidentally waylays an infamous Confederate spy known as "The Grey Spider" and is mistaken for him by the Rebels, the Union brass see it as an opportunity for real espionage - and though Filmore is a coward as well as a fool, his real motivation for derring-do is a sweet Southern girl named Sallyann, whom he will see again behind Southern lines.

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Plot Keywords:

spy | hotel | american civil war | secret service | st. louis | 

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Taglines:

See Red in a Union Suit with Southern Exposure!

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Genres:

Comedy | History | War | Western

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 August 1948 (USA)

Also Known As:

Der Superspion

Filming Locations:

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

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The scene where Civil War spy Lloyd Gough listens to battle plans from the second floor flu was reused by John Ford in "The Horse Soldiers,' when Constance Towers and Althea Gibson listen to John Wayne and his officers plotting strategy until they're caught by William Holden. Brian Donlevy catches Gough spying in this film.

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Goofs

Mention of prisoner exchange is mentioned by the colonel. Prison exchanges wee stopped by Grant in 1864, the first union commander who realized the road to victory lay through attrition.

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Quotes

Col. Weatherby: That's a wonderful disguise, muh boy. I wish all my officers were as stupid as you.
Aubrey Filmore: So do I.
[laughs]
Aubrey Filmore: [to the officers] Nothing personal, gentlemen.

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Connections

References The General (1926)

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Soundtracks

"Dixie"
(uncredited)
Attributed to Daniel Decatyr Emmett in 1850s minstrel shows
Instrumental version heard on soundtrack under battle.

User Reviews

The South Shall Laugh Again

Although with Buster Keaton working as gag man on this film and while he did have a lot of influence on this film, A Southern Yankee had other influences besides Keaton's famous general. For myself I caught a bit of Duck Soup in the mix and also the plot premise is the same one as two very serious previous films.

The idea of two spies falling in love with each other was done as serious drama in the British film Dark Journey with Vivien Leigh and Conrad Veidt. Later on it was used by MGM in their musical The Firefly that starred Jeanette MacDonald and Allan Jones. But I think someone at MGM must have thought this could be the basis of a comedy, it may have been Buster Keaton who thought it would be a good film idea for Red Skelton.

A Southern Yankee finds Red Skelton as a bellboy in St. Louis who is a northern sympathizer and wants to do something for the Union cause. Given that he's a klutz, Red's dismissed by all the parties involved.

But when he accidentally captures a notorious Confederate agent, the army sees a chance to use him and sends him south with some fake plans for a southern general and a message for one of the Union undercover men.

Red's willing, but the spirit is weak especially around Arlene Dahl who is the daughter of Confederate general Charles Dingle. And he's got some other double agents and triple agents to deal with like Brian Donlevy, John Ireland, and George Coulouris.

It's hard to describe A Southern Yankee from here on because the gags come fast and furious. Red's two trips to the dentist was one long sustained gag and very good. Of course the gag remembered best is the one where Red is trapped with both the Blue and Gray firing at him from opposite directions. He manages to escape that predicament in a truly interesting manner I won't reveal.

And if you don't think that A Southern Yankee might have had a bit of inspiration from the serious films I cited, if you've seen both Dark Journey and The Firefly, you'll know exactly A Southern Yankee ends.