Gangsterjagd in Brooklyn

Whistling in Brooklyn was the last of three films that Red Skelton did as Wally 'The Fox' Benton, radio criminologist who keeps getting drawn into these real life mysteries via his reputation. Why he didn't just say that he was just an actor playing a role would have saved him a whole lot of trouble. Then again we wouldn't Skelton's Fox films, made at MGM, and they're pretty funny.

Among other things he never quite gets around to is marrying gal pal Ann Rutherford. If another Fox film had been done I'm sure they'll have not done the deed yet again.

There are some murders going on in Brooklyn, the last one being that of a police detective and after each one someone sends the Brooklyn Standard (Eagle) a note as to where the body is and signs it 'Constant Reader'.

At the same time Skelton and his lunkhead man Friday Rag Ragland whom he picked up from the last Fox movie Whistling in Dixie decide that he ought to give out with the publicity stunt that Skelton is really the Constant Reader. That sets up one long chase where Skelton, Ragland, Rutherford, and snoopy reporter Jean Rogers get to solve it all literally on the fly.

Whistling in Brooklyn is a fast paced comedy that is nice and personal for me and for the aging fans of the former Brooklyn Dodgers. There is an extended sequence where Skelton has escaped from both cops and bad guys and has disguised himself as a member of the semi-pro team the Beavers who are playing an exhibition with the Dodgers and they all wear beards. There was a team called the House of David where the players were just like that, they all looked like Hassidic Jews. It was their gimmick and they were an attraction.

MGM did some location work in Brooklyn and such Dodgers as manager Leo Durocher and players like Arky Vaughn, Joe Medwick, Mickey Owen, Billy Herman and Dolph Camilli played themselves. Skelton disguised himself as the Beavers pitcher and took his place on the mound against these guys and retired the side after hitting the first three batters. You've got to see how he does it.

Later on when he's up pitcher Bobo Newsom administers some chin music to Skelton at the plate. Newsom was almost as natural born a performer as Durocher who with this film started hanging around with show business types the rest of his life. Newsom had some right-handed sidearm delivery as you'll see. Those shots of the Brooklyn Dodgers and Ebbets Field are definite treasures that any baseball fan must see.

To tell the truth, the plot is kind of dopey, but the laughs are real enough. For Skelton and baseball fans, a must.

Back in 1933, Ernest Truex starred in "Whistling in the Dark" and it was a charming little comedy/mystery. Eight years later, the film was remade with Red Skelton and is the much more famous version of the story--though I prefer the original. Despite my preference, the Skelton film was so popular that it resulted in two sequels...first "Whistling in Dixie" and then "Whistling in Brooklyn".

A series of murders have occurred and the police are baffled. However, when radio personality Wally Benton (Skelton) seems to know too many details about the killings, they assume he's the killer. Suddenly, cops are pouring out of the woodwork to arrest the guy. At first, he thinks that it's all a gag. After all, he and his fiancé (Ann Rutherford) are on their way to get married and his co- workers are always playing tricks on him. However, when he realizes they are firing REAL bullets, he and his girl and his idiot chauffeur are on the run. Soon, they are not just dodging the police but crooks as well and EVERYBODY seems to want to kill him.

The best part of the film is towards the end, where Wally pretends to be a baseball player in order to alert the police who the real killer is. But he has to be disguised and sports a beard...and knows nothing about playing ball. But, miraculously, all the stupid things he does seem to work! Overall, enjoyable and pretty much more of the same for the short-lived franchise.

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.

The man of many talents, Red Skelton, has some of his funniest moments on screen in this third and final installment of his amateur radio detective, Wally 'The Fox' Benton, series. Keeping up with him most of the way are the marvelous Rags Ragland as Chester the chauffeur, aka press agent, and the vivaciously funny dippy blonde, Jean Rogers, as a dumber than Rags (would you believe?) reporter. Two "dolls" are better than one in a comedy gangster flick. So the viewer is treated to the curvaceous Ann Rutherford as Wally's bride-to-be, Carol Lambert, who has fewer funny lines than the others, but is still delicious icing on the cake.

There are several scenes that are as fresh today as they were sixty-three years ago. One displays the comedic ability of Rags Ragland, who left us way too soon, to illustrate what perfect timing he could bring to a humorous sketch. He is attempting to use the telephone to assist his new client, Wally, when he is driven to anger by an aloof operator. Ma Bell would not receive such a lampooning again until the equally brilliant Lily Tomlin appeared as Ernestine, the telephone operator, nearly thirty years later. Watch too when the comic quartet is trapped in an elevator shaft. All four are dangling in the air, holding on to a precarious cable. Rags exclaims, "I didn't know I weighed so much." It's also a pleasure to see the Brooklyn Dodgers participating in all the shenanigans at the ball park, with Leo Durocher in the limelight. Then there's the final slapstick-filled sequence that ties the loose ends together.

There may be a few clinkers here and there, such as Wally's jibe,"You'll live the life of Riley...that is, if Riley don't come home," a joke that was already stale in 1943. But when a comic is on a roll, there are bound to be a few stale puns. Even Robin Williams and Eddie Murphy fall flat sometimes.

Enjoying the antics of these four clowns may cause the viewer to forget what the plot is about. Which is OK since it's nothing new. The story deals with the mob getting even, police corruption, and a popular radio personality, Wally "The Fox," being mistaken for a hit-man, The Constant Reader. All poor Wally wants to do is get married, honeymoon at Niagra Falls, and take a break from his job. Before he can do that, he must clear himself of the murders he is accused of committing.

Red Skelton's many fans will love this film. Those unfamiliar with Red's humor may miss many of the inside jokes, such as "I dood it," but should enjoy the rest, especially if fans of old-time radio and lovers of slapstick.

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.