Whistling in the Dark

This movie was remade less than 10 years later and starred Red Skelton--this 1941 version is much more famous, though I haven't yet seen it. The fact is, I almost always enjoy the originals more and I can't see how the film could have been improved upon very much.

A man and his fiancé (Ernest Treux and Una Merkel) are on their way to elope but their car breaks down in front of a mansion containing a lot of no-good mobsters. When the head mobster (Edward Albert) hears that the man is a mystery writer who prides himself on his ability to write good murders, he decides to hold the two people captive until Treux designs a fool-proof way to murder someone. Because they don't want to die, they reluctantly help the crooks, but along the way they come up with some very clever and funny ways to undo this great murder plan. While I am sure some of what they did was impossible, it was believable enough and very smartly written and acted (especially the part about the poisoned toothpaste). The beginning was a tad slow, but thanks to subtle humor that began to assert itself later in the film, it really picked up and improved. An excellent and cute variation on the typical gangster film.

By the way, this film was created before the Hollywood Production Code was enforced in 1934-35. While this film didn't feature nudity, bad language or excessive violence like some Pre-Code films, it did have an interesting bit of sexual innuendo. When it looked like the mob was going to kill the two regardless, the pair are still unmarried and are forced to spend the night together in the same bedroom. It seems that Mr. Treux is an honorable guy and he rebuffs Merkel's repeated suggestions they have one night of whoopee! Late in the film, however, when her father comes to the rescue, the dad says "What have you done to my daughter?"--at which point Merkel shouts out "Practically EVERYTHING!!". This was a very funny line, but I am sure in the remake this was removed due to a much higher level of censorship in films in 1941.

This film starts out as a serious drama and then becomes a comedy in parts. In some respects it is dated, but worth watching.

Whistling In The Dark has mild mannered Ernest Truex who is eloping with the lovely Una Merkel when their car breaks down. The nearest house happens to be Edward Arnold mob attorney who is hosting mob kingpin C. Henry Gordon and gunsills John Miljan and Nat Pendleton.

The voluble Truex who is just there to make a call for auto repair and a taxi get talking. Arnold is quite intrigued when Truex says his profession is mystery writer. In fact Truex got a medal from NYC when he solved a baffling crime.

If you could have a regular Jessica Fletcher on tab that would be quite a resource for a criminal enterprise. And Truex does design a method for a hit to play for time while he and Merkel look for an escape.

This was an original and amusing comedy. Had this been done over at Paramount Truex's role would have been done by Charlie Ruggles.. It holds up quite well for today.

A dull, uninspired script that mixes comedy with suspense is the main reason why WHISTLING IN THE DARK gets stuck in a very dated '30s groove and stays there. Elliot Nugent's slow moving direction isn't light enough to keep the comedy aspects in focus.

MGM's later remake starring Red Skelton and Ann Rutherford was a much better variation on this tale told at a much faster pace.

Ernest Truex and Una Merkel are the hapless couple who happen to fall into the clutches of crooked mobsters headed by C. Henry Gordon, Edward Arnold and Nat Pendleton. Truex is a mystery writer forced to invent a perfect murder for Edward Arnold so they can rid themselves of a fellow gangster they want out of the way.

The plot involving a tube of poisoned toothpaste and turning a radio into a two-way connection is not only foolish but improbable, making the story incredible long before the finish.

For some, this will be a trifle easily forgiven and forgotten. Others may find it an uninspired B-film with little to offer in the way of real entertainment even though it began as a play that had a substantial Broadway run.

In any case, the remake with Skelton and Rutherford was far easier to take and was so successful that it became a "Whistling in the Dark" series for several years, to the delight of Red Skelton fans.

I happened to come across Elliott Nugent's "Whistling in the Dark" in the classic comedy section of a local video store. Knowing nothing about it, I decided to rent it. While an okay movie, it wasn't what I would think of as comedy. Ernest Truex and Una Merkel play an eloping couple who end up in the house of a gangster plotting a murder.

While there are some humorous scenes, I would've called the movie a thriller-drama. It manages to stay intense all the way to the end. There was apparently a 1941 remake; made under the Hays Code, it no doubt it reined in one particular scene of the fiancee (you'll know it when you see it).

Anyway, this movie is okay, not great. Enjoyable enough for its brief run.

As to the thing about Carol Post (the wife on "Mister Ed"), Una Merkel looks like her portrayer Connie Hines, while the movie has a cast member named Johnny Hines.