Whistling in the Dark

Wally (a crime writer) and Toby (his bride to be) are out for a drive, and break down in front of a house where big time crook (Jake Dillon, played by E. Arnold) and his cronies are planning evil deeds. The author talks and talks, insulting the "gang" more and more with each sentence. He gets caught up in Dillon's schemes, and tries to figure a way out. Strong leading roles by Ernest Truex and the pro Una Merkel. Directed by Elliott Nugent, who had directed a couple of Bob Hopers.... so he should know a thing or two about making movies. Viewers will recognize "Joe", Olympic athlete turned actor Nat Pendleton, who frequently played the mug. Good, entertaining fun. The story must have something to it, since it has been remade as film and TV shows several times.

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

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.

At 5 feet, 2 inches tall, Ernest Truex was hardly the guy to play a macho male hero or leading man in any type of film. He was suited well to play the meek, mild-mannered, and brow-beaten characters that he often did. Yet, this actor who played mostly villains and hen-pecked husbands in silent films, could act in a variety of roles, and he transitioned well into sound pictures. He appeared in supporting roles in adventure, comedy, drama, musical and mystery films in the 1930s and 1940s; and then moved mostly into TV for his last two decades, with roles in a number of series.

Truex was most adept at comedy, and "Whistling in the Dark" is the only male lead he had, after a decade-long hiatus from the silver screen that covered the last years of silent and first years of sound pictures. It's as though this movie and plot were designed for him - the small, mild-mannered character. Indeed this role was tailored for a Donald Meek-type character - or, Ernest Truex.

This film has a good comedy and crime plot; and Truex is the hero by using his brains. His girlfriend, Toby Van Buren, is played by Una Merkel who's at least half a head taller than our hero. The couple are engaged but her father doesn't approve of Porter. When their car breaks down on a country drive, they fall into the hands of a gang of crooks. A very good supporting cast rounds out this picture with Edward Arnold, Nat Pendleton ad Henry Gordon at the top of that list.

Truex has some demure expressions at times, reflecting somewhat the hammy look of him and many others in silent films. Only here, It's adds some to the humor. Truex plays Wallace Porter, a renowned author of murder mysteries. When Jake Dillon's (Edward Arnold) gang holds him to force him to plot the perfect murder so they can bump off a brewer who won't pay for protection, Porter has to use his brains to outsmart the gang.

This is an entertaining film that modern audiences should still enjoy. My favorite line in the film is by Edward Arnold's Jake Dillon. He asks Wallace Porter, "Now what would you rather be at a funeral - a mourner or a corpse?"

... because he makes all of the difference in the outcome and in the delivery. Ernest Truex as the mystery writer kidnapped by gangsters to come up with the perfect murder is just not funny, and furthermore there is nothing about him that makes me believe that his sweetheart, played by feisty Una Merkel would be interested in him romantically. His milquetoast demeanor, his nondescript delivery, it all just makes me think of MGM cartoon character Droopy who somehow always gets the girl. What carries this thing is Una Merkel, probably one of the most underrated actresses of all time, the rather ingenious story even if it does have a couple of rather ridiculous plot devices, and the best cast of gangsters ever assembled by MGM, a studio that was normally not known for its gangster films. Edward Arnold as the head gangster is perfection - here is a guy who can play tough bad guys or tough good guys effectively, also underrated and unfairly forgotten by film history.

It's a shame Skelton wasn't ten years older or Merkel wasn't ten years younger, because in the remake, they would have made a dynamite couple and made the 1941 version so funny and effective it could have given those in delicate health a coronary. This version is mildly recommended for the plot and the supporting players.