edwagreen
With the exception of the last 15 minutes or so, this was a pretty awful film.Red Skelton, as Walter Benton, radio show star of a crime show who along with his boss's daughter and fiancée is kidnapped by a sinister cult leader, Conrad Veidt, who wants Skelton to come up with a perfect murder so that he can kill the heir of a fortune left by one of his devotees.The film just plods along with ridiculous lines by Skelton and Crew. Eve Arden is given very little to do as Skelton's agent, her wise-cracking is sorely missed here by the writers. Ironically, Skelton is Walter Benton in this film; years later, we had the character of Walter Denton in Arden's hit television series "Our Miss Brooks." Richard Crenna played Denton.The film picks up in pace and comedy when the radio is able to be connected and everyone finds out about the plight of Skelton and the two women.
utgard14
Remake of 1933 movie is the first in a series of three movies. Wally "The Fox" Benton (Red Skelton) is the star of a popular radio mystery program who is kidnapped by criminals. They plan to kill somebody and want Wally to plan the perfect murder. As added incentive for him to do as they want, they also kidnap Wally's fiancée (Ann Rutherford) and another girl who likes him (Virginia Grey).Fast-paced enjoyable Red Skelton comedy hits on all cylinders. Great direction, great script, superb cast. Skelton is wonderful in his first starring role. Ann Rutherford is absolutely adorable as his fiancée. Something about her I've always loved since I first saw her in the Andy Hardy films. Virginia Grey is the other girl who wants Red and she's fiery and spunky and lots of fun as well. The way the three of them team up to handle the bad guys is terrific. Conrad Veidt is excellent as the heavy, as are all of his henchman. There's more support from the likes of the great Eve Arden, Lloyd Corrigan, and Henry O'Neill. It's really a first-rate cast in a very fun and funny movie.
gridoon2018
I had never seen a Red Skelton film until now. Based on "Whistling In The Dark" alone, I think he is probably an underrated comedian. Some of his expressions and double takes are quite funny. But he is also backed up here by a wonderful supporting cast: having to choose between Ann Rutherford and Virginia Grey would be any man's dream dilemma, and Conrad Veidt is perfectly cast as the bogus cult leader. Pleasurably, the women don't just sit back and scream when a big fight breaks out at the end - they (literally) jump right into it! The movie offers laughs (nearly all of the characters have some gems in their dialogue - "You can put my mind at ease by not using yours" - but you must listen carefully) and some genuine suspense as well - but as has already been mentioned, what's up with the title? The Fox doesn't whistle, he howls! *** out of 4.
dougdoepke
It's Red's first starring role and he plays it fairly straight only sometimes mugging it up in ways that would become his comedic trademark. It's an excellent supporting cast, especially the unsung Don Costello as the henchman with a bad case of nerves and unsteady loyalties. And whose inspired idea was it to walk the thuggish-looking Hilda (Mariska Aldrich) through several scenes, allowing Red to get off some choice one-liners, ("Didn't I see you on 'Wrestling' last week."). Still, I'm curious why there're two leading ladies instead of one. Grey's character "Fran" seems unnecessary to the comedy set-ups and the storyline, so perhaps there's an inside story on this odd bit of doubling-up.In my little book, the movie's only fitfully funny, mainly because the two comedy set-ups (the secret room and the radio trick) go on too long and lack the intensity of Red's better comedies. As other reviewers point out, the best parts are the many choice throwaway lines that sometimes fly fast and furious, so keep your ear cocked. All in all, this first of the "Whistling" series is not the best, but it does present a chance to catch one show-biz's brightest comedy acts developing his way up the Hollywood ladder.
AD
