Whistling in Brooklyn (1943)

(On Cable TV, March 2021) Considering that Red Skelton stars in Whistling in Brooklyn, it’s a fair bet that the result is going to be a silly comedy. It’s, in fact, the third in a trilogy of movies featuring Skelton as the “radio criminologist” Wally “the Fox” Benton — and I haven’t seen any of the other ones. This familiarity with the character may serve to explain the unusually fast-paced opening, as audiences at the time would have been quite aware of Skelton’s character. (Not that this was Skelton’s sole brush with that kind of role — Benton feels a lot like his crime-writer character in the previous year’s Ship Ahoy.)  Here, Benton comes to be suspected of being a serial killer. Multiple complications ensue, especially when he gets in a cross-fire between the police and the real serial killer. There are a surprising number of non-comic suspense sequences here, although Skelton’s usual brand of humour eventually wins the day. An extended sequence takes place in a baseball stadium, starring then-celebrities. Whistling in Brooklyn is not a great or even a good movie, but if you’re a good public for Skelton’s humour and can tolerate an hour and a half of silly crime comedy, then it will do just the trick.

(Second viewing, On Cable TV, September 2022) The beauty of movie marathons on TCM is that it’s so easy to hit “record” and re-watch something in the wake of catching another similar film.  So it is that watching Whistling in Brooklyn right after seeing Whistling in the Dark made perfect sense.  Not that there’s much narrative continuity between the installments.  This one once again has Red Skelton playing radio writer/star “The Fox”, this time mistaken for a murderer and forced to run around Brooklyn, eventually making his way to a baseball game.  Some of the episodes along the way are amusing – there’s an extended set-piece set in an elevator shaft that’s quite good fun, and the comic potential of a famous person trying to pass unnoticed in Brooklyn is used effectively.  Skelton’s protagonist feels a bit dumber here than in previous installments (probably a case of playing closer to his screen persona), but Ann Rutherford is a doll as usual – and this time she gets her man.  It makes for a decent end to a mostly-unplanned trilogy that has a few chuckles in store.  I’d happily buy the DVD set if it was cheap enough.