VeteranLight I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Platicsco Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Teringer An Exercise In Nonsense

Caryl It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

JohnHowardReid Red Skelton (Wally Benton), Ann Rutherford (Carol Lambert), George Bancroft (Stagg), Guy Kibbee (Judge Lee), Diana Lewis (Ellamae Downs), Peter Whitney (District Attorney Bailie), Rags Ragland (Chester Conway/Sylvester Conway), Celia Travers (Hattie Lee), Lucien Littlefield (Corporal Lucken), Louis Mason (Deputy Lem), Mark Daniels (Martin Gordon), Emmett Vogan (radio producer), Pierre Watkin (doctor), Hal Le Sueur (sound effects man), Hobart Cavanaugh ("Hanky" Panky), Norman Abbott (attendant), Joseph Crehan (deputy police commissioner), Charles Lung (Brunner), John Wald (radio announcer), Billie "Buckwheat" Thomas (boy who gives directions).Director: S. SYLVAN SIMON. Screenplay: Nat Perrin. Additional dialogue: Wilkie C. Mahoney. Uncredited screenplay contributors: Jonathan Latimer, Lawrence Hazard. Film editor: Frank Sullivan. Photography: Clyde De Vinna. Art directors: Cedric Gibbons and Gabriel Scognamillo. Set decorators: Edwin B. Willis and Keogh Gleason. Costumes designed by Howard Shoup. Music: Lennie Hayton. Assistant director: Hayes Goetz. Stunts: Gil Perkins. Sound supervisor: Douglas Shearer. Western Electric Sound Recording. Producer: George Haight. Copyright 2 September 1942 by Loew's, Inc. A Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Picture. New York opening at Loew's Criterion: 30 December 1942. Australian release: 2 December 1943 (sic). 6,628 feet. 74 minutes. SYNOPSIS: Wally Benton, alias "The Fox" (a super-sleuth of the airwaves), doesn't want to get married in Georgia, but his bride-to- be insists on answering a call for help from a former sorority sister.NOTES: Second of the three Whistling movies. The others: Whistling in the Dark (1941) and Whistling in Brooklyn (1943). All were directed by S. Sylvan Simon, and all three starred Red Skelton and Ann Rutherford.COMMENT: Oh, what a funny film! True, it takes a while to start producing more than an occasional mild chuckle, but the screenplay cleverly builds up to an absolutely side-splitting series of suspensefully comic misadventures. The last half-hour is uproariously funny. In fact the sequence in which the doddering corporal attempts to open a locked door gets my vote as the Most Amusing Scene of All Time. Even Mr. Skelton (who tries hard — perhaps too hard — from go to whoa), finally manages to raise a really good laugh or two, although he is brilliantly upstaged by both Lucien Littlefield (whose Civil War veteran is handed the most glorious lines and bits of business in the movie) and feisty Rags Ragland (who is most inventively assisted by some of the neatest special effects work I've ever seen). Blustering George Bancroft deserves an honorable Guernsey too. The episode in which he is ingeniously and hilariously relieved of his jacket and vest is another stunner. I liked Hobart Cavanaugh's scene at the License Office too. In fact the whole support cast is top-notch. Simon's direction is smooth as silk. And by "B" standards, production values are incredibly proficient. Only a couple of obvious backdrops give the tight budget away.

edwagreen Less than enthusiastic 1942 Red Skelton vehicle where he stars as a radio sleuth who goes with his girlfriend down south to get married, and instead both get caught up in a supposed murder mystery.Rags Ragland steals the film playing twin brothers- a chauffeur and convicted killer who escapes and is constantly confusing Skelton in the resulting mayhem that ensues.3 years after Gone With the Wind, Ann Rutherford is reduced to playing his girlfriend, literally up to her neck in adventure.Trouble is that in this less than 75 minute film, the real killers are identified and all concerned are trapped below with water sprouting as they are slowly drowning. Of course, they have to find a way out of their dilemma. The picture couldn't really find a way out of its dilemma, unfortunately.

tavm This was the first time I've seen one of Red Skelton's "Whistling" movies. Seeing him always about to act crazy whenever someone mentions "murder" was good for some laughs as was some of his wisecracks and a few slapstick moments. Rags Ragsland was also good playing two roles as both a good and bad guy. Ann Rutherford made a nice foil for Red. After a while, some of the dialogue and action threatened to seem repetitious but by the climax, a few more laughs were earned. Anyway, overall, I was pretty entertained by Whistling in Dixie. P.S. The reason I watched this just now is because since I recently watched the Our Gang shorts in chronological order, I thought I'd also look at some of the films outside of the series that featured it least one member. This one had a scene with Billie "Buckwheat" Thomas talking to Rags.

blanche-2 Red Skelton and Ann Rutherford are "Whistling in Dixie" in this 1942 programmer also starring Guy Kibbee and Rags Ragland (in a dual role). Skelton played the role of Wally Benton a couple of times. On radio, Benton is "The Fox," a detective, but in his private life he gets dragged into real mysteries as well. This one is at the behest of a friend of his fiancé's (Rutherford) who asks them to come to Georgia to investigate a murder.There are some funny moments in this film, but it's rather silly, with a lot of corny jokes, funny faces from Skelton and slapstick. Actually Skelton is much better when he's straightforward - he comes off as sweet, sincere and natural.Some of the supporting cast has the worst southern accents I've ever heard. It's hard to blame them, though, because these types of films were made very quickly. I'm sure they had no dialect coach. However, the horrible accents were very distracting.Okay, but "The Fox" isn't one of my favorite detectives.