Whistling in the Dark (1941)

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Thanks for the memories!

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

This was really the first film in which Red Skelton was the star, rather than a supporting character. And while it was a B movie, it was a good one that received a fair amount of acclaim for Skelton. The general shtick is a good, but common one in that era -- a sort of twist between gangsters and spooks.Here, Red plays Wally Benton, the star of a radio mystery series; he's "The Fox", an expert criminologist (and accidentally a goofball). He plans to elope with his girlfriend Ann Rutherford, but his agent urges him to also date the sponsor's daughter to assure that his show is not canceled. Meanwhile, Conrad Veidt runs a religious cult that preys on the wills of oldsters, mostly women. One member has died and bequeathed a life interest in $1,000,000 to a nephew (Lloyd Corrigan), with the principal going to Silver Haven only after Upshaw's death. Veidt is determined to have Upshaw murdered so that the money will come straight to the cult. Members of the cult develop a plan to have "The Fox" develop a fool proof murder. Kidnappings ensure, and the bumbling Skeleton tries to save himself and his two female paramours. Can "The Fox" save the women and prevent the murder? How he does it is rather clever.Red Skelton, in his first starring vehicle, is very good here, although he got even better in the two sequels. This is a good role for Conrad Veidt as the head of the phony religion; must have been a nice change not playing a Nazi in the World War II era! Ann Rutherford was a good romantic interest for Red. "Rags" Ragland, who later played Red's pal, in this film was one of the reprobates, but did so nicely. Venerable character actor Henry O'Neill is along as the sponsor of Red's radio program. Eve Arden is here as Red's manager, but has little to do, and that's a shame...but she was a known scene stealer.If there's a criticism here it's that about two-thirds of the way through the film it lags a bit, but then comes on stronger at the end. Aside from that, it's a pretty refreshing B movie. Recommended, particularly to see the young Red Skelton.

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.

Like the Road To Singapore which was the debut and yet the weakest of the Road films for Crosby and Hope, Whistling In The Dark which was Red Skelton's starring debut was overall rather weak, but definitely shows Red Skelton's zany comedy style. He did two more films as radio detective Wally Benton aka the Fox, Whistling In Dixie and Whistling In Brooklyn that were better than this one.The fact that smooth and clever villain Conrad Veidt who runs a spiritualist racket would need help from Red Skelton to construct a perfect murder is dopey on the face of it. Still Skelton is kidnapped by Veidt and along with him are two women that he's been seeing, Ann Rutherford and Virginia Grey, and he's got to come up with a foolproof method of homicide. Nobody notices that in addition to being a performer and writer, Skelton is also something of a fool.But that's what makes the weak premised film provide a lot of laughs with Grey, Rutherford, and even Veidt joining in on the general hilarity. And I do love the way Red apparently has a knowledge of electronics and makes the villain's radio receiver set a broadcast method. Can't be a complete fool to devise that.Though the succeeding Fox films were better, Whistling In The Dark will provide a great introduction to the comedy stylings of Red Skelton.

While many pass this off as a B movie it is, indeed, a first class comedy that is well-written and acted. Red Skelton is great as Wally Benton better known to radio fans as The Fox. Ann Rutherford is perfect as Wally's fiance Carol Lambert. Conrad Veidt leads a very well cast gang of criminals. I read one account of this movie which states that Vincente Minelli directed this film, not unless he changed his name to S. Sylvan Simon, who directed all three of the Fox movies. This is a very entertaining film made when imagination was encouraged. So get over your black and white prejudice if you have one, sit back and enjoy a truly great comedy. This was also Red's first starring role. Take note during the climax of the reference to Orson Welles' War Of the Worlds broadcast.