Biography of Red Skelton (July 18, 1913 – September 17, 1997)“If some day you’re not feeling well, you should remember some little thing I have said or done and if it brings a smile to your face or a chuckle to your heart then my purpose as a clown has been fulfilled.”—Red Skelton Continue reading
movie review of A Southern Yankee (1948) starring Red Skelton, Arlene Dahl, Brian Donlevy
A Southern Yankee is a very funny movie, set at the tail end of the American Civil War, where Red Skelton plays the role of Aubrey Filmore, an inept bellboy at a Northern hotel, who manages to catch “the Grey Spider”, a very famous (and dangerous) Southern spy. He quickly falls in love with Sallyann, a Southern nurse (played by the lovely and talented Arlene Dahl), who has come to lead the Grey Spider to a meeting with other Southern undercover spies in the North, who have pieced together the Northern strategy for an upcoming battle. In short order, Red Skelton is tasked with continuing his impersonation, taking false plans to the Confederacy Continue reading
Red Skelton Whistling Collection (Whistling in the Dark, Whistling in Dixie, Whistling in Brooklyn)
Red Skelton made dozens of movies in his career, but three of his best were Whistling in the Dark, Whistling in Dixie, and Whistling in Brooklyn—a trilogy of movies where Red plays the role of Wally Benton, aka. “The Fox”, a radio detective who writes and solves his weekly murder mysteries—and keeps getting pulled into real-life murder mysteries as well, along with his long-suffering fiancée (played by Ann Rutherford)—a recurring theme in all three movies has them trying to elope, only to keep being interrupted by those pesky murders Continue reading
Christmas with Red Skelton, featuring ‘The Cop and the Anthem’ and ‘Freddie and the Yuletide Doll’ featuring Freddie the Freeloader
The title, “Christmas with Red Skelton,” could perhaps have been “Christmas with Freddie the Freeloader.” On this DVD are two Christmas episodes of The Red Skelton Show, both featuring Red Skelton’s hobo character, Freddie the Freeloader. Both are absolute classics. Continue reading
Whistling in Dixie (1942) starring Red Skelton, Ann Rutherford, Rags Ragland
In the sequel to Whistling in the Dark, Red Skelton again plays the role of Wally Benton, ‘The Fox’ – a radio detective, who simply wants to take off two weeks of vacation so he can get married to his long-suffering fiancee Carol Lambert (played by Ann Rutherford). Wally pretends to be on the verge of a nervous breakdown in order to twist his radio sponsor’s arm in order to get that vacation, only to have Carol change their plans when she’s contacted by Ellamae, her sorority sister from Georgia, U.S.A., whose boyfriend has appeared to have been murdered. Carol convinces Wally to go down to Georgia to get married, and Wally complies, only to get involved in the unraveling mystery. Continue reading
Movie review of Merton of the Movies (1947), starring Red Skelton, Virginia O’Brien
In Merton of the Movies, Red Skelton plays the role of Gil Merton, a star-struck movie usher in Tinkerton, Kansas in 1915, a man who dreams of becoming a great dramatic actor in silent movies. Despite his mail-order diploma from the “famous” Budolph School of Dramatic Arts, Gil is going nowhere fast, until he’s fired from his job as movie usher and ineptly prevents a robbery at the box office, imitating the screen antics of his movie hero, Lawrence Rupert. As a publicity stunt, Rupert invites Merton to Hollywood, where the star-struck Merton keeps trying to tell Rupert how much he thinks of him, only to be interrupted by the various public relations people. Afterward, Merton is left on his own; rather than returning to Kansas Continue reading
Whistling in Brooklyn (1943) starring Red Skelton, Ann Rutherford, Rags Ragland
Whistling in Brooklyn is the third and final installment of Red Skelton‘s “Whistling” series, and that’s a crying shame; all three movies are comedy gems, and Whistling in Brooklyn is no exception. At the beginning of Whistling in Brooklyn, Wally Benton (Red Skelton), aka. “The Fox”, is finishing broadcasting his weekly radio murder mystery program, and trying to dash off to get married to his long-suffering fiancee, Carol Lambert (Ann Rutherford). As they try to pack up and get out, it’s a very funny scene with their chauffeur, Sylvester (Rags Ragland reprising his role from the previous two films). One of the highlights of the film is the verbal jousting between Rags and Red Skelton. At the same time, there’s a series of murders occurring in the city, with the mysterious “Constant Reader” sending letters to a newspaper taunting the police. Continue reading
Excuse My Dust (1951) starring Red Skelton, Sally Forest, MacDonald Carey, William DemarestExcuse My Dust is a musical vehicle for Red Skelton, set in 1895, that deals with the issues of progress and the resistance to it. It stars Red Skelton as Joe Belden, a young inventor who’s determined to build a “horseless carriage”—this complicates things, since he’s in love with Liz Bullitt (Sally Forest), whose father (played by William Demarest, best remembered for his role of Uncle Charlie on My Three Sons) runs the local livery stable, and sees the “horseless carriage” as a threat to his livelihood Continue reading
Red Skelton’s HBO Special – Funny Faces III
Although only 52 minutes long, this video is packed with laughter and character. Any clown would do well to watch and learn from one of the masters of this craft. Recorded live at Hamilton Place, Hamilton, Ontario, this is a one-man show by Red Skelton. The aged Red Skelton clearly hasn’t lost his touch, as he does some of his most famous characters, including the country bumpkin Clem Kadiddlehopper, as well as some truly hilarious pantomime, including a doctor who has to inoculate a whale—one of my favorite routines from this video. He also does some excellent interactions with the audience, which I won’t spoil by detailing here.
If you are a clown, you are well-served how this aged master is able to pull humor out of almost any situation; if you’re not, it’s simply a wonderful collection of laughter that will do you good to watch.
I rate it 4 clowns on a 5-clown scale.
Courtesy of Clown Ministry
Whistling in the Dark (1941) starring Red Skelton, Conrad Veidt, Ann Rutherford, Eve Arden, Rags Ragland
Whistling in the Dark was Red Skelton‘s first starring role, and gave him opportunity to strut his comedic muscles. The movie begins with the meeting an odd cult, Silver Haven—“We part in radiant contentment”—which is quickly revealed as a scheme to bilk gullible people out of their money. One such gullible follower has just passed away leaving the leader of the cult, played menacingly by Conrad Veidt, a million dollars. However, he won’t actually inherit the money until her sole surviving relative passes away. Not wanting to wait, but also not wanting to be connected to the murder, the cult leader gets a brain storm as one of his henchmen is listening on the radio to the weekly murder mystery, “The Fox”. Playing the role of radio detective “The Fox” (aka. Wally Benton), Red Skelton’s gimmick is that he creates and solves each week’s murder mystery by himself Continue reading