In Watch The Birdie, Red Skelton plays his normal lovable klutz (Rusty Cammeron), who runs a camera shop with him father (also played by Red Skelton, using his Newton J. Numbskull character) — and his grandfather (also played by Red, in a variation on his San Fernando Red Character). However, between the three of them, the store is nearly bankrupt, owing over $1,100 (a large sum in 1950).
Thousands Cheer is a musical romance, set in the U.S.A. during World War II. The first half of the movie deals with Kathryn Roberts (played by Kathryn Grayson). She’s a concert singer who is retiring from the stage to work on putting on shows for the Army, to help morale. This is also designed to let her bond with her father, an Army colonel. Whom she hasn’t seen since she was a baby, after her parents’ divorce.
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Red Skelton stars as Ben Dobson, a freelance writer who no sooner starts working full-time as a rewrite man at a magazine than his wife (Jean Hagen) decides that they should have their first child. Afterward, she pushes him into moving from New York City to the suburbs. Here he is nickel and dimed to the verge of bankruptcy. Until his boss gives him his first chance at writing his own article for this national magazine. An article talking about the “slums of tomorrow” — the suburbs
Read More »Half a Hero (1953)
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… Read More »A Southern Yankee
Having just watched Red Skelton in the serious drama, The Clown, my first reaction is simply, “wow. ” Although it stars Red Skelton, and deals with a clown/comedian as the central character, The Clown is not a comedy. It is a very serious drama, which left me with a new respect for Red Skelton’s acting ability.
In the sequel to Whistling in the Dark, Red Skelton again plays the role of Wally Benton, ‘The Fox‘. He’s 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 (Diana Lewis), her sorority sister from Georgia, U.S.A. Ellamae’s boyfriend appears to have been murdered. Carol convinces Wally to go down to Georgia to get married. Wally complies, only to get involved in the unraveling mystery.
Read More »Whistling in Dixie
Movie review of Red Skelton’s third, and final, appearance as Wally Benton, aka. The Fox. He’s a radio personality and amateur detective. In this installment, The Fox is still trying to marry his fiancee. But he’s on the run from the police after being blamed for multiple murders. Murders committed by the mysterious “Constant Reader”! Danger and comedy in equal parts, with an appearance by the Brooklyn Dodgers as well!
Read More »Whistling in Brooklyn
Excuse 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 Forrest), 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.
Whistling in the Dark was Red Skelton‘s first starring role, and gave him the opportunity to strut his comedic muscles. The movie begins with the meeting an odd cult, Silver Haven. “We part in radiant contentment,” is their recurring phrase. Silver Haven is quickly revealed as a scheme to bilk gullible people out of their money.
Read More »Whistling in the Dark