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Red Skelton

Panama Hattie (1942) starring Red Skelton, Ann Sothern, Rags Ragland, Virginia O'Brien

Panama Hattie

Panama Hattie (1942) starring Red Skelton, Ann Sothern, Rags Ragland, Virginia O’Brien Synopsis In Panama Hattie, the brassy but gold-hearted proprietress of a Canal Zone hotel, where… Read More »Panama Hattie

Red Skelton’s eye exam – From Red’s opening monologue on “The Red Skelton Show” (January 25, 1971) – Red talks about a visit to his eye doctor.

Red Skelton’s eye exam

Red Skelton‘s eye exam – From Red’s opening monologue on “The Red Skelton Show” (January 25, 1971) – Red talks about a visit to his eye doctor.

This doctor starts examining my eyes, now you’ve got to hear some of the conversation that went on. I said, “The eye’s making me dizzy.”

He said, “Well, let’s not blame it on the eye.”Read More »Red Skelton’s eye exam

Flight Command (1940) starring Rod Taylor, Walter Pidgeon, Ruth Hussey, Red Skelton

Flight Command

Flight Command (1940) starring Rod Taylor, Walter Pidgeon, Ruth Hussey, Red Skelton

Buy from Amazon.com I originally watched  Flight Command because it was one of Red Skelton‘s earliest movie roles — which is technically true; Red’s in the film as part of the Hellcats squadron, acting as the class clown, but he’s definitely a secondary character.  Flight Command is primarily about a brash young pilot, Alan Drake (played by Robert Taylor) who’s recruited straight out of college to join the premier squad of Navy Hellcats.  

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Half a Hero, starring Red Skelton, Jean Hagen

Half a Hero (1953)

Synopsis of Half a Hero, starring Red Skelton, Jean Hagen

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

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Christmas with Red Skelton, featuring €The Cop and the Anthem and Freddie and the Yuletide Doll featuring Freddie the Freeloader

Christmas with Red Skelton – DVD

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.

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Merton of the Movies, starring Red Skelton, Virginia O'Brien

Merton of the Movies

Movie review of Merton of the Movies (1947), starring Red Skelton, Virginia O’Brien

Merton of the Movies is set in the silent movie era of Hollywood. Red Skelton plays the part of Gil Merton, a naive, movie-struck young man. He’s given a chance to be a star …. But he doesn’t realize it. A very funny, and sweet, Red Skelton movie co-starring Virginia O’Brien.

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Ship Ahoy - a musical comedy starring Eleanor Powell, Red Skelton, Bert Lahr, Virginia O'brien

Ship Ahoy [Eleanor Powell, Red Skelton]

Ship Ahoy (1942) – Red Skelton, Bert Lahr, Eleanor Powell, Virginia O’Brien

Ship Ahoy is a very funny musical-comedy-romance from MGM that begins with Bert Lahr (the Cowardly Lion from The Wizard of Oz) in one of his rare film appearances playing Skip Owens.  Skip has fallen hopelessly in love with stage dancer Fran Evans (Virginia O’Brien). She is about to leave for Manila along with the Tommy Dorsey band and the rest of her troupe. The troupe is headlined by Tallulah Winters (Eleanor Powell).   Tallulah is a talented dancer who is taken to see a government agent. He wants her to smuggle a magnetic mine to their people in Manila.

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