Connection
Whistling in the Dark is a american film of genre Comedy directed by S. Sylvan Simon released in USA on 8 august 1941 with Red Skelton
Whistling in the Dark (1941)
If you like this film, let us know!
- Infos
- Casting
- Technical infos
- Photos
- Videos
- Film quotes
- Characters
- Music
- Awards
Add to a movie listReleased in USA 8 august 1941
Length 1h18
Directed by S. Sylvan Simon
OriginUSA
Themes Films based on plays
Rating66%
Whistling in the Dark is the first of three comedy films starring Red Skelton as Wally "the Fox" Benton, who writes and acts in radio murder mysteries. Wally is kidnapped by a greedy cult leader (played by Conrad Veidt), who threatens to kill Wally's girlfriend (portrayed in all three films by Ann Rutherford) and another young woman unless he concocts a perfect murder. The film was based on the Broadway play of the same name by Laurence Gross and Edward Childs Carpenter. Uncredited contributing writer Elliott Nugent wrote and directed the earlier film adaptation of the same name.
The two sequels are Whistling in Dixie (1942) and Whistling in Brooklyn (1943).
Synopsis
Wally Benton (Red Skelton) is the star of a mystery series on radio, The Fox, which he writes himself, inventing for each episode a crime that has "only one loophole" so the criminal can be caught. He is about to elope with Carol Lambert (Ann Rutherford), but his agent (Eve Arden) tells him he must go out with the sponsor's daughter, Fran Post (Virginia Grey), or risk his show being canceled.Actors
Red Skelton
(Wally Benton)
Conrad Veidt
(Joseph Jones)
Ann Rutherford
(Carol Lambert)
Virginia Grey
('Fran' Post)
Rags Ragland
(Sylvester)
Comments
Leave comment :
Suggestions of similar film to Whistling in the Dark
There are 188 films with the same actors, 32 films with the same director, 58872 with the same cinematographic genres (including 418 with exactly the same 3 genres than Whistling in the Dark), 4292 films with the same themes, to have finally 70 suggestions of similar films.If you liked Whistling in the Dark, you will probably like those similar films :
Whistling in Brooklyn (1943)
, 1h27Directed by S. Sylvan Simon
Origin USA
Genres Comedy, Crime, Romance
Actors Red Skelton, Ann Rutherford, Jean Rogers, Rags Ragland, Ray Collins, Henry O'Neill
Rating66%
Whistling in Dixie (1942)
, 1h14Directed by S. Sylvan Simon
Origin USA
Genres Comedy, Crime
Actors Red Skelton, Ann Rutherford, Guy Kibbee, Diana Lewis, George Bancroft, Peter Whitney
Rating64%
The Cockeyed Miracle (1946)
, 1h21Directed by S. Sylvan Simon
Origin USA
Genres Comedy, Fantasy
Themes Films based on plays
Actors Frank Morgan, Keenan Wynn, Audrey Totter, Cecil Kellaway, Richard Quiney, Gladys Cooper
Rating66%
Aging shipbuilder Sam Griggs (Frank Morgan) is near the end of his career due to health problems. With the help of his friend Tom Carter (Cecil Kellaway) he has invested all of his family's money in a shaky real estate venture which he hopes will provide a large return. The rest of his family is happily unaware of the deal, preoccupied with their own future prospects.
Du Barry was a Lady (1943)
, 1h41Directed by Roy Del Ruth
Origin USA
Genres Science fiction, Comedy, Fantasy, Musical, Romance
Themes Films about music and musicians, Théâtre, Musical films, Films based on plays, Films based on musicals
Actors Red Skelton, Lucille Ball, Gene Kelly, Virginia O'Brien, Zero Mostel, Rags Ragland
Rating60%
May Daly, une danseuse, est aimée par deux hommes : Louis Blore et Alec Howe. Par rivalité, Louis verse une drogue dans le verre d'Alec, mais par erreur il boit lui-même le verre. Louis rêve alors qu'il est Louis XV et retrouve May en Madame du Barry.
The Fuller Brush Man (1948)
, 1h33Directed by S. Sylvan Simon
Origin USA
Genres Comedy, Adventure, Crime, Romance
Actors Red Skelton, Janet Blair, Don McGuire, Hillary Brooke, Adele Jergens, Trudy Marshall
Rating67%
Success doesn't exactly stare the unfortunate street cleaner Red Jones (Red Skelton) in the eye, and when he decides to propose to his sweetheart Ann Elliot (Janet Blair), who is a secretary at the Fuller Brush company, she demands that he makes something more of himself before she can accept the offer. She suggests he should follow the example of a salesman and friend of hers, Keenan Wallick (Don McGuire), who works at her company. Red gets a chance to prove himself worthy sooner than he had expected when he is fired from his job as a cleaner by his boss, Gordon Trist (Nicholas Joy), because he accidentally sets a trash can on fire in the line of duty, and smashes Trist's car window. Ann gets him a chance to show his skills as a door-to-door salesman for the Fuller Brush company, and he is teamed up with her friend Keenan. Both Ann and Red are unaware that Keenan himself had a romantic interest in Ann, and wants to get Red out of the way as soon as possible, so he can pursue Ann without competition. Keenan assigns Red a list of the hardest homes, and Red fails tremendously with his task of selling to an almost impossible potential customer. He has a comical run-in with a troublesome small boy, and a beautiful model at another home tries to seduce him. Seeing how unsuccessful Red's sales attempts are, Keenan comes up with the idea of a bet - the winner gets to pursue Ann without interference of the other man - which he suggests to Red. The bet is that Red won't be able to sell a single brush to the households on their run. Red takes the bet, and the next household on their run is the mansion of his old boss Gordon Trist. After Red tries to hide from Gordon and the groundskeeper, Gordon recognizes Red and sends him packing, but his wife comes after Red and buys ten brushes from him. Red returns to Anna and Keenan with high spirit, until he realizes he forgot to collect the payment money from Mrs Trist. When Red comes back to the Trist home, he overhears a conversation between his former boss, Keenan, Gregory Cruckston (Donald Curtis) and a few other persons, as they discuss their involvement in a racketeering operation. Red is caught eavesdropping and knocked unconscious after he is brought into the house. When he comes back to life, Gordon has been murdered in the dark, and everyone present in the house is arrested by police lieutenant Quint (Arthur Space), all suspected of murder. Red is released since there is no evidence pointing to him being the killer, and when he comes home he discovers Mrs Trist (Hillary Brooke) waiting for him with the money. Soon after, Anna arrives to his home, and shortly after that Freddie Trist (Ross Ford), Gordon's son, with two armed gangsters. The gangsters hold everyone hostage as they search in vain for the murder weapon that killed Gordon. Ann and Red concludes that the weapon must have been a Fuller brush, molded into a knife-looking object. Cruckston stops them from telling policeman Quint about the weapon, and it turns out Cruckston, who is Gordon's partner in crime, is the murderer. Ann and Red escape from him and his gangsters. Cruckston is arrested and Red is the hero of the day, winning Ann's heart in the process.
Grand Central Murder (1942)
, 1h13Directed by S. Sylvan Simon
Origin USA
Genres Comedy, Crime
Themes Transport films, Rail transport films
Actors Van Heflin, Patricia Dane, Sam Levene, Stephen McNally, Cecilia Parker, Millard Mitchell
Rating64%
Convicted murderer "Turk" (Stephen McNally) escapes from police custody, crashing through a washroom window as a train pulls into Grand Central Station in New York. He telephones his former girlfriend, Broadway star Mida King (Patricia Dane), and threatens to kill her. She leaves her show between acts and hides in a private train car on a siding at the station, planning to leave town and marry her rich, high society fiance, David V. Henderson (Mark Daniels). However, her body is found by David and his ex-fiancee, Connie Furness (Cecilia Parker).
Lovely to Look At (1952)
, 1h41Directed by Mervyn LeRoy, Vincente Minnelli
Origin USA
Genres Comedy, Musical theatre, Musical, Romance
Themes Films about music and musicians, Musical films, Films based on plays, Films based on musicals
Actors Kathryn Grayson, Red Skelton, Howard Keel, Marge Champion, Gower Champion, Ann Miller
Rating61%
Tony Naylor, Al Marsh and Jerry Ralby are looking for backers for their new Broadway show. They have just run out of options when Al gets a letter from his Aunt's attorneys and finds he is a part-owner of a dress salon in Paris. Thinking to sell his share, he, Jerry, and Tony fly to Paris, only to find the shop is almost bankrupt. There they also find Stephanie and Clarisse, who own the other shares of the business. Tony is able to convince the anxious creditors to back a fashion show, hoping to put the shop back on top. As the plot progresses, Tony is torn between his growing affection for Stephanie and his desire to finance his show. Meanwhile, Jerry falls for Clarisse, and Al has a crush on Stephanie. Eventually, Al goes for Bubbles, who has followed the boys from New York.
Having Wonderful Time (1938)
, 1h10Directed by Robert Parrish, Alfred Santell, James Anderson
Origin USA
Genres Comedy, Romantic comedy, Romance
Themes Transport films, Films based on plays, Road movies
Actors Ginger Rogers, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Lucille Ball, Eve Arden, Red Skelton, Lee Bowman
Rating59%
Bored New York office girl Teddy (Ginger Rogers), goes to a camp in the Catskill Mountains called Camp Kare Free, for rest and to get away from the noisy, busy, city life and avoid advances from Emil. She meets and at first does not like waiter Chick, Douglas Fairbanks Jr. She also meets friend Faye, her roommate Miriam, and Buzzy. Miriam has eyes for Buzzy, who seems to have eyes for everyone. Within her two-week stay, Teddy and Chick fall in love and spend every day together.
Casablanca (1943)
, 1h42Directed by Michael Curtiz
Origin USA
Genres Drama, War, Crime, Melodrama, Romance
Themes Films set in Africa, Political films, Films based on plays
Actors Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid, Claude Rains, Conrad Veidt, Sydney Greenstreet
Rating84%
Set in December, 1941, American expatriate Rick Blaine is the proprietor of an upscale nightclub and gambling den in Casablanca. "Rick's Café Américain" attracts a varied clientele: Vichy French, Italian, and German officials; refugees desperate to reach the still neutral United States; and those who prey on them. Although Rick professes to be neutral in all matters, it is later revealed he ran guns to Ethiopia during its war with Italy and fought on the Loyalist side against the fascist Nationalists in the Spanish Civil War.
Dancing Co-Ed (1939)
, 1h24Directed by S. Sylvan Simon
Origin USA
Genres Comedy, Romantic comedy, Romance
Actors Lana Turner, Richard Carlson, Ann Rutherford, Lee Bowman, Thurston Hall, Leon Errol
Rating63%
When a dancer's partner becomes pregnant, a nationwide search is instituted to find a replacement from among college women. A perfect choice is found, but she is not in school, resulting in various hijinks.