Adapted and directed by elliott nugent the male animal, the cat and the canary, whistling in the dark is light on its feet, spry in its humor and sure to prompt you to raise a toast to crime. Henry gordon, johnny hines, joseph cawthorn, nat pendleton. Whistling in the dark 1933 elliott nugent synopsis. Join sign up keep track of your favorite shows and movies, across all your. Whistling in the dark was codirected by elliott nugent and charles reisner, from nugents screenplay. Learn more about what this exciting era of classic film was by clicking here. This film is a lot of fun, not quite a bulls eye, but close enough. Leader joesph jones decides to hurry the process along and kidnaps wally benton. Red skelton, ann rutherford, conrad veidt, virginia grey, eve arden, rags ragland, henry oneill, the brooklyn dodgers, william frawley, george bancroft, guy kibbee, s. Its not very ambitious i honestly spent most of the film thinking it was a 1931 release since it contained relatively few sets and rare camera movementsbut truexs deadpan stylings make this a nice watch for a quiet, cool evening in. A scene from the 1933 film whistling in the dark with ernest truex, una merkel and nat pendleton.
See what the critics had to say and watch the trailer. I purchased the vhs copies of these great films quite a few years back before dvds they are definitely keepers. Whistling in the dark ernest truex una merkel edward arnold 1933 a crime writer ernest truex impresses a speakeasy owner and his goons with the plot for a perfect murder, then must prevent it. Notes about whistling in the dark, 1933, directed by elliott nugent, with ernest truex, una merkel, edward arnold, available from turner classic movies skip navigation tcm. All whistling in the dark movie posters,high res movie posters image for whistling in the dark. The photo on his letterboxd page, where hes shown appearing older and more dignified than in whistling in the dark, looks vaguely familiar, though he didnt make much of an impression in any of those movies. Though based on a stage play by laurence gross and edward childs carpenter previously filmed as an ernest truex vehicle in 1933, mgms whistling in the dark was clearly inspired by the success of paramounts bob hope comedymystery the ghost breakers. A dull, uninspired script that mixes comedy with suspense is the main reason why whistling in the dark gets stuck in a very dated 30s groove and stays there. The confusion between benton and his crimesolving persona results in a rather perilous situation when cult leader. The nearest house happens to be edward arnold mob attorney who is hosting mob kingpin c.
Elliot nugents slow moving direction isnt light enough to keep the comedy aspects in focus. Whistling in the dark 1933 is an enjoyable comedic crime film recently released by the warner archive. The plot concerns a mystery writer whose scheme for a perfect murder comes to the attention of a gangster edward arnold, who plans to use it. Whistling in the dark 1933 the movie database tmdb. Whistling in the dark 1932 play starring ernest truex whistling in the dark, another adaptation of the play, starring red skelton. Whistling in the dark 1941 stream and watch online. Whistling in the dark, dvd, manufactured on demand, full frame, amaray case, mystery suspense, comedyclassic, 888574475048. Red skelton whistling collection whistling in the dark whistling in dixie whistling in brooklyn. A scene from the 1933 film whistling in the dark with ernest truex and una merkel. Buy whistling in the dark dvd manufactured on demand, full frame, amaray case at. Ernest truex, una merkel, edward arnold, john miljan, c.
Whistling in the dark manufactured on demand, full frame. Read the full synopsis of whistling in the dark, 1933, directed by elliott nugent, with ernest truex, una merkel, edward arnold, at turner classic movies skip navigation tcm. Whistling in the dark 1933 cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. Radio crime show host the fox along with his fiancee and exgirlfriend are kidnapped by a larcenous cult who demand that he help them plan a perfect murder. Though based on a stage play by laurence gross and edward childs carpenter previously filmed as an ernest truex vehicle in 1933, mgms whistling in the dark was clearly inspired by the success of. Overview of whistling in the dark, 1933, directed by elliott nugent, with ernest truex, una merkel, edward arnold, at turner classic movies. Wally is kidnapped by a greedy cult leader played by conrad veidt, who threatens to kill wallys girlfriend portrayed in all three films by ann rutherford and another young woman unless he.
A mystery writer and his sweetheart are held hostage by a fugitive gangster, who hopes to enlist their help in devising the perfect crime. Red skelton whistling collection whistling in the dark. Whistling in the dark 1933 whistling in the dark 1933. The skelton is a better film, better written even if you think hes a ham, and better paced.
Discover what genre whistling in the dark, 1933, directed by elliott nugent, with ernest truex, una merkel, edward arnold, belongs at turner classic movies. In his first film starring role, red skelton plays radio actor wally benton, better known to his fans as that intrepid crimesolver the fox. Henry gordon and gunsills john miljan and nat pendleton. Whistling in the dark 1933 a crime writer ernest truex impresses a speakeasy owner and his goons with the plot for a perfect murder, then must prevent it. Whistling in the dark 1933 directed by elliott nugent.
Agreed, enest truex and una merkel are an orignial and entertaining couple. Whistling in the dark is a 1941 comedy film directed by s. In this film i thought he was a competent leading man. With red skelton, conrad veidt, ann rutherford, virginia grey. Whistling in the dark, a 2006 album by terry garland. It is the first of three films starring red skelton as wally the fox benton, who writes and acts in radio murder mysteries. Released 1941, whistling in the dark stars red skelton, ann rutherford, virginia grey, conrad veidt the movie has a runtime of about 1 hr 17 min, and received a score of out of 100 on. Whistling in the dark has mild mannered ernest truex who is eloping with the lovely una merkel when their car breaks down. Wally benton red skelton isnt a detective, but he plays one on the radio. The screenplay was in turn based on a 1932 play by laurence gross and edward childs carpenter. A scene from the 1941 film whistling in the dark with red skelton and ann rutherford. Provided to youtube by rhino whistling in the dark they might be giants flood. This movie was remade less than 10 years later and starred red skeltonthis 1941 version is much more famous, though i havent yet seen it.