Director: S. Sylvan Simon
The last of Red Skelton’s Whistling trilogy, this installment involves the same formula as its predecessors but with distinctly higher production values. This time, The Fox (Skelton) finds himself the prime suspect in a murder investigation and is on the run from both the police and the mob while he tries to clear his name by finding the real killer. Whistling in Dixie upped the intensity of the first film by including a long suspense sequence involving a potential drowning, and that sense of high stakes action is replicated here with a very effective set piece that takes place in an elevator shaft. Furthermore, Skelton’s skills as a physical comedian are more pronounced than in the other installments, with director S. Sylvan Simon allowing more of the laughs to come from his bodily control than his one-liners–in the most memorable sequence, Skelton finds himself participating in a baseball game at Ebbets Field while in disguise as a pitcher. Ann Rutherford and Rags Ragland deliver their dependably excellent performances, and Jean Rogers is amusing as a nasally reporter sidekick.
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