Product Details

• Actors: Red Skelton, Brian Donlevy, Arlene Dahl, George Coulouris, Lloyd Gough
• Directors: Edward Sedgwick
• Writers: Buster Keaton, Harry Tugend, Melvin Frank, Norman Panama
• Producers: Paul Jones
• Format: Black & White, NTSC
• Language: English
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: MGM (Warner)
• VHS Release Date: March 2, 1994
• Run Time: 90 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6302241243
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #10,028 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #25 in	Video > Military & War > Civil War
  #65 in	Video > Comedy > Farce
  #73 in	Video > Comedy > By Year > 1940-1949

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Red Skelton at his best!, September 14, 2000

By A Customer

This movie is the greatest! Red Skelton is at his funniest in this hilarious film about a northern bellboy who dreams of becoming a spy during the Civil War. He finally gets his chance when he accidentally falls in with a ring of southern spies who think he is the notorious spy, "The Grey Spider". His adventures while masquerading as the grey spider will have you laughing long after the movie has ended!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a very funny spy yarn romp, April 19, 2005

By	Alejandra Vernon "artist & illustrator" (Long Beach, California) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

The year is 1865 in St. Louis, and Red Skelton is Aubrey Filmore, a bellboy who is constantly daydreaming of becoming a spy; he stumbles and bumbles, and when by chance he catches the notorious Confederate spy known as The Gray Spider, he is then asked by the Union to impersonate the famous spy, who few know by sight, and to cross over to enemy territory. Red falls in love with Southern belle Arlene Dahl along the way, and is laugh-out-loud funny in his many escapades.
The legendary Buster Keaton had a lot of input (uncredited) in this film, and there are comedic "bits of business" that are pure genius and clearly show his touch. Red of course was one of America's finest mimes, with impeccable timing, and incredible pratfalls, and there are some one-liners that are pure gold.

Directed by Edward Sedgwick, it's a fast paced romp, and funny from start to finish, with some truly memorable scenes: Walking between the dividing line of the fighting armies by wearing half a uniform on each side and carrying both flags as one (all goes well until the wind turns), the tap dancing sequence with an extraordinary little boy, and saying "Mornin' Electra" to a dour faced woman are the moments I'll never forget....and then there's the dog house sequence...and the time he shoots all the guns he's collected on his sword...and...one could go on and on.
Others in the cast include Brian Donlevy as Arlene Dahl's other suitor, and John Ireland as Captain Jed Calbern, who tries to catch Red and expose him as a Union spy.
If you're a Red Skelton fan, you're going to like this film, and yearn for the days of old when comedy was a true art form, and was "good clean fun" that could be enjoyed by the whole family.
Total running time is 90 minutes.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "Uncivil Warrior", April 21, 2006

By	Only-A-Child - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

This fun 1948 comedy by Edward Sedgwick is like a cross between "Uncivil Warriors" (the 1935 Three Stooges short with the stooges playing Capt. Dodge, Lt. Duck, and Lt. Hyde) and "Advance to the Rear" (a 1964 comedy starring Glenn Ford and Stella Stevens). It is not quite as zany as the Stooge classic but has more physical comedy than Ford's film, including stunts designed by Buster Keaton.

Red Skelton plays Aubrey Filmore, a bumbling hotel bellboy in 1865 St. Louis, who spends most of his working hours tracking down imaginary spies among the guests. Aubrey's bumbling pays off one afternoon when he accidentally knocks out a guest who turns out to be a legendary spy Confederate spy called the "grey spider". His good fortune continues when a southern belle, Sallyann Weatherby (Arlene Dahl) mistakes him for the spider. Wanting to exploit these events, the Union secret service gives him phony plans to pass along to the enemy and instructions to pass along to another union agent behind enemy lines. Predictably Aubrey gets the two packets of information mixed up and places the union agent and himself in jeopardy.

"A Southern Yankee" is quite funny if not especially noteworthy, the cast is solid and the production design of good quality.

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.