After capturing members of a murderous cult in "Whistling in the Dark", radio star Red Skelton heads down to the land of cotton (with his fiancée Ann Rutherford) where old times have definitely not been forgotten. There, he runs into the look-alike brother of his old rival (Rags Ragland) and the mystery of a missing local who had recently found a treasure chest full of old British coins (and worthless Confederate money). Guy Kibbee is the family patriarch, a sort of Tom O'Hara ("Gone With the Wind") in modern dress. His daughter (Celia Travers) and niece (Diana Lewis) are in a feud over the missing man (Mark Daniels), and all of a sudden, the escaped convict (also Ragland) shows up to add to the confusion.
Some of the silliness goes overboard, giving recollection to a few recent Bob Hope films ("The Cat and the Canary" and "The Ghost Breakers") and many other comedy/mysteries of the era. But the conclusion (involving much of the cast) provides lots of slapstick as the group struggles to get out of a water filled fort, and continues as they fight the true villains. Then, the laughs come fast and furious. If you can get through the duller first half of the movie, this makes it all worth it.
Some of the silliness goes overboard, giving recollection to a few recent Bob Hope films ("The Cat and the Canary" and "The Ghost Breakers") and many other comedy/mysteries of the era. But the conclusion (involving much of the cast) provides lots of slapstick as the group struggles to get out of a water filled fort, and continues as they fight the true villains. Then, the laughs come fast and furious. If you can get through the duller first half of the movie, this makes it all worth it.