User Reviews

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 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.

Red Skelton shines in this funny stereo-typical movie from the forties. All in all, the movies feels as though it was written for Bob Hope whom I personally dislike in the movies. Skelton and Hop both used double entendres and fast quipped one-liners to good effect. The funny plot includes a union hotel bellhop who mistakenly finds and captures the most dangerous spy of the confederates during the civil war and is asked by superiors to impersonate him because if he were caught, it would not matter, he being dispensable. So start the laughs and they come at a minute a dime including a classic scene at a hospital involving a chase and a couple of dentists. Brilliant. Arlene Dahl does what she does and that is look extremely beautiful. It is said Buster Keaton worked behind the scenes on this movie and some have compared it to the General but I don't see the resemblance. The movie it most resembles is Bob hope's The Paleface, a scathological spoof of genres as this movie is. When you get to see it, have fun.

Contrary to popular belief, A SOUTHERN YANKEE is NOT a remake of Buster Keaton's 1927 silent THE GENERAL. Both films take place during the American Civil War and include gags devised by Keaton -- other than that, there's little resemblance. (The only remake of THE GENERAL is Walt Disney's 1956 THE GREAT LOCOMOTIVE CHASE.) YANKEE's story, by the writing team of Panama and Frank, was later recycled in part for THE COURT JESTER (1956, also by Panama and Frank -- and starring Danny Kaye).

Keaton's contributions to YANKEE include his suggestion to the producer that the opening scenes be toned down in order to make Red Skelton's character more sympathetic; the memorable two-sided flag gag (derived from a two-sided costume gag Keaton used in his silent days); some of the climactic chase sequence (a gag with a horse and a dress is lifted directly from Keaton's 1923 OUR HOSPITALITY); and, presumably, the acrobatic dentist sequence and, very likely, the astonishing scene involving a 19th century "lawn mower" and a land mine.

why would she want him?

This is one of the few times I wish I could score a film 6.5. It's because I found "A Southern Yankee" enjoyable but not as good but far from great. I think the reason is that in Red Skelton's better comedies, you really like him. In this one, however, there's less emphasis on character development and more on pratfalls. Still, it's a nice little film that is worth seeing.

When the film begins, Red is a bellboy at a hotel during the Civil War. However, through some ridiculous circumstances, he's able to capture a notorious Southern spy. He then is able to convince the spy's contact that HE is this spy. Can he somehow make it through this mission without being exposed? And, can be manage to somehow win the heart of a pretty Southern belle (Arlene Dahl)?

I think Skelton falls down more in this film than his previous films put together--and this is not really a good thing. Pratfalls abound in this one and the ending is very weak--reasons it's not among the best of his films. Still, it's a reasonably agreeable way to spend about 90 minutes of your life.

First saw this movie on late 1950's TV, about 10 years after it was made. As a kid, I thought it was hilarious. Just watched again in 2011 and wondered if I would perceive it to be as funny as I did 50 years ago. I still love it. Not as much as a 10 year old perhaps, but Skelton can hold his own in his comedic genius through the decades. Of course the writing team of Frank & Panama also later wrote Danny Kaye's "The Court Jester" where they use the same tongue-twister rhyming lines to make hilarious running gags... and the hero's continuous use of secret code questions...to all the wrong people. Makes me want to revisit all the old Red Skelton movies of the late 40's and early 50's.

I remember Red mostly from TV in the 50s. To my knowledge I had not seen even one of his films until this one a few years ago.

I found it amusing and well worth the viewing time.

It's also in something of a counterpoint to most of his TV sketch comedy which was too broad and pointless to me even as a child.

One of the interesting features of this film was that it was set in the American Civil War and was mostly a comedy. The film was produced in the late 40s (I think) in a period when most - if not all - Civil War films were completely dramatic ("Gone with the Wind" had a few pointedly amusing lines from Rhett Butler but was a serious film.) The Civil War by then was some 80 years in the past, but the South was still very much the South, so to lampoon the South in any way (even if also the Union received comic dusting) would seem to me as quite a stretch by the producers. Like they were willing to write the South off their distribution lists.

Bottom line, Red was much better than I can ever remember seeing him and that alone was worth it.

Red Skelton is brilliant both physically and verbally. His tongue-twisting tour de force ("The map is in the packet of the pocket of the jacket...") predates and probably inspired Danny Kaye's similarly brilliant speech in "The Court Jester. If this is indeed a remake of the Buster Keaton classic, "The General," it certainly does honor to its predecessor.

THE GENERAL is my favorite movie of all time while Red Skelton is not a favorite of mine (I don't hate him, he's just not my cup of tea), so I am ashamed to admit I went into A SOUTHERN YANKEE fully expecting to hate it. To my surprise, it was not bad.

Though often called a "remake" of the Buster Keaton classic, A SOUTHERN YANKEE's plot is entirely different: Skelton plays a bellboy/aspiring secret agent who bumbles onto a real Confederate spy plot. General farce ensues, with only a few gags lifted from Keaton's earlier film. For what it is, A SOUTHERN YANKEE is quite enjoyable. Even some of the dumber gags had me howling.

I own all of Buster Keaton's silent films and who doesn't love Red Skelton? Having said that, this film stinks. Keaton helped write the film, which is probably why critics were reluctant to criticize it. However, the fact is that is was not funny. It was stupid, particularly in the first half hour. By then, it probably lost a number of viewers who watched this on VHS in the 1990s, as I did. (It was released on tape in 1994.)

This film also had the presence of Brian Donlevy, Arlene Dahl, John Ireland and more....all good actors....but the dialog was just d-u-m-b. Maybe this was funny in 1948, but I guarantee you the laughs aren't there almost 60 years later. What made people laugh back in the '40s doesn't always work today and they will probably say a similar thing 60 years from now.

Still, it's tough to knock the comedic talents of Red Skelton. If anyone a generation later could equal Keaton in silent comedy bits, it would be Red. He demonstrated that every week on his television show.

After that terrible start, the film got better and it was fun seeing the bumbling bellboy (Skelton) do something right, for a change, but I just think overall the humor of the '40s doesn't cut it today. Sorry.

Although with Buster Keaton working as gag man on this film and while he did have a lot of influence on this film, A Southern Yankee had other influences besides Keaton's famous general. For myself I caught a bit of Duck Soup in the mix and also the plot premise is the same one as two very serious previous films.

The idea of two spies falling in love with each other was done as serious drama in the British film Dark Journey with Vivien Leigh and Conrad Veidt. Later on it was used by MGM in their musical The Firefly that starred Jeanette MacDonald and Allan Jones. But I think someone at MGM must have thought this could be the basis of a comedy, it may have been Buster Keaton who thought it would be a good film idea for Red Skelton.

A Southern Yankee finds Red Skelton as a bellboy in St. Louis who is a northern sympathizer and wants to do something for the Union cause. Given that he's a klutz, Red's dismissed by all the parties involved.

But when he accidentally captures a notorious Confederate agent, the army sees a chance to use him and sends him south with some fake plans for a southern general and a message for one of the Union undercover men.

Red's willing, but the spirit is weak especially around Arlene Dahl who is the daughter of Confederate general Charles Dingle. And he's got some other double agents and triple agents to deal with like Brian Donlevy, John Ireland, and George Coulouris.

It's hard to describe A Southern Yankee from here on because the gags come fast and furious. Red's two trips to the dentist was one long sustained gag and very good. Of course the gag remembered best is the one where Red is trapped with both the Blue and Gray firing at him from opposite directions. He manages to escape that predicament in a truly interesting manner I won't reveal.

And if you don't think that A Southern Yankee might have had a bit of inspiration from the serious films I cited, if you've seen both Dark Journey and The Firefly, you'll know exactly A Southern Yankee ends.

As a fan of old films I always look for the character actors. This film has a lot of notable ones: John Ireland, George Colouris, Reed Hadley (what a voice), Art Baker, Louise Beavers, Charles Dingle, Paul Harvey, and many others. This movie has a mix of slapstick, stunt gags, screwball comedy, and one-liners like "Morning Electra". I must admit I enjoy these no-limit comedies.

Red Skelton and Bob Hope and Danny Kaye often did scaredy-cat but bluffing buffoon type characters in films. Skelton expanded this by adding his usual rubber-faced over-reacting but he managed to get away with it.

This movie is about a hotel bell boy who wants to be a soldier in the Civil War (Red Skeleton's role). By sheer luck,he becomes a spy (Northern spy pretending to be a Southern). The flag carrying scene (I won't give it away anymore) is definitely one of the funniest scenes I have ever seen. My only critique is that the last part of the movie was not quite as humorous as the first part (at least in my opinion). However, this movie is definitely worth seeing.

St. Louis bellhop, anxious to get in on the action during the Civil War's final days, manages to nab himself a Southern spy nicknamed "The Grey Spider"; he switches places with the Spider and infiltrates the Confederate party, falling in love with a Belle along the way. Whether they were working with Bob Hope, Danny Kaye, or Red Skelton here, comedy masters Melvin Frank and Norman Panama (credited as the story writers, alongside screenwriter Harry Tugend) know how to pull off a great gag--whether it be verbal or visual--and manage to keep it going, in the manner of the great silent comedies. A double take can turn into a pratfall, which turns into a lot of pratfalls, which turns into slapstick chaos. No matter what your taste about physical shtick, Frank and Panama usually employ their prowess with bright efficiency, and "A Southern Yankee" has many laugh-out-loud sequences (the double-sided flag, the pine cone on the stump, and all the early business in the hotel). Director Edward Sedgwick maybe should have let Melvin Frank direct as well, as several of the nutty set-pieces (such as the dentist's office) look too much like staged gags. However, when the pacing grows cold there's always Skelton to rely on, and he's very funny and ingratiating throughout (particularly the way he says "Sallyann"). Amusing premise isn't just an excuse for the slapstick, but functions quite well on its own, and the costumes and battlefield sequences are rather impressive. **1/2 from ****

Whether he's doing purely slapstick stunts or tongue-twisting feats ("the packet in the pocket of the jacket or the packet in the boot with the buckle" kind of stuff), RED SKELTON never misses a moment to get the most out of the series of gags upon which the screenplay of A SOUTHERN YANKEE is built.

The fun starts when he accidentally knocks out a real Southern spy known as The Grey Spider (GEORGE COULOURIS) and is chosen to take his place and given fake plans to deliver to the Union troops. Naturally, being the goof-ball that he is, he gets everything mixed up and has to cope with a bunch of hilarious mistakes--and so does everyone else.

ARLENE DAHL is amusing as the daughter of a Southern general (CHARLES DINGLE) and makes an amusing foil for many of Skelton's gags. The script has plenty of inventive situations, some of them proposed by none other than Buster Keaton who had his own Southern spy comedy years ago called "The General." BRIAN DONLEVY and JOHN IRELAND are given little to do but cope with Skelton's antics but he's practically the whole show anyway.

The brisk comedy directed by Edward Sedgwick is a better than average vehicle for Skelton's comedy style and should definitely please Skelton fans.

Note: If this had been made at Paramount, it would have been an ideal vehicle for Bob Hope.

Everyone knows the "pellet with the poison" speech from The Court Jester, but how many people know it wasn't the first movie to feature such a tongue-twister? Both Red Skelton and Bob Hope did their own version in 1948, in The Paleface and A Southern Yankee. They're both hilarious; and as hard as I've tried to research the true origin, I haven't been able to find out exactly which version came first.

In this Red Skelton comedy, he plays a bellboy who gets roped into, via a mistaken identity, a plot to spy on the Confederate Army. It's very much like a Danny Kaye or Bob Hope premise, and the execution of it is also very similar. If you like those comedic styles, you'll probably love this one. As Red has to impersonate the real spy, he meets and falls in love with a Southern belle, Arlene Dahl. But Arlene is already engaged to a Southern gentleman, Brian Donlevy. Will all the Arlene's beauty, not to mention all the sweet teas and juleps, start to change Red's loyalty? Or will he manage to pull through for the Union and help the war effort?

You'll have to watch this hilarious side-splitter to find out. It's very, very funny and I recommend it if you've had a hard week and need to relax with something silly. After Red finally masters the "pocket in the jacket" tongue-twister, he explains with pride that he did well in poetry in the sixth grade. "I was keeping company with my teacher," he starts to say. I've never stopped laughing long enough to hear the rest of his sentence.

In St. Louis during the American Civil War, Aubrey Filmore (Red Skelton) is an incompetent clueless bellboy at the Palmer Hotel. The Union is searching for Confederate spy, the Grey Spider. Aubrey insists on being a spy catcher and thinks that a client dressed in grey is the spy.

Apparently, this is loosely based on Buster Keaton's The General (1926). Of course, I only remember the train and none of the story. I can't speak to the looseness of the adaptation because I just don't remember. I like Red Skelton's humor especially in the hotel. The big disappointment is the lack of a train. The other drawback is the use of the obvious stuntman for Red Skelton. He's definitely not Buster Keaton. I like Red, but he's a different comedian. At his best, he's a great talkie comedian. I'm not really taken with this girl-crazy character and his wacky journey despite being a fan of Red. Mainly, I'm not taken with her introduction as a Confederate fangirl. Somehow, that's a little off-putting.

Skelton fans should get a laugh-fest out of this nifty slice of slapstick. Seems Red's a Union-loving bellboy in the Civil War South. Through typical Skelton mishaps, he's mistaken for the South's best spy, The Grey Spider. Only instead of spying for the South, he's persuaded to do same for the Yankees. Except as a spy, he keeps switching uniforms from one side to the other. Naturally, this leads to a rollicking series of mishaps, with Red scoring more mugs and pratfalls per minute than a road racer's RPM's. But that's got nothing on the uniform changes that are faster than a hooker in a rain storm. My guess is the scripters must have gone home in a permanent daze. But don't feel bad for our hero. He does get to romance the South's most delectable magnolia, Arlene Dahl, and right away I'm wondering where I can join up on her side.

All in all, it's a fine vehicle for Red's brand of comedy. Just one thing—I always thought the War was fought on the East Coast. But now I know it was really fought inside greater LA's scrublands. Thanks MGM for setting the history books straight.

Note to readers: This is "A Southern Yankee", not to be confused with the Bing Crosby classic "A Connetticuit Yankee in King Arthur's Court"(1949).

"A Southern Yankee" is a good film, but I must be harsh in my critique, due to it being self-admittedly based on Buster Keaton's "The General". That said, this movie falls short. Mainly, this film lacks in how the story is played out and the gags used.

At the same time, "A Southern Yankee" is not a bad movie. In fact, it is a very good movie. I think anyone who chooses to watch it will enjoy it. It is light hearted, and has a couple unique and funny sight gags. It's a good film for the family to sit down and enjoy together.

Again, it may not be as great as "The General" (I must admit it's hard for any civil war comedy to climb out of the shadows of that movie), but it has dialog, and is fun. See "A Southern Yankee". I would also urge anyone to see "The General" for one of the best comedies of all time (and for comparisons sake).