dougdoepke 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.

charlytully If you watch this movie half asleep, it soon becomes nearly impossible to decipher which characters are Union, which are in Union uniforms who actually are Confederate spies, which are Confederate, which are in Confederate uniforms who actually are Union spies, which are civilians dressed up in one uniform or another, and which are totally incompetent at their jobs (which apparently includes the majority of the characters in this 1948 black and white film, which apparently was considered a comedy in its time).Similarly, nowadays if you watch the major cable news networks in the U.S. in the SLEEPING BEAUTY-like slumber spell that seems to have engulfed the majority of the citizenry, it is nearly impossible to tell who are Labor Party stalwarts, or which laborites actually are Greed Party sympathizers in Labor's clothing. While it is not THAT difficult to identify hard-core Greedsters, there apparently are a significant number that actually may be Labor at heart, but just toe the Greed Party line for the money. Most amazingly, half of the civilian laborers support the Greed Party, which shows what you can accomplish in the way of brain-washing with the current choke-hold the GP has on the mass media. Which is why A SOUTHERN YANKEE is a perfect mindless diversion from today's realities (such as the fact that every state of the Ol' Confederacy is now a TAKER--as in, they take more than their fair share of per capita national tax dollars, while every state that helped free the slaves 150 years ago is now a DONOR, as in their citizens let themselves be ripped off by the descendants of the treasonous losers).

Murph-17 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.

John Langbein (medrjel) 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).