Boobirt Stylish but barely mediocre overall

BlazeLime Strong and Moving!

Hayleigh Joseph This is ultimately a movie about the very bad things that can happen when we don't address our unease, when we just try to brush it off, whether that's to fit in or to preserve our self-image.

Married Baby Just intense enough to provide a much-needed diversion, just lightweight enough to make you forget about it soon after it’s over. It’s not exactly “good,” per se, but it does what it sets out to do in terms of putting us on edge, which makes it … successful?

jimo 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.

moonspinner55 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 ****

Big Cat 12 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.

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).