The Thirteenth Hour *** (1947, Richard Dix, Karen Morley, John Kellogg, Jim Bannon, Regis Toomey) – Classic Movie Review 13,256

The Thirteenth Hour (1947, Richard Dix).

The 1947 American mystery film noir The Thirteenth Hour is the last of Richard Dix’s seven starring roles in Columbia Pictures’ series of eight Whistler films.

Director William Clemens’s 1947 American mystery film noir The Thirteenth Hour is based on a story by Leslie Edgley, in turn based on the format of the radio drama The Whistler. and stars Richard Dix, Karen Morley, John Kellogg, Jim Bannon, and Regis Toomey.

It is the seventh of Columbia Pictures’ eight Whistler films produced between 1944 and 1948. This is the last of Richard Dix’s seven starring roles in the series, and one of only two that feature him in a sympathetic light, the other five as hard-boiled characters, but all victims of fate and circumstance.

Richard Dix stars as truck company owner and driver Steve Reynolds, who is at the sharp end of some nasty business rivalry with another firm, and he is arrested and his business is ruined by a vindictive law officer, Don Parker (Regis Toomey). Then he gets assaulted by a masked bandit who hijacks his truck and runs down the policeman, leaving clues that Steve is the cop killer. Murder, betrayal, vengeance-seeking and a plot about stolen diamonds stuck in the thumb of a glove Steve finds in his cab, follow breathlessly.

There’s a fairly decent looking studio bound production (the nicely shot sets look neat and nifty), a good noir atmosphere, plenty of incident and pace (well there sure has to be plenty of pace to cope with all this plotting in 66 minutes) and an unusual story, for this very satisfying and entertaining last episode for Richard Dix.

With everything stacked up against him, it looks like the chips are up for Dix’s well-meaning, hard-working character, painfully but gamely struggling when most hope has gone. But oh, and fate can be kind sometimes too apparently, or so says The Whistler. Nice to end on an upbeat note, then.

Richard Dix still has the stuff, looking frazzled and frayed at the edges, but that’s right for the character. There’s a useful, slightly offbeat cast to back him up. John Kellogg as Charlie Cook, Jim Bannon as Jerry Mason, Regis Toomey as Don Parker, and Bernadene Hayes as Mabel Sands are all excellent villains. Karen Morley as diner owner Eileen Blair and Mark Dennis as her son Tommy Blair are excellent good guys. They all earn their pay checks, though that might have been on the small side for this Columbia Pictures B movie. It’s impeccable B movie film-making.

It’s important to praise the writers of the screenplay – Edward Bock and Raymond L Schrock – along with story writer Leslie Edgley, as well as the cinematographer Vincent J Farrar.

The cast are Richard Dix as Steve Reynolds, Karen Morley as Eileen Blair, John Kellogg as Charlie Cook, Jim Bannon as Jerry Mason, Regis Toomey as Don Parker, Bernadene Hayes as Mabel Sands, and Mark Dennis as Tommy Blair.

It is followed by The Return of the Whistler (1948), with Michael Duane, Lenore Aubert, and Dick Lane.

Richard Dix (born Ernst Carlton Brimmer; July 18, 1893 – September 20, 1949)

Richard Dix was suffering from alcoholism and heart disease and forced to retire from acting after this film. He had a heart attack in October 1948, and a serious heart attack on September 12, 1949, and died on September 20, 1949, aged 56.

Karen Morley (born Mildred Linton; December 12, 1909 – March 8, 2003)

Karen Morley’s career came to an end in 1952 after she refused to answer questions about her alleged American Communist Party membership before the House Un-American Activities Committee. She maintained her political activism for the rest of her life.

The Columbia Pictures Whistler series

The Whistler (1944) directed by William Castle, The Mark of the Whistler [The Marked Man] (1944) directed by Castle, The Power of the Whistler (1945), Voice of the Whistler (1945) directed by Castle, Mysterious Intruder (1946) directed by Castle, The Secret of the Whistler (1946), The Thirteenth Hour (1947), The Return of the Whistler (1948).

The first seven of the eight all star Richard Dix.

The Whistler is an American radio mystery drama series that ran from May 16, 1942, until September 22, 1955, on the US West Coast regional CBS radio network.

The whistling at the beginning of each of the movies is by Dorothy Roberts, backed by the theme’s composer Wilbur Hatch and his orchestra.

© Derek Winnert 2024 – Classic Movie Review 13,256

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