Voice of the Whistler **½ (1945, Richard Dix, Lynn Merrick, Rhys Williams, James Cardwell) – Classic Movie Review 13,250

The Whistler (1944) directed by William Castle.

William Castle’s 1945 American mystery film noir Voice of the Whistler is the fourth of Columbia Pictures’ eight Whistler films, and stars Richard Dix, Lynn Merrick, and Rhys Williams.

Director William Castle’s 1945 American mystery film noir Voice of the Whistler is the fourth of Columbia Pictures’ eight Whistler films, and stars Richard Dix, Lynn Merrick, and Rhys Williams. The screenplay by William Castle and Wilfred H Petitt is based on story by Allan Radar, in turn based on the 1942-55 radio drama series The Whistler.

Richard Dix stars as a dying millionaire industrialist called John Sinclair, trying to enjoy his final months and do good at the same time, who marries his penniless young nurse Joan Martin (Lynn Merrick) so that she can inherit his wealth and live in comfort, and finally marry her intern doctor fiancé Fred (James Cardwell) after four years of engagement. They go to live together in a remote lighthouse, along with kindly cabbie Ernie Sparrow (Rhys Williams), but then Sinclair (now calling himself John Carter) miraculously recovers, sparking new troubles for husband, wife and the ex-fiancé, who turns up on the scene.

Voice of the Whistler (1945).

[Spoiler alert] Both husband and ex-fiancé have murderous tendencies, actually murder in mind, and the wife  is a greedy, grasping woman for whom love means little, or actually nothing, without money to go with it. Characters like these are the stuff of noir, human trash that deserve their dreadful fates. The Whistler whistles his tune, and mumbles his mumbo jumbo about fate, loneliness and death. This is a very odd story defying appeal and sympathy, but keeping interest going by coming up with more and more plot surprises in just 60 minutes. It twists and turns quite satisfyingly. Richard Dix is quite good, really rather convincing in an awkward role that he is nevertheless well suited for. Rhys Williams tries to keep sympathetic and appealing as the moral centre, while Lynn Merrick and James Cardwell are struggling to fill and flesh out their peculiar characters.

Voice of the Whistler is none too likeable but it is fairly engrossing, and true to the weird Whistler world. The characters’ mixed motives make for quite a clever scenario. No cardboard cut-outs here! Of course it’s completely unbelievable, but then it’s only a humble B movie. But it is elevated by Castle’s taut direction, attending mainly to pace so it is neat and compact.

The cast are Richard Dix as John Sinclair, alias John Carter, Lynn Merrick as Joan Martin Sinclair, Rhys Williams as Ernie Sparrow, James Cardwell as Fred (Doc) Graham, and Tom Kennedy as Ferdinand / Hammerlock.

James Cardwell fatally shot himself in Los Angeles on 31 January 1954, aged 32, troubled by his failing career and financial difficulties. He had a good film career between 1944 and 1949, but it stopped, with only one additional appearance before his death in a small unbilled role as Officer in the 1954 monster film Them! .

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 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 13,250

Check out more reviews on http://derekwinnert.com