It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

Blistering performances.

It must have seemed strange to Richard Dix that after a career of playing dependable heroes his career was given a new lease of life with the Whistler series in which he portrayed a number of neurotics and psychotics. In this excellent entry he is a man with a ghastly mission - until he is knocked over by a car and when he wanders into a bar, unknown to him, is Jean (Janis Carter), who reads his fortune and predicts his death within 24 hours. Armed with this information she makes his acquaintance and together, with different items found in his pocket, they try to find out who he is. The first stop is the Civic Theatre where Constantina (Tala Birell) denies knowing him (he had sent her roses).Jean is trusting in the extreme - even after leaving a little girl crying over her dead cat, "George" (that's what Jean calls him) had been looking after it - she still invites him to stay at her flat until they find out his true identity!! After another unfortunate incident involving a pet bird (there is also a scene with a squirrel - you don't see their deaths, but you do see Dix's face), Francie (Jeff Donnell), Jean's sister and flatmate, is even more skeptical about him.Bit by bit he slowly starts to remember but while Jean is hampered by her closeness to George, Francie, who is far more "cluey" is succeeding in leaps and bounds. She finds out he has bought poison at the chemist then ordered a birthday cake to be delivered to the warden of the local mental hospital. It is now clear that George is a homicidal maniac who has escaped and is trying to rekindle an old romance (Birell did know him but didn't want to admit it) and settle old scores!!! There is a last minute rescue to stop the birthday cake being eaten and a showdown in a deserted barn!!Janis Carter who was unforgettable as the psychotic Jill Merrill in "Night Editor" here plays a trusting victim and pulls it off equally well. Also playing a stereo typical maid was an actress who in 1930 seemed to have a huge future in films. She was Nina Mae McKinney who because of the color of her skin was unfortunately destined to play maids, no matter how talented a singer she was.Highly Recommended.

"The Power of the Whistler" is notable for the quite interesting acting of the aging Richard Dix. At the beginning of the movie, he plays a genuinely friendly and cornily charming fellow with amnesia, not knowing who he is. But slowly, as he comes to remember his past, his dark side begins to reassert itself; and the great fun comes in watching how his face begins to register such diabolical hatred and evil that he becomes quite frightening. A great job by the hulking Richard Dix (it is also really funny how different characters must repeatedly keep referring to how "handsome" he is).The other think that makes this film so enjoyable is how absolutely unrealistic and inane so much of the dialogue is. For example, in the beginning of the movie Janis Carter's character is trying to help a dizzy Richard Dix, as he has just been hit by a car. Looking for a place to sit, she suggests they sit in the back seat of nearby parked car, hilariously remarking, "I'm sure the owner won't mind"! And when the owner does return moments later to find two strangers in his car, he immediately accepts their explanation, and even offers to drive them somewhere! The film is full of delightful morsels such as this.As an aside, fans of the Three Stooges will recognize Kenneth MacDonald, who plays the warden of a mental hospital. MacDonald served as the heavy in numerous late "Shemp" films.To be honest, enjoyable as the film is, its not very tight, and, frankly, the timing of the various strands of plot don't really fit. But, at a run time of barely over an hour, those faults don't really matter.

"The Power of the Whistler" is a good story with a lot of atmosphere. A young woman (Janis Carter) tells a man's fortune and sees that it isn't good, goes to warn him, and finds out he's an amnesiac. She and her roommate (Jeff Donnell) set out to help him find out his true identity.Richard Dix stars in "The Whistler" series, which came from the radio -The Whistler is never seen but serves as narrator. I know things were different in the '40s, but first of all, why is Dix always described in these films as handsome? Doesn't anyone notice that cheap hairpiece he's wearing? When you look at who was considered handsome in the 1940s - oh, you know, Cary Grant, Tyrone Power, that crowd, tell me Dix stacks up. Why would Jean (Carter) be attracted to him? And why would she trust him enough that she'd take him back to her place so he could sleep on the couch? While trying to discover his identity, Jean comes across a floral delivery receipt to a ballerina. They go and see the woman, and she says she doesn't know the man. Later we find out she did. She did, and she let this naive young woman walk out the door with him. Ridiculous. Meanwhile, every time this guy is around a little animal, it dies. This poor little girl asks him to hold her kitten for her, and when she gets it back, it's dead. Then the roommate's bird dies. And still, nothing is registering with Jean.I'm disappointed that I can't get into this series, but I just can't get past Dix.

My father told me about the Whistler Series that ran on the Radio years ago in the 1940's and Richard Dix starred in this series. This film was directed by Lew Landers, a famous director who created many mystery films and especially this film which will keep you trying to figure out just what William Everest (Richard Dix) was after he received a bad blow to his head from a car running into him and he lost his memory and amnesia occurred. William Everest stops in for a drink at a bar and a young pretty blonde named Jean Lang,(Janis Carter) is playing with cards that a fortune teller would use and finds out that this man at the bar has about twenty-four hours to live and will probably die. There are many twists and turns in this dark mysterious film from the 1940's and there is a very dark side to William Everest and he always seems to attract the very pretty women. Enjoy.