Too much of everything

Far from Perfect, Far from Terrible

Excellent but underrated film

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

This was the last entry in the Columbia Pictures' "Whistler" B movie series, for reasons I have not been able to uncover. Maybe audiences missed series star Richard Dix, who had retired because of health problems. But while Dix might have added some of his usual spark as he did in the previous entries, as it is, this is a pretty good B movie and a good way to end the series. It gets going pretty early on, quickly adding mysterious touches that will get you wondering just what is going on. And there are some good twists, though I did guess what the private detective character was eventually going to do towards the Michael Duane character about a third of the way into the movie. Probably you'll guess it too, if you've seen the other movies in the series. Aside from that, the movie works nicely and fits the 63 minute time limit pretty well - there's no unnecessary fat in this story. If you liked the other movies in this series, you should like this final bow.

Due to circumstances, Michael Duane and Lenore Aubert have to check into a hotel so they can get married the next day. Still unmarried, and needing to get his car fixed, Duane decides to search for a garage and pick up Aubert the next morning. The next morning however, he discovers his fiancé checked out of the hotel minutes after he left, which he cannot believe. Private detective Richard Lane overhears the conversation and decides to help him track down his fiancé. They drive back to Duane's apartment for some photos to help Lane. At the apartment Duane finds Aubert's old marriage license, she's a widow. When he hands over the photos and the license to Lane, Lane knocks him out cold and takes off! When he comes to, Duane realizes Aubert must be caught in something dangerous and heads for the estate of her dead husband, to find a clue...Based on a short story by Cornell Woolrich, this was the last of the Whistler movies, and the only one without Richard Dix, who was in bad health (and would die the next year). It's still a worthy entry in the series, even if some of the twists are not too surprising. Duane, who had already co-starred in a another Whistler movie ('The Secret Of The Whistler') and Aubert do a decent job, as does the rest of the no- name cast. Aubert, who plays a French woman, does tend to forget her French accent quite often. Random trivia: uncredited actor Fred F. Sears would go on to direct many movies himself including a few noirs like 'Chicago Syndicate'.While it's a B-movie, it's very lean and fast-moving thanks to director D. Ross Lederman ('Strange Alibi', 'Key Witness'), and it has above-average production values with some nice sets. The chiaroscuro cinematography by DoP Philip Tannura ('Key Witness', Edgar J. Ulmer's 'Strange Illusion') is really nice, and also features the necessary shadow of 'The Whistler' in some key scenes. All in all, not a bad way to end the series.

"The Whistler" really didn't go anywhere, he's here, whistling his mournful dirge and giving us the lowdown on the case at hand. The difference is that Richard Dix was replaced by Michael Duane as the main character in this, the last of the series.The good news is that this one is an entertaining, spellbinding story for 50 mysterious minutes. The bad news is that the picture lasts for 60 minutes, and begins to fall apart towards the end. I often think that authors and screenwriters start with a terrific idea for a story and then can't figure out how to end it (exhibit A is "Harvey").I thought Michael Duane was a good main figure and did a creditable job in this film, but then disappears soon after from motion pictures. Boston Blackie fans will recognize Richard Lane, who played Insp. Farraday in that series. This was a good entry in "The Whistler" series, before losing some credibility in the last 10 minutes. In fact, it was very good, for the first 50.

Return of the Whistler, The (1948) *** (out of 4) The seventh and final film in Columbia's series tells the story of a man (Michael Duane) who checks his fiancé (Lenore Aubert) into a hotel room but when he returns the next day she is gone. He eventually tracks her to a strange family who claims the woman is already married but there's more going on. The series certainly ends on a very high note and I have to wonder why more movies weren't made unless they simply weren't making money. Richard Dix is missing but Duane makes for a good leading man and carries the film just fine. Aubert, from Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, turns in a fine performance as does Richard Lane from the Boston Blackie series. What has shocked me the most about this series is that all of the screenplays are "A" level in their style and sharpness. This film offers a lot of nice twists and turns, which make it worth watching for mystery or noir fans.