Must See Movie...

Good concept, poorly executed.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

OK, I am going to come right out and say it. I actually prefer this more muscular film to the (imho) considerably more self-conscious and portentous 'Shane'. The ever un-demonstrative Ladd has more of chance to breath here in an excellent, vigorous action story which involves him playing the eponymous railroad detective dogged with a secretly broken heart. Even with the constraints of the genre at this time and date the lead actor manages to find some depths and seriousness in a role which could easily have become a cliché. After foiling the predations of the notorious Barton gang, a wounded Whispering Smith finds himself back on home territory and being cared for by his one true love Marian (Brenda Sinclair) - who has meanwhile married his closest friend Murray (a splendidly tousle-haired Preston Foster). Murray meanwhile has problems on his own account after making some wrong choices when losing his job on the railroad, and grows increasingly closer to the crooked rancher Rebstock (Donald Crisp), eventually turning outlaw himself. Crisp, normally type-cast as the model of rectitude, here grabs the chance to appear menacing with both hands.What distinguished 'Whispering Smith' above all is the vital quality of the action sequences, particularly the opening railway robbery, which have a violent, modern air about them. Ladd is excellent as the introspective Legend of the Line, ably supported by a cast with no weaknesses. Only the requisite no-surprise hidden love subplot seems more of its time, although even this remains free of an obligatory happy ending and the expected clinch never materialises. Standout too are the accompanying cast: an excellent psychopathic sidekick 'Whitey' - Frank Faylan, an actor I was unfamiliar with - as well as the redoubtable William Demarest. Did he ever put in a bad supporting act? Interestingly the plot of 'Whispering Smith' features a number of train rides, virtually all of which are interrupted: sabotaged or hi-jacked. One can argue that this echoes the life of Smith himself, which has become a interrupted journey itself - a way of distraction, it is implied, from his romantic disappointments, as he's wedded to his dangerous job - a passage in life which never reaches any final, emotionally fulfilling destination. Director Fenton made 'The Streets of Laredo' with Holden immediately after this which, on this experience, I shall now seek out.The colour film appears these days on disc in an excellent print - it certainly looked good on a blu-ray player though a HD projector at 80", a highlight of a 3 disc DVD westerns box set I found cheap on Amazon. Recommended.

Director Leslie Fenton teamed up with his "Saigon" star Alan Ladd for the second time in this polished Paramount Pictures western "Whispering Smith" with Robert Preston. As the eponymous hero, Ladd is taciturn but swift on the draw. He is also extremely lucky, surviving two attempts on his life. The first time that our protagonist takes a bullet, he is fortunate enough to have a harmonica deflect the slug. The second time in a railway depot, he ducks a bullet and retrieves his hat to find a bullet hole in the crown. Ladd plays a pistol-packing detective for the Nebraska & Pacific sent to investigate number of railroad derailments and the subsequent loss of merchandise. Smith's old friend, Murray Sinclair (Robert Preston of "The Music Man"), is employed by the railroad, but he falls out of favor when the new head of operations arrives. As it turns out, Murray is in cahoots with an evil rancher, Barney Rebstock (Donald Crisp), who is your vintage villain. Before everything is over, Smith and Sinclair have a showdown with predicable results. The gorgeous Technicolor cinematography, sturdy acting, and some well staged shoot-outs bolsters this yarn. Preston makes an invigorating villain. There is one interesting scene when two men in a buckboard drawn by horses leave a pasture road, pass a large tree, and roll into a residence. What makes this cool is that stand-ins were used as the wagon leaves the field and travels past a tree. Once the two have passed the tree, it is clear that a skillful edit was effected. The sets are great to look at, too. Brenda Marshall is the woman caught in the middle between her old flame Smith and her husband Murray. Inevitably, Murray and Smith wind up squaring off against each other with an interesting conclusion.

This isn't one of those throwaway Westerns from the 30s and 40s. The production values are higher than that. Alan Ladd was still a popular star, and then there are Robert Preston, Donald Crisp, William Demarest, and Brenda Marshall. Except for Preston, most of the performers' best years were behind them by this time, and yet they must have cost money. No one behind the camera had anything resembling a conspicuous career. Well, I don't count Wally Westmore, who was on the payroll and got credit for the work of his subordinates. And I don't count Natalie Kalmus, whose sole contribution to films was marrying the guy who owned Technicolor and hiring lawyers who saw to it that, as his widow, her name was attached to every color film ever made.It's too bad that except for the performers and the sometimes impressive location shooting, the movie sucks. It's not a total loss, as I say, not like one of the Three Mesquiteers movies. But it's as if the writers took one of those dumb scripts and spent two weeks adding a little complexity to it. It's the kind of movie in which, before a word is spoken, a shot is fired. Then some words are spoken -- "C'mon, let's get outta here." Then another shot is fired.Alan Ladd is "Whispering" Smith, although, after an initial explanation of the queer cognomen, it's never mentioned again and Ladd becomes plain "Luke" or "Smith." He's a railroad troubleshooter sent to a town to figure out why there are so many accidents. His old friend, Preston, leads the gang that cleans up the messes and is somehow involved with the nefarious cattle baron, Crisp.Crisp is badly miscast. He's not a duplicitous thief and murderer. He's somebody's earnest uncle. Ladd's acting is always criticized and it's true he didn't have much range. Yet he's handsome in an odd way, with his blond hair and black eyebrows and that resonant baritone. And when the role fitted his ligneous performance, the results were far better than average. As far as I know, they fitted together only once, in "Shane." Probably the best performance is by the loud and blustering Robert Preston as the good guy gone bad. He's got a black mustache and frowns a good deal, even when happy. Man, does he look evil. His character is also the most complex and he handles it very well. When Ladd takes him aside and asks, "Mind if I give you some advice," the scowling Preston replies, "No, just keep it funny." That's a nifty exchange. Unfortunately, it's about the only one in the movie.

Too bad Paramount couldn't have found a better script on which to lavish good Technicolor and handsome sets for ALAN LADD's first western.It's really a below average western story about a good railroad man (Ladd) who resumes friendship with an old friend from his past (ROBERT PRESTON) who is married to Ladd's former childhood sweetheart (BRENDA MARSHALL). The set-up is predictable once Ladd starts to see through Preston's villainous behavior after Preston has joined a train robbery gang headed by DONALD CRISP.WILLIAM DEMAREST does his usual dependable job as Ladd's friend, while Crisp is only slightly menacing in his bad guy mode. FRANK FAYLEN plays a squinty-eyed albino with a poker face and is supposed to be chilling as a merciless gunman. Unfortunately, his make-up is ridiculous.ALAN LADD makes a handsome hero and plays his role in usual low-key style. ROBERT PRESTON does okay as the loutish friend turned bad guy, while BRENDA MARSHALL makes very little impression in a weak supporting role.Summing up: Below average western is enhanced by gorgeous Technicolor.