THE WHISTLER [1944] + THE MARK OF THE WHISTLER [1944] [Blu-ray] [Limited Edition] [1944 / 2024] [UK Release] Radio’s Master of Mystery . . . NOW On The Screen! Radio’s Mystery Master in a Thrilling Tale of MURDER!
THE WHISTLER [1944] Adapted from a hit radio series, The Whistler emerges from the shadows to introduce a nightmarish, twisting tale in his own sardonic manner, with the first seven films starring actor Richard Dix. In ‘THE WHISTLER,’ a guilt-stricken man hires a contract killer to end his life… but finds he cannot pull out of the deal.
FILM FACT No.1: ‘THE WHISTLER’ [1944] William Castle's debut movie Chance of a Lifetime had been poorly received but Harry Cohn decided to give him another chance and assigned the director to the film ‘THE WHISTLER.’ William Castle had not liked the script for Lifetime but loved ‘THE WHISTLER’ script. Harry Cohn liked the movie although he made several suggestions to improve the film. William Castle wrote in his memoirs “I tried every effect I could dream of to create a mood of terror: low key lighting, wide angle lenses to give an eerie feeling and a handheld camera in many of the important scenes to give a sense of reality to the horror.” William Castle says he also made Richard Dix give up smoking and go on a diet to make the actor more irritable, and keep him waiting on set and force him to redo scenes in order to increase the sense that he was haunted.
Cast: Richard Dix, Gloria Stuart, J. Carrol Naish, Alan Dinehart, Trevor Bardette (uncredited), William 'Billy' Benedict (uncredited), Willie Bloom (uncredited), Roy Brent (uncredited), Charles Coleman (uncredited), Clancy Cooper (uncredited), Don Costello (uncredited), Russell Custer (uncredited), Ralph Dunn (uncredited), Otto Forrest (uncredited), Byron Foulger (uncredited), John George (uncredited), Dick Gordon (uncredited), Robert Homans (uncredited), Jack Ingram (uncredited), Robert Emmett Keane (uncredited), Cy Kendall (uncredited), George Lloyd (uncredited), Kermit Maynard (uncredited), Pat O'Malley (uncredited), Walter Soderling (uncredited), Charles Wagenheim (uncredited) and Joan Woodbury (uncredited)
Director: William Castle
Producer: Rudolph C. Flothow
Screenplay: J. Donald Wilson (based on the CBS Radio Program) + Eric Taylor (screenplay)
Composer: Wilbur Hatch (Original Theme Music for The Whistler)
Costume Design: Eugene Joseff (costume jewellery) (uncredited)
Cinematography: James S. Brown, A.S.C. (Director of Photography)
Image Resolution: 1080p (Black and White)
Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1
Audio: English: 1.0 LPCM Mono Audio
English: 2.0 Dolby Digital Stereo Audio
Subtitles: English
Running Time: 60 minutes
Region: Region B/2
Number of discs: 1
Studio: Columbia Pictures / Power House / INDICATOR
Andrew’s Blu-ray Review: ‘THE WHISTLER’ [1944] is a mystery film noir based on the radio drama of the same name. This is the first of the eight film noir series adapted from the radio drama produced in the 1940’s. In each of the films Richard Dix played the main character and although the plot is different in each film as well as his role.
‘THE WHISTLER’ film is about industrialist Earl C. Conrad [Richard Dix] who hires Lefty Vigran [Don Costello] to get a person killed and does not know who will be killing this person and when, only that it will be done in next few days. But then he has a change of heart and does not want the hit to proceed. Thus the cat and mouse chase begins. Who did Earl C. Conrad want to be killed? Why did he have a change of heart? Who is the killer? Why are so many after Earl C. Conrad? The mystery unravels as the plot proceeds, each step is totally unexpected by the viewer.
As we come to the end of ‘THE WHISTLER’ film, we get to hear the narration from the shadowy character The Whistler [Otto Forrest] who says, “It was this man’s destiny to die tonight and Earl C. Conrad lives, because man cannot change his destiny, and after this dark night, Earl C. Conrad will recover from his mental illness, and there comes a new chapter in his life, which will bring happiness to him, I know, because I am The Whistler!
In just 60 minutes director William Castle manages to push you over the edge with fear and chills just by the tune of the whistler. That tune raises the hairs on the back of your neck and makes you wonder if he is there right now somewhere behind you. Brilliantly depicted and equally cast of the actors well suiting to their respective characters. The fear of death is exploited in every which way in the film without making it all bloody and gory. The obsession to kill is also not lost on the viewer. Although I would have better liked it if the killer wasn’t revealed till the end.
Although classified as a B movie, I still think it is a real chiller that sends you shivering and drives the fear through your bone. Well-made mystery movie for all those noir movie buffs out there.
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THE MARK OF THE WHISTLER [1944] A drifter claims the money in an old bank account by impersonating someone else with the same name. Soon he finds himself the target of a man who turns out to be the son of the old partner of the impersonated man's father, who caused his partner to do time in prison.
FILM FACT No.2: ‘THE MARK OF THE WHISTLER’ [1944] Bosley Crowther, the film critic for The New York Times, gave the film a mixed review, writing “The dodges by which a fellow successfully stakes a phony claim to a dormant account in a savings bank and swindles $29,000 lend some fair to middling interest to Columbia Pictures latest The Whistler film series for the film ‘THE MARK OF THE WHISTLER’... In this dubious demonstration, the film does present a criminal case with the patient documentation familiar in crime-and-punishment shorts. But the things that happen to this defrauder after he has got the cash are just the claptrap of cheap melodrama — and they are bluntly presented that way.”
Cast: Richard Dix, Janis Carter, Porter Hall, Paul Guilfoyle, John Calvert, Matt Willis, Frank Baker (uncredited), Walter Baldwin (uncredited), Willie Best (uncredited), Edward Biby (uncredited), Edgar Dearing (uncredited), George Ford (uncredited), Otto Forrest (uncredited), Howard Freeman (uncredited), Edna Holland (uncredited), Eddie Kane (uncredited), Donald Kerr (uncredited), Matt McHugh (uncredited), Bill Raisch (uncredited), Bob Reeves (uncredited), Jack Rice (uncredited), Sammy Shack (uncredited), Arthur Space (uncredited) and Minerva Urecal (uncredited)
Director: William Castle
Producer: Rudolph C. Flothow
Screenplay: Cornell Woolrich (story) + George Bricker (screenplay)
Composers: Wilbur Hatch (Original Theme Music for The Whistler), Lucien Moraweck (uncredited), Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (uncredited)
Cinematography: George Benjamin Meehan Jr. (Director of Photography)
Image Resolution: 1080p (Black and White)
Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1
Audio: English: 1.0 LPCM Mono Audio
English: 2.0 Dolby Digital Stereo Audio
Subtitles: English
Running Time: 61 minutes
Region: Region B/2
Number of discs: 1
Studio: Columbia Pictures / Power House / INDICATOR
Andrew’s Blu-ray Review: ‘THE MARK OF THE WHISTLER’ [1944] is based on the CBS radio story, this film features a drifter Lee Selfridge Nugent [Richard Dix] poses as the owner of an unclaimed dormant bank account, someone he almost shares the same name as. But Lee Selfridge Nugent’s new identity brings him more trouble than he can imagine, as he inherits with his new identity the real claimant’s dark secrets from the past and becomes the target of two violent disgruntled men. The men are the sons seeking revenge because their father went to jail in his conflict with his partner over the money. Somehow Lee Selfridge Nugent gets out of the jam and later befriends the real owner of the nest egg, a crippled peddler “Limpy” Smith [Paul Guilfoyle]. How the twist and turns film ends, keeps the viewing guessing right until the very end. Direction is evenly paced and performances are up to par.
Director William Castle is noted for being a very gimmicky filmmaker and directed a few episodes in The Whistler film franchise series. William Castle ably directs this suspenseful film about a cheat, that’s derived from the popular The Whistler mystery radio show. It’s based on the story entitled Dormant Account by Cornell Woolrich. The screenplay is written by George Bricker. Like all the films in The Whistler film franchise series is narrated by the unseen shadowy character The Whistler [Otto Forrest]. As we come to the end of the film, The Whistler appears off screen and says, “Yes, the amazing story of how faith dealt with Lee Selfridge Nugent who learned the hard way, that there is no compromise with conscious and now he will pay his debt to society, and afterwards he has paid that debt, fate will be kinder to him, I know, because I am The Whistler.
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Blu-ray Image Quality – Columbia Pictures, Power House + INDICATOR presents us the films ‘THE WHISTLER’ + ‘THE MARK OF THE WHISTLER’ with a brand new wonderful 1080p digital restoration and both shown in the 1.37:1 aspect ratio. The black-and white-images are truly wonderful and was sourced from SONY’s 35mm High Definition Masters and excluding a few minor density fluctuations and shaky darker nuances, this will likely be its only image definitive presentation and most of all there is great clarity and depth that is extremely very good for both films made in 1944. Most of all there are no traces of any problematic digital work and image stability is also extremely good. All in all, both films ‘THE WHISTLER’ + ‘THE MARK OF THE WHISTLER’ really look wonderful especially for both films made in 1944. Please Note: Playback Region B/2: This will not play on most Blu-ray players sold in North America, Central America, South America, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. Learn more about Blu-ray region specifications.
Blu-ray Audio Quality – Columbia Pictures, Power House + INDICATOR brings us the films ‘THE WHISTLER’ + ‘THE MARK OF THE WHISTLER’ with a really good quality 1.0 LPCM Mono Audio experience. The audio dialogue for both films is very clear, sharp, and especially very stable. For both film made in 1944 you would think and expect to hear rather substantial audio fluctuations in terms of dynamic intensity and stability because of the age of both ‘THE WHISTLER’ + ‘THE MARK OF THE WHISTLER’ films. But all in all, everything sounded really good, superb and most of all, its audio qualities are definitely retained as best as possible throughout both movie soundtracks, which were sourced and remastered at the same time.
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Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:
High Definition presentation of ‘THE WHISTLER’ + ‘THE MARK OF THE WHISTLER’
Special Feature: Audio Commentary by Josh Nelson on ‘THE WHISTLER’ [2024] [1080p] [1.37:1] [60:00] With this featurette, we get to hear from Film Historian Josh Nelson and as the film ‘THE WHISTLER’ begins Josh Nelson introduces himself and welcomes us to his in-depth audio commentary to this 1944 Columbia Pictures film that was directed by William Castle and informs us that he will be sharing all of his thoughts on this film and especially the history to this iconic 1944 Columbia Pictures film, and also says that this was the first film in a series of eight The Whistler film franchise between 1944 to 1948 and seven of them starred Richard Dix and Josh Nelson says that he should mention here, if you have not watched the other seven films, which Josh Nelson says of course you definitely should, and I will endeavour to the commentary spoilers free focusing on this first ‘THE WHISTLER’ film and also discussing the various members of the cast and crew who were involved in the production of the film and the origin of The Whistler as an American radio broadcast, this films innovative premise and its connection to film noir, specifically in its relationship with the era of World War II and of course the films importance within the career of the iconic director William Castle. Josh Nelson says that ‘THE WHISTLER’ film was William Castle’s third film as a director after the chance of a lifetime to direct the film ‘Klondike Kate’ Western/Musical in the late 1943 era and for it not for the influence of Harry Cohen and let’s say the very infamous president of Columbia Pictures at the time, it would have never happened to direct The Whistler franchise films. Now Josh Nelson wants to talks about the actor Don Costello (uncredited) who sits in the same booth as Richard Dix in the restaurant scene and Josh Nelson now talks in-depth about the actor Don Costello who in the mid-1920’s was a stage manager for the Wright Players in Louisville, Kentucky and later on in that decade, Don Costello acted with the Majestic Players in Elmira, New York, and then Don Costello entered films in 1935 and in 1939 and was put under contract with M-G-M and Don Costello was known for his wicked sense of humour, where Don Costello oftentimes played the role of a menace or a tough guy and is probably best known for his role as “Lefty” in the movie Here Comes Mr. Jordan [1941], Don Costello also appeared in 37 movies, and including Another Thin Man [1939], Johnny Eager [1941] and The Blue Dahlia [1946], but Josh Nelson says that obvious in the film ‘THE WHISTLER’ the actor Don Costello does not get a lot of screen time in this 1944 film, but Josh Nelson feels the actor Don Costello does make an immediate impression in film ‘THE WHISTLER,’ but tragically the actor Don Costello died of an overdose of sleeping tablets on the 25th October, 1945, at the age of 44 by his wife, Louise, found him dead in the bedroom of their home in Sherman Oaks, but Don Costello had earlier complained of being unable to get to sleep. Now Josh Nelson says that he feels there is a clear sort of economy towards ‘THE WHISTLER’ film and this was crucial for a B picture, because of the time length of the film and if directors who went over budget or over schedule under Harry Cohen, would quickly find themselves in search of a new job. The other actor that Josh Nelson wants to give a shout out to is William Benedict (uncredited) who was an American actor, perhaps best known for playing "Whitey" in Monogram Pictures’ The Bowery Boys series, and of course is the deaf mute in ‘THE WHISTLER’ 1944 film who sadly would be typed cast in his acting career in the 1930’s period, where he was always cast in the role of a messenger, bell boy or a delivery boy, but that said, William Benedict finally ends up with quite an acting career in well over 300 screen roles throughout the 1940’s through to the end of 1951 and also appeared in the 1950’s on American television and sadly William Benedict died at the age of 82 on the 25th November, 1999, at Los Angeles’ Cedars-Sinai Medical Center following heart surgery. Josh Nelson now talks about the scene where the Richard Dix character Earl C. Conrad talks to the actress Gloria Stuart who plays his secretary Alice Walker where Earl C. Conrad can convey an emotional state to Alice Walker, on the one the fear and paranoid of knowing Earl C. Conrad is going to diem but has no idea when it is going to happen at whose hands and at the same time trying to maintain an impression of normality, and the actor Richard Dix is conveying his inner turmoil and is able to be fully aware that death is stalking him, but the actor Richard Dix is able to manage his inner unease and the masquerade of morality, and that may have something that William Castle took towards the actor Richard Dix who was only 29 years of age when he appeared in this 1944 Columbia Pictures film and also William Castle has a great way of flushing out the character Earl C. Conrad in this 1944 Columbia Pictures film, from what could have been a two dimensional character who is being pursued by a two dimensional hitman. Now Josh Nelson wants to talk about The Whistler American radio series which was the brain child of creator and producer J. Donald Wilson who was also involved in the production of the 1944 film, whereas the weekly radio programme was always broadcast on a Sunday evening and premiered on the West Coast of America in May 1942 and running just shy of 700 episodes until 1955. Now Josh Nelson talks about the swan song career of Richard Dix and The Whistler film franchise series provided the perfect acting career for Richard Dix, whose acting career had been marred by lots of highs and lows and there was a really great piece published in the Daily News in the late 1940’s by Hollywood gossip columnist Erskine Johnson which was published on the release of ‘THE MARK OF THE WHISTLER’ where Richard Dix was preparing to appear in his third The Whistler film and in the interview that Josh Nelson had read, and all the way back to 1924 and felt Richard Dix was a very down to earth actor, who preferred to spend time on his ranch just outside Los Angeles to get away from the glitz and glamour of Hollywood. Josh Nelson now talks about more information about director William Castle, but also about Harry Cohen who agreed to the rough cut of ‘THE WHISTLER’ and suggested some changes to William Castle, with approval from other contributors, and do got the film printed, Now Josh Nelson says that in particular ‘THE WHISTLER’ film is a real flag waver in common with other film noir at the tail end of World War II era and ‘THE WHISTLER’ film might not be about the war in any substandard way, but it still resonates with feelings of despair and disillusionment of the era and ‘THE WHISTLER’ film is about a man who by his wealth is driven to such despair with the loss of his wife and the guilt that he feels over his wife’s loss and he takes the drastic measures in hiring someone to kill him and along the way he has been taken out of his urban environment and instead been drawn into the dark under belly of the urban environment, with shadows of poverty and of violence. But on top of all that, ‘THE WHISTLER’ film carries with it the early symptoms were the war torn trauma and the scars that come late on and the wounds are starting to appear and what redeems this film is Earl C. Conrad’s pain of grief and makes him a highly relatable figure for war torn audiences, especially in America, and eventually the film pulls us in and Earl C. Conrad back from the brink at the end of the film and that happiness lays ahead and any future relationships. As we get near to the end of this audio commentary, Josh Nelson comments in saying the positive comments that related to ‘THE WHISTLER’ film which was a much needed boost for the director William Caste in his early career in the Columbia Pictures stable, but over time William Castle perfected film genre the public went to the cinema in droves because his films were totally unique, but William Castle was once interviewed in 1946 and was asked just before his death, to elaborate on his opinion of critics, and William Castle responded in saying, “I don’t think they mean much, but they are fun to read, and of course if they say my work is good, then of course I like it, and if they think my work stinks, I’ll tear up their review and of course I will hate the critic, I am normal, I am human, and the nearest thing I can say, is that they are evil, because they are a barometer of what they say of what the public wants, which I disagree with, but they are here to stay, so why not try to please them, and it does not bother me if I displease them, because I couldn’t care less.” Of the seven later ‘THE WHISTLER’ films that followed in the film franchise, William Castle would return as a director for the 2nd and 5th of the film series franchise. But most of all, Josh Nelson says, legacy aside, ‘THE WHISTLER’ film is his firm favourite of the film series franchise, is conceptually, visually and in terms of the breath of the performances and writing, of the secondary characters, and ‘THE WHISTLER’ film captured something of a lightening in a bottle moments, and William Castle was eager to impress us with his rough and ready debut and for the actor Richard Dix who clearly embraced the opportunity at the final shot in his acting talent and value in doing it outside the western genre, and as to director William Castle, he of course went into directing especially Westers, War films and a handful of other film noir genre films, but mostly importantly ‘THE WHISTLER’ film franchise and as The Whistler might of called it, it was always William Castle’s destiny to be remembered for his later films in the 1950’s and the 1960’s era and director William Castle reflecting in saying, “The public knows me of the making of thrillers, suspense films, horror films, yes that is my career, it is all in suspending ones belief, and if you can do that, that’s the whole ball game.” Now Josh B comments, that as we approach the conclusion to the 1944 film, and steps into the shadows of the rare and comprehensive over view of the history of The Whistler figure from radio to film, and The Whistler quote says, “The Whistler represents the destiny, judgement, fate, with the tinge of cruelty, a judgement untampered by mercy, metered out in a retaliate befitting a lynch mob.” Josh Nelson says, if we consider the ending of the film, which he feels is very apt and whispering words of the killer, and in the final moment of the film, a sense of glee in his voice of a judgement past and a new lease of life, and what is The Whistler, is he the embodiment of the human conscious, a harbouring of evil or even death himself, or a messenger of fate and he might be all of those things and much more and Josh Nelson feels The Whistler might be all of those things and much more and Josh Nelson likes to think of The Whistler as a kind of supernatural entity, where The Whistler is a figure who is the solitary figure stalking and causing the dark satanic environment where The Whistler finds the world picturesque, and on that note, Josh Nelson now wraps things up, and says thank you for listening to my in-depth audio commentary and thanks for listening, and of course finally the end of his in-depth talk of the 1944 film ‘THE WHISTLER.’
Special Feature: Kim Newman: A Whistle-Stop Tour [2024] [1080p] [1.37:1 / 1.78:1] [22:32] With this featurette, we get an in-depth overview of The Whistler film franchise series by critic and author Kim Newman which I found totally pompous and not at all interesting and that is why I have not done an in-depth featurette, as it would be a total waste of time and most of all, I cannot stand Kim Newman and it does not help when I have to view his ghastly and revolting long and disgusting hair down the back of his head and the wearing of that ridiculous hat he wears to cover his bald head. All in all, this is a complete waste of space featurette.
Special Feature: Image Gallery: With this featurette, we get to view the amazing all-encompassing Original Promotional Material for ‘THE WHISTLER’ + ‘THE MARK OF THE WHISTLER’ and as you navigate the wonderful gallery images, you get to view 21 stunning 1080p black-and-white and colour images. Please note: You have to press the > button to navigate the amazing images of The Whistler gallery, but to leave this featurette, you have to press the TOP MENU button. So happy viewing folks!
Special Feature: It’s Your America [1946] [1080p] [1.37:1] [36:11] With this featurette, we are informed that we are about to view The United States Army in presenting the E.F.S. Revised It’s Your America which is an in-depth dramatized documentary focusing on the veterans returning home from World War II, showing them what their responsibilities as citizens were now that they were returning to civilian life and was rumoured to have been directed by John Ford and featuring J. Carrol Naish [American actor] who is the antagonist in the film ‘THE WHISTLER.’ This in-depth dramatized documentary that was produce in cooperation with The United States of America War Office.
Finally, ‘THE WHISTLER’ asks do you know what the fear of death feels like? Do you know what the obsessions to kill looks like? Well you get both definite answers in ‘THE WHISTLER’ + ‘THE MARK OF THE WHISTLER’ films that will keep you glued to your TV screen and was directed by the infamous and famous William Castle. ‘THE WHISTLER’ + ‘THE MARK OF THE WHISTLER’ was inspired by a popular American radio series, and ‘THE WHISTLER’ shows its B-picture limitations early on in the film and never becomes more than just a routine material for the Saturday afternoon kiddie crowd that loved this sort of thing in the cinema way back in the 1940’s. ‘THE MARK OF THE WHISTLER’ is another solid film noir set-up that is told really well and is a very good story with a lot of atmospheric atmosphere, where a young woman Patricia Henley [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. Patricia Henley and her roommate set out to help him find out his true identity. Maybe this is one of those occasions when you just have to keep telling yourself... “It's only a movie, It's only a movie.” But most importantly is that ‘THE WHISTLER’ + ‘THE MARK OF THE WHISTLER’ has been given a 1st class World Premiere on this wonderful Columbia Pictures, Power House + INDICATOR Blu-ray release. Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
