The Whistler
As mentioned in the last post, The Shadow inspired another ‘narrator as hero’ who also starred in a radio serial, followed by a movie series. The Whistler was the narrator who guided audiences through stories of crime and fate. He was embraced despite his tendency to be highly judgemental and his taunting of the innocent as much as those who were guilty.
The Whistler’s radio series kicked off in 1942, almost a decade after The Shadow’s debut, with each episode beginning with the sound of footsteps and a person whistling a haunting signature theme tune. The stories typically involved criminal acts which were uncovered either through revealing an important clue that had been overlooked or one exposed through criminal stupidity. The episodes mostly ended grimly though on occasions, such as on Christmas Day, a twist of fate would lead to a happy ending for the protagonist.
Like The Shadow, The Whistler quickly built an audience on radio and by 1944 was ready for his big screen debut. After something of a mis-fire on the Boston Blackie film The Chance of a Lifetime William Castle was given a second chance by Columbia boss Harry Cohn on The Whistler. While Castle didn’t like the script for his Boston Blackie film, he loved the script for The Whistler.
Eager to impress Castle employed techniques like low key lighting, wide angle shots to create an eerie feeling and the use of hand held cameras for greater realism during the horror sequences.
With their extensive experience in low budget movie serials and movie series Columbia knew the elements needed to make the upcoming Whistler series popular - a recognisable actor in a central or recurrent role, giving audiences what they expected and keeping subsequent films coming in rapid succession. The popular radio series had not only established a ready-made audience, it also gave Columbia the essential story elements they needed to adhere to.
Columbia chose Richard Dix, someone known to audiences as a rugged and stalwart hero, as the central character of the series though he didn’t play The Whistler (who was an unseen narrator representing the central character's conscience). Across the series he appeared in a variety of roles, some sympathetic, others hard-boiled, but always as a victim of fate, with circumstances conspiring against him.
Dix’s long career in film had begun in 1917 and he had risen to A-list status toward the end of the silent period. Plagued by alcoholism, by the mid 1930s he had slid into B pictures though he had retained a measure of popularity. Perhaps unsure of Dix’s ability, Castle went to some length to manipulate Dix in order to get the performances he needed for the films.
Castle made Dix give up smoking and put him on a diet though not out of concern for his health. It was to make the actor more irritable, which Castle exacerbated by keeping Dix waiting on set and by forcing him to redo scenes. The effect was to make the characters Dix played appear haunted.
While Columbia boss Harry Cohn was mostly happy with the final product, the critics were less impressed. Bosley Crowther from the New York Times described it as a “weary, illogical imitation of an Alfred Hitchcock film” and a “routine spectacle of a dragged-out killer-and-victim chase, all very serious and phony—and, consequently, very dull."
Audiences disagreed turning out in sufficient numbers to make the film a commercial success and to spawn another 7 sequels over the next 4 years. More recent film critics have begun agreeing with audiences. Dennis Schwartz found the film to be "action-packed”, a “well-done suspense story” and “an entertaining B film.”
Leonard Maltin gave it three out of four stars, describing it as a “tense and moody tale of fate” which sets the tone for the rest of the Whistler series.
When the second film, The Mark of The Whistler, was released in the same year Bosley Crowther had warmed a little describing the film as of “fair to middling interest” but went on to describe the storyline as “the claptrap of cheap melodrama." While Crowther no doubt saw this as a weakness, for Columbia were confidant this was exactly what their audience was looking for.
Castle backed up for three more Whistler films, later going on to churn out competent B-movies that were always on budget and on time. He became best known for using gimmicks such as giving audience members a certificate for a $1,000 life insurance policy from Lloyd's of London in case they should die of fright during one of his horror films. He was also known to station nurses in the lobbies and to park hearses outside the theaters.
The other four directors had a number of things in common:
Ross Lederer began as an extra in Keystone Cops films before working his way up to directing mostly B Westerns.
George Sherman also specialised in B Westerns.
William Clemens began as an editor before moving into directing movie series which included Nancy Drew, The Dead End Kids, Philo Vance and three Falcon films.
Lew Landers was an independent director who worked for every major film studio, making over 100 films and finishing his career making movie serials.
Dix had a heart attack in 1948 and retired from acting, forcing Columbia to go ahead without him in The Return of the Whistler. Dix had added a certain spark to the films whether playing a dubious private detective or a villain and without him the films lacked their much needed drawcard forcing Columbia to pull the pin.
A syndicated TV version of The Whistler was produced and aired for a brief period from 1954 through to 1956. Bill Forman who was providing the radio voice at the time took on the role for TV.
While film noir pushed on into the mid-fifties, noir film series like The Whistler and The Shadow were essentially gone by the late 40s despite attempts to revive them on television and later on the big screen. Who knows why they were only with us for a short time? Obviously… The Shadow Knows!