The Power of the Whistler (1945)

Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.

Very disappointed :(

Some things I liked some I did not.

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

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.

Amnesia themes were a favorite of detective stories in the '40s, and THE POWER OF THE WHISTLER is no exception. A man who is befriended by a woman who senses danger in his future (JANIS CARTER) is unable to recall anything about his past. She and her sister both combine forces to delve into the few clues they found in the man's pockets and go about trying to hunt down someone who knows his identity.If you can get past the implausibility of the set-up--a complete stranger (Carter) willing to become a full time detective upon short acquaintance of a man she knows nothing about--well, then you can sit back and watch the story unfold without too much cynicism.The man's identity remains a teasing enigma up until the last fifteen minutes or so. JEFF DONNELL is the helpful sister who unravels a few clues of her own.The script is full of loopholes, coincidences, contrivances, as all of these Whistler series are, but it makes an engrossing story if you're willing to suspend your disbelief.

Jean Lane and her sister Frances are dining in a restaurant when Jean pulls out a pack of playing cards and decides to tell the fortune of a man who is sitting at the counter.Twice in a row, even though she's thoroughly mixed the deck, the same cards come up--he will die within the next twenty four hours.She approaches him, and finds out that he has amnesia. Well, she thinks he's cute, and she's naturally concerned besides, so she helps him out. She finds out that he has some keys on him, and she finds out that such keys are used only by detectives or criminals. He has some other items in his pocket, including a train route.Through lots of detective work, her sister establishes that a prescription slip he had on him was for a very deadly poison, and that a bakery slip he had in his pocket was for a five pound birthday cake sent to a mental institution for the receipt of one John Crawford. She's seen a cigarette lighter that the man had which was marked "To J.C. from C.C." She concludes that the J.C stands for John Crawford.Meanwhile he's been waiting for Jean to meet him in a park. While he's feeding a squirrel, he suddenly regains his memory. But when Jean meets him, he doesn't tell her that, he tells her that he remembers the name of a man he knew, a man who lived in one of the towns listed in his train route; Edward Nesbitt. But he doesn't tell her his name; William Everest.Everest wants to take Jean to the town where Nesbitt lives. She tries to call her sister but doesn't get through to her. He hurries her up, tells her she can call again later. They leave.Meanwhile, her sister Frances is getting very worried. She goes to the police while her boyfriend rounds up some witnesses she's discovered during the day.It's looking as though Everest may be a very dangerous man. Is he? Or is he heading Jean and himself towards a meeting with some other very dangerous man? The police take action, but they're far away. Will the day be saved by Frances and her fiance? Watch this exciting film to find out.

Richard Dix plays...well, that's the secret. He gets hit by a car early on in the movie and gets one of those handy Hollywood cases of amnesia. Shortly after being hit, he's asked by a girl in a restaurant to be allowed to tell his fortune for a lark, to show her friends how it's done. The cards come up bad, and then his amnesia comes to light, causing the amateur fortuneteller to more or less adopt him so she can help him find out who he is. You'll notice that folks trust one another in this flick a lot more than they probably ever did in real life. With the results your parents probably warned you about. Dix, as usual, is great as this befuddled but somehow sinister stranger. This is perhaps the best of the Whistler movies. Warning: Implied violence to cuddly animals!