2hotFeature
one of my absolute favorites!
Plustown
A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.
Erica Derrick
By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.
Wizard-8
I suspect that a number of modern day viewers who watch this particular entry in the 1940s "The Whistler" B movie series will find some plot turns quite unbelievable by today's standards. Would you, upon finding a person with amnesia, quickly invite him or her to stay at your home instead of guiding them to a hospital? If you came across two strangers sitting in your car, would you offer to drive them anywhere they wanted? And would you lend the use of your automobile to someone you know nothing about? These are just some things that happen in this movie that would never happen today. But if you look at the movie through a 1940s perspective, you can overlook such unbelievable plot turns as those, and you'll probably find the movie to be a serviceable B feature. As the amnesia- stricken character starts his trek to find out who he is, you'll quickly find yourself curious enough to follow him to find out the answers to who he is and what he was up to. The journey is a little padded at times, I admit, but it's never dull. About the only real weakness is the ending - it needed a bit more punch. But apart from that, this is a decent series entry.
grizzledgeezer
I've never heard the radio series "The Whistler". This movie version (one of eight Whistler films) is reminiscent of an Ed Wood project, especially the clunky script with its heavy-handed narration.The plot revolves around an escapee from a mental institution who's out for revenge. An accident has induced brief amnesia, and a kindly young woman offers to help find out who he is. We know he's dangerous when we see him killing cats, canaries, and squirrels. (The latter is amazing, as wild squirrels do not tolerate being touched.)The mechanical script is uninspired, as is the colorless direction. The only halfway interesting thing is a semi-passable performance by Richard Dix as the villain.Woof-woof, bow-wow. You have been warned.
utgard14
I really like The Whistler movies. Richard Dix plays a different role in each one. Sometimes he's a good guy, sometimes bad. The plot here has Dix as a man suffering from amnesia after being struck by a car. A woman (Janis Carter) playing around with tarot cards predicts death for Dix within 24 hours so she feels the need to warn him. She finds out he has lost his memory so she tries to help him figure out who he is so together they can prevent his death.There is one part that amused me a great deal. It really has no significance to the plot or how much you will like the movie but I will share it anyway. During the first meeting of Dix and Carter, he feels faint so she opens a car door and they sit down in the back seat to talk. After their conversation, some guy gets in and is surprised to see them. He's the owner of the car! So the girl explains they just needed a place to sit down, to which the car owner replies "Oh okay" like it's perfectly normal. Then he offers to drive them some place! I don't know if this scene just shows how much times have changed or what, but it made me laugh when I watched it. I just can't see that scene playing out the same way in a movie today.This is a fun B movie with some good performances and an interesting story. There are some bugs in the plot but nothing that detracts greatly from the entertainment level, at least for me. Fans of Dix and The Whistler series should like it a lot.
kidboots
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.
