THE WHISTLER - THE FILMS COLLECTION
The Whistler was adapted into a film noir series of eight films by Columbia Pictures. In the first seven films, veteran actor Richard Dix plays the main character in the story -- a different character in each film. In the eighth film, made after Dix's retirement, Michael Duane played the main character. The Whistler (1944) The Mark of the Whistler (1944)The Power of the Whistler (1945)Voice of the Whistler (1945) Mysterious Intruder (1946)The Secret of the Whistler (1946)The Thirteenth Hour (1947)The Return of the Whistler (1948).
Disc 1
THE WHISTLER - The first in an 8 movie series based on the popular radio series. Industrialist Earl C. Conrad, who failed to rescue his wife at sea and now suffers from grief and guilt, arranges to have a hit man end his life. He does not know how he will be killed, but knows that it will happen within days. Suddenly Conrad learns that his wife is still alive, and he tries to call off the hit. But the hired killer, obsessed with carrying out his mission.
MARK OF THE WHISTLER - The Whistler, the unseen mystery-story narrator of radio fame, relates another tale that he's gleaned from "walking by night" in Mark of the Whistler. Richard Dix stars as a drifter who poses as the owner of an unclaimed bank account. Dix's new identity brings him nothing but misery as he falls victim to the actual claimant's startling secrets, lost loves and dangerous enemies--including one bent on killing for revenge. The second of Columbia's Whistler series, Mark of the Whistler was an enormous improvement on the first film, with a healthy number of unexpected plot twists within its 60-minute time frame.
Disc 2
THE POWER OF THE WHISTLER - Power of the Whistler once more stars Richard Dix as the tortured protagonist. This time, Dix is cast as an amnesiac named William Everett, who is given aid and comfort by pretty Jean Lang (Janis Carter). Assuming that Everett has been victimized by someone, Jean tries to help him regain his memory. This proves to be a major mistake, which Jean's sister Frances (Jeff Donnell) discovers to her horror. Though it was fascinating to see Richard Dix in an off-the-beaten-track role, Power of the Whistler isn't up to the standard set by the first two "Whistler" films: even so, the climax, staged in the loft of a deserted barn, is a beauty.
VOICE OF THE WHISTLER - A millionaire only has six months to live so he marries his nurse who does not love him. He promises to make her sole heir to his estate. After marrying her they move to a lighthouse where she finds herself filling in love after he makes a miraculous recovery. Things go fine till the man the woman jilted to marry the millionaire tries to kill the man.
Disc 3
MYSTERIOUS INTRUDER - Mysterious Intruder was the fifth entry in Columbia's B-picture series based on the radio anthology "The Whistler". Richard Dix, the leading man in all but one of the "Whistler" films, stars as duplicitous private eye Don Gale. Motivating the storyline are a pair of priceless Jenny Lind wax recordings, which are coveted by a Swedish millionaire. Someone is willing to kill to get his or her hands on the records, prompting Gale and the cops to conduct a citywide search for the killer.
SECRET OF THE WHISTLER - The Whistler, mysterious narrator of the radio series of the same name, "knows many things" for he "walks by night." This time the unseen whistler knows all about mentally disturbed artist Richard Dix, whose first wife died under mysterious circumstances. Wife Number Two (Leslie Brooks) begins to suspect that Dix's earlier spouse may have been murdered, and that the artist was the killer. In a tense finale, the second wife uses psychological warfare to turn the tables on the homicidal Dix.
Disc 4
THE 13TH HOUR - A trucking company owner, is pitted against time to discover who murdered a police officer rival of his. He must do so to clear his own name, as the murder was pinned on him.
THE RETURN OF THE WHISTLER - Ted Nichols (Michael Duane) tries to ascertain the whereabouts of his wealthy fiancee Alice Barclay (Lenore Aubert). Finally locating the girl in a mental institution, Nichols discovers that she's been placed there at the behest of a man named John (James Cardwell), who claims to be her husband. Private eye Gaylord Travers (Richard Lane) suspects there's more to this than meets the eye—especially when all records pertaining to Alice's previous existence mysteriously vanish.
BONUS - The Whistler TV Show