The Whistler

Before he became a producer and conjured up all those publicity gimmicks for his cheesy horror pictures, William Castle churned out a series of nifty little pictures as a director for Harry Cohn's B unit -- including the immortal "When Strangers Marry". "The Whistler" is a clever noir that tackles the old premise of a despondent man hiring a contract killer to murder him, only to change his mind later. Castle provides a higher standard of mise-en-scene than in most pictures of this ilk, with nice camera movement and grungy, realistic sets. The absurd plot twists and lapses of logic stretch credulity to the utmost -- but that's one of the "beatitudes of the B's" (as Andrew Sarris would say). It's surprising that Cornell Woolrich was not the original author, so close is the atmosphere to his oeuvre. Dix is a bit of a cipher, but Naish is as compelling as always in another offbeat role as the philosophical hit man who suffers from fear of death; plus there are plenty of familiar faces in minor roles. The mysterious omniscient Whistler narrator is effective, if somewhat underused here. Castle went on to direct two even better entries in the series.