The Mark of the Whistler

Second in Columbia's Whistler series starring Richard Dix and directed by William Castle. In each movie, Dix played a different character in a film noir mystery thriller. This time around he plays a bum who tries his hand at identity theft to claim some money that belongs to someone sharing the same name as him. Good support from Porter Hall and Paul Guilfoyle. Dix is solid as our lantern-jawed "hero." Some nice twists & turns in this one. Castle does a fine job building suspense with scenes like when Dix is sitting in the bank, growing uncomfortable with everyone staring at him. I was on the edge of my seat about what's going to happen to this guy for awhile. Is he going to get away with it? Do I want him to get away with it? My only real complaint is the sucky ending, undoubtedly tacked-on because of the Production Code. Still, it's a pretty good B picture that kept my interest throughout.

This was the second of the eight self-contained Whistler films starring Richard Dix, still playing a goodie but this time with more bad in him. Also after the first my second favourite entry in the series.

Lee Nugent – mark that name – is a human derelict who hits upon the idea of impersonating a man whose bank is advertising for him to appear and claim his dormant bank account. He doesn't initially know how much money is involved but when he does get it he gives Porter Hall a fair price for the loan of his suits … Things start to get complicated when he bumps into Limpy the match seller and a determined newspaper reporter played by Janis Carter – just before she played a determined newspaper reporter in One Mysterious Night! Favourite bits: Signing his name but blotting his middle initial in the bank; Some of the sinister scenes with John Calvert chasing after Dix. The overall moral is Let Your Conscience Be Your Guide, with Dix you can believe it too. With one twist after another the last one is a little twee but still effective.

No cgi cartoonery, swearing, sex or violence, just b&w and an intricate story well acted make for a very pleasant hour.

The series is unique in that although Richard Dix stars in the first seven movies in the series he does not play the same character. As a result, each film has to stand on its own merits. There is no opportunity to introduce the audience to a suave character in the first movie or two and then ride the series out with a group of sub-par films. The quality of the movies throughout the series very good. The only character common to each movie is "The Whistler" who "knows many things". In the first movie Dix plays the hero haunted by the death of his wife. In this offering, Dix plays the anti-hero who perpetrates a fraud to come into money that is not rightfully his. He is then pursued by the sons of a man sent to prison by the father of the person with a legitimate claim to the money. Many of The Whistler movies have a unique or surprising "twist" close to the end that significantly changes the expected outcome. This has possibly the best.

This is the second of the Whistler films, having two titles: THE MARK OF THE WHISTLER and THE MARKED MAN. It has a superb plot written by the famous mystery writer Cornell Woolrich. And Richard Dix, who plays the lead, intensifies the suspense by his brilliant portrayal of a man who impersonates another man of the same name in order to access a dormant account at a bank. He only discovers that the dormant account exists by randomly picking up a newspaper in which an ad has been placed for claimants to dormant accounts to come forward. His name is Lee Nugent, and so is the man whose money was left to him in trust by his mother many years ago and never claimed. Dix does research and, reassured that laying claim is probably safe, approaches the bank with a loan from a pawn broker to pay for a new suit (as Dix is penniless). But nothing in a film noir is ever simple, which is, one might say, the same as with Life. There are unknown factors in the background, and some begin to stir. Will the bank hand over the money? Will Dix get away with it? How much money is there, anyway, since the bank won't say. Events get more and more tense. This is a really excellent suspense film.

The tangled web we weave strikes again in Mark of the Whistler, starring as usual Richard Dix. This story is by Cornell Woolrich and directed by William Castle, so it has a good pedigree.

The Whistler narrates the story but isn't seen and doesn't interfere. Nice work if you can get it.

Here Dix is a drifter, Lee Nugent, who sees that a bank is seeking owners of old bank accounts that haven't been claimed. He manages to convince a store owner to give him a new suit for a cut of the money. After doing his research and feeling safe that the real man will not come forward, he is ready to approach the bank.

It turns out to be a sizable sum, and he eventually collects. However, he becomes the target of a man whose father was cheated by Lee's father and forced to do time in prison.

I'm never thrilled by Richard Dix, but there are some turns in this story that make it watchable.