Noir-vember: The Mark Of The Whistler (1944)

The good thing about The Whistler movies is that they all tend to be pretty short, this one is 62 minutes, they lack any pretension, and you could easily marathon the movie series in a day. The bad thing about them, or maybe I should just refer to it as a weakness, is The Whistler himself, a presence who doesn't really seem to be necessary to guide us through the storyline. Mind you, I enjoyed his narration here more than I enjoyed it in the first film.

The story is enjoyably simple. Richard Dix plays Lee Selfridge Nugent, a man who sees an opportunity to change his life when he reads a newspaper notice about  a large sum of money being left for a different, and unrelated, Mr. Lee Nugent. Taking the time to work on his backstory, Nugent then gets himself along to the bank and presents himself as the recipient of the money. He is nervous as he considers his chances of being successful. But he is unaware that other people may want to catch up with Mr. Lee Nugent.

Based on a story by Cornell Woolrich, it's George Bricker who gets the writing credit for this second movie in The Whistler series. Bricker does a good job of packing a lot of exposition and character development into each scene, leaving director William Castle free to just focus on keeping everything clear and enjoyably fast-paced as the story zips from scene to scene. Castle doesn't have to use all of the extra tricks that he used in the previous instalment, now having the luxury of a more dense screenplay and an "established brand" (with the first film proving to be a successful transition from an audio to a visual medium).

It's fun to see Dix take on a lead role that feels so far removed from his lead role in the last movie, and he seems to enjoy having a lot more to work with this time. Porter Hall is amusing as someone who might be able to help our lead, but only if he can make a decent profit for himself, Paul Guilfoyle is enjoyable in the role of a street vendor named 'Limpy' Smith, and Janis Carter lights up a few scenes as a determined reporter named Patricia Henley. There are also a couple of menacing performances from John Calvert and Matt Willis, both working better when trying to observe Mr. Nugent before their motivation is made clear.

I've yet to be convinced by the need for The Whistler himself, but the rest of the film makes this an easy one to recommend. It's a great blend of fun and danger, as well as being another classic noir premise (someone pretending to be someone that they're not in order to collect a large sum of money) given that ever-so-slight twist by having it presented to us by The Whistler. I don't expect the rest of the series to keep entertaining me as much as this, but I was pleasantly surprised that this was a step up from the first movie. And I'll be pleasantly surprised if another one or two subsequent instalments match it. 

7/10

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Noir-Vember: The Whistler (1944)

Based on the radio program by J. Donald Wilson, The Whistler is a very economical and fun little noir from director William Castle. He wasn't yet the William Castle that we know and love as the master salesman, this was very near the start of his feature directorial career, but he certainly already knew how to deliver thrills to an audience. It helps that the runtime just about nudges right up against the one hour mark, making everything feel more urgent and fast-paced.

Earl C. Conrad (Richard Dix) is seen arranging for a hit man at the start of the movie. It soon becomes apparent that the target is himself. He remains grief-stricken after the loss of his wife. Things change, however, when he receives news that his wife may actually still be alive. It should just be a case of calling off the hit, letting those who arranged it keep the money, and getting on with a happier life ahead. The middle man is no longer available though, having been caught in a shootout with police just after arranging the hit. Conrad needs to find out who the killer is, and he then needs to convince him that the job is no longer going ahead.

Despite the framing device (The Whistler is an unseen character who comments on the events like some omniscient figure who enjoys being caretaker of some kind of criminal Twilight Zone), which feels strangely redundant, The Whistler is essentially everything you could want from an enjoyably basic and cheap noir. It's a solid premise, one we've seen many times (sometimes with slight variations to the methodology, of course), the cast are all working well enough with the material, and Castle does his utmost to put his stamp on everything. Everything is dark and slightly askew, a nightmare landscape that our lead character seems unable to escape.

Dix is decent enough, and we can stick with him as the hero because we're given clear motivation for his initial decision and subsequent turnaround (hey, isn't love always the most noble of motivators? or maybe that is just too cheesy for us noir fans to keep in mind). J. Carrol Naish is a suitably focused and dangerous killer, and it's obvious from early on that he won't be easily swayed to drop a job that he's already been paid for. The cast also includes Alan Dinehart (as Gorman, a friend of the killer), Gloria Stuart (a concerned secretary/friend named Alice), Charles Coleman (a loyal butler), Don Costello (the middle-man), and Joan Woodbury (a widow searching for some information that she might get from Conrad).

I can see why this would work better on the radio, despite being a decent little feature, but I got to the end of this film and wondered why we needed The Whistler to be part of the whole thing. Of course, that name allowed this one film to start off a series of eight features, which I'll definitely check out some time (especially as I now own them all). Maybe later instalments will allow The Whistler to play a more integral part in the proceedings. Or maybe not. I'll have to wait and see.  

6/10

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13 Ghosts (1960)

While I will mention the plot and the cast, while I will do my best to review 13 Ghosts in the same way I would review any other movie, a William Castle is a slightly different beast. The director was renowned for his gimmicks and showmanship, and it is important to bear that in mind when watching the films that best exemplify that (although it is good to remember that he also helmed a number of films that were a bit less sensational). 13 Ghosts was sold to people with the lure of Illusion-O and I will be getting back to that shortly.

Cyrus Zorba (Donald Woods) isn’t doing well. He is struggling to earn enough money to stop people from entering his family home, upsetting his wife (Hilda, played by Rosemary DeCamp), and taking away their furniture. Things look up when he inherits a house, one that may relieve the tension for his wife, daughter (Medea, played by Jo Morrow), and young son (Buck, played by Charles Herbert). The fact that the house is supposed to be haunted by numerous spirits is surely nonsense, right? Well, fortunately, there are also some special goggles that help people to see some of the spirits around them. 

While not on a par with his best movies (which both starred Vincent Price in two truly marvelous roles), 13 Ghosts is a fun time. I would have loved to have seen this in the cinema with the full Illusion-O experience. Patrons were apparently given a ghost viewer for the film, which allowed you to see or avoid the spooks, depending on whether you looked through the blue or red portion of the apparatus. It’s a simple way to filter the main image, and also allows Castle to present a number of phantoms that don’t have to stand up to very close scrutiny.

The script, written by Robb White (who collaborated with Castle many times), is disappointingly weak, but we know that it’s just a series of steps to move from one ghost to the next, perhaps even counting as we see each apparition. It lacks the wit and energy of other Castle movies, arguably hampered by the need to incorporate the USP throughout.

Thankfully, there’s a surprisingly enjoyable cast. Both Woods and DeCamp may be a bit weak, but they are often kept to one side as we spend time with Herbert (who manages to just avoid being too irritating as he happily seeks out the secrets of the house) and Morrow (who, to use a very well-worn phrase, positively lights up the screen). There’s also a good turn from Martin Milner, playing the lawyer who seems to be helping the family get things sorted, and a fun little role for Margaret Hamilton, with the most famous witch in cinema playing a housekeeper viewed as . . . a witch by young Buck.

There are good moments throughout this, even if you can see the strings moving things around onscreen, and the very last scenes are as devious and entertaining as they are predictable. I probably won’t revisit this one, apart from time I will spend checking out the wonderful wealth of bonus features on the blu-ray I own, but I enjoyed watching it while it was on. I have yet to see any William Castle film that I actively dislike. I hope things stay that way as I finally explore his other feature that I have had on my “to watch” pile for far too long.

6/10

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The Old Dark House (1963)

A bizarre, and not entirely successful, collaboration between William Castle and Hammer, The Old Dark House is a remake of the 1932 movie of the same name, but with a number of changes bringing it closer to the likes of Carry On Screaming! or What A Carve Up.

Tom Poston plays Tom Penderel, an American car salesman who is invited by his room-mate (Peter Bull) to join him at his family estate, an old, dark house out in the middle of nowhere. When Tom gets there it seems that someone has raced to get there ahead of him, and that someone is death. Yes, Tom's room-mate has shuffled off the mortal coil by the time he arrives, leaving the poor man stuck amongst quite an odd selection of individuals, all of them making up the Femm family.

As endearing as it is bizarre and clumsy, The Old Dark House is certainly one of the stranger "horror" movies released by Hammer (and, yes, I know that is saying something). Unfortunately, it falls between two stools. I would have liked to see either more of the movie played straight or, at the opposite end, quirk piled upon quirk to create an even stranger atmosphere from start to finish.

Castle directs with his usual taste for the bombastic, and the script by Robert Dillon (based on the novel by J. B. Priestley) works fairly well for the tone of the piece, allowing the cast to roll their eyes and go over the top at every available opportunity while the house creaks and drips and enshrouds them.

As for the cast, Poston is just fine in the lead role, but it would have been fun to see a more talented comedic actor in the role, reacting to the strangeness around him. Robert Morley is as good as ever, but sorely underused as the head of the household, Joyce Grenfell is a delight, Janette Scott is also wonderful, and Fenella Fielding puts in yet another sultry performance. Mervyn Johns and Peter Bull also deserve a mention for their fun turns.

I'd advise most people to visit the original movie first, which is almost always the best advice anyway, but this movie is worth your time. Once.

6/10

http://www.amazon.com/Old-Dark-House-Tom-Poston/dp/B008SGVUN4/ref=sr_1_2?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1389125336&sr=1-2&keywords=the+old+dark+house