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This was the eighth and final Columbia Whistler film and the only one without Richard Dix who had retired from movies and was to die the following year. It's still a competent thriller, the machine carried on without him perfectly, but – something was missing: Dix! The stories in the Whistler series were always interesting, sometimes brilliant, the screenplays often noir always atmospheric, but it wasn't only the Whistler himself that hung it all together on screen, Dix did too.

Young couple stepping out for a whole fortnight get the urge to marry in the pouring rain but are thwarted when the potential bride first disappears then is discovered to already be married before she apparently goes mad. Is the potential groom put off, even when the private dick he's hired to find her suddenly slugs him and lams, or is love blind? Who's twisting who is the question. Michael Duane in his penultimate film is OK if a bit of a wimp, lovely Lenore Aubert's finest moments came next film in Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein, and Richard Lane was wonderful as ever on loan from Boston Blackie. Also the only outing where the Whistler himself must have got wet from slouching about in the rain, unless he got sprayed with sea foam in Voice.

A lot happened in this last hour, well worth watching over and over again as usual to fans of the genre like me. The Whistler radio series begun in 1942 carried on until 1955 clocking up nearly 700 half hour shows, nearly all of which are available on mp3 and based upon what I've heard so far nearly all of which are well worth listening to as well.

Richard Dix decided to retire and so Michael Duane took his place playing the role as Ted Nichols who meets up with a young French girl named Alice Dupres Barkley, (Lenore Aubert). This couple only knew each other for two days and they decided to get married by a Justice of the Peace (Judge) and it is pouring rain when they pull up to the Judge's home and find out he is not home and will not return until the next day. As the couple are inside the house you see some one lift up the hood of their car and takes an automobile part from the engine. Once you see this event happening you realize this couple is in for a big surprise and the story beings to reveal a very mysterious event which surrounds Alice Barkley and so poor Ted Nichols starts out with plenty of trouble and no marriage. Good mystery, but I missed Richard Dix. Enjoy.

The minute I knew the screenplay for THE RETURN OF THE WHISTLER was taken from a Cornel Woolrich story, I was hooked into watching. I wasn't disappointed. The story has so many of the film noir ingredients usually found in any Cornel Woolrich story. He wrote THE WINDOW, NO MAN OF HER OWN, STREET OF CHANCE, and so many noirish mysteries.

This tale begins on a rainy night when a young couple are about to get married. When the minister is not home, they must stay overnight at a nearby hotel and that's where the mysterious happenings begin. The plot ingredients include a missing fiancé, a corrupt and greedy family looking for an inheritance, a hired private eye, and a man (MICHAEL DUANE) anxious to locate his missing fiancé and getting to the bottom of a plot of deception.

It's really standard stuff, but it makes a very watchable tale, nicely acted by Duane, LEONORE AUBERT, RICHARD LANE, ANN DORAN and others.

An entertaining entry in the series.

I hate reading reviews that say something like, 'Don't waste your time, this film stinks on ice.' It does to that reviewer yet for me, it may have some sort of naïve charm. If you like the other 'Whistler' series films, this one will be watchable. If you like 40s noirish films, this one will be watchable.

This film is not as good, in my opinion, as any of the earlier series entries which starred Richard Dix as the protagonist. It's much slower, and the plot is trite. You've seen this same narrative device used in many other films, and usually better.

But the acting is good, and so is the lighting, and the dialog. It's just lacking in energy and you'll likely figure out exactly what's going on and how it's all going to come out in the end not more than a quarter of the way through.

The 'Whistler' series is semi-noir, and there character, mood, lighting, camera movement and angles are more important than the story itself. But this film is not noir. It's too light weight and Hollywood innocent for that. Neither Richard Dix's character nor those of any of his ladies in the previous films had to come to a good end. You just never knew until the end.

But still, I'll recommend this one for at least a single viewing. I've watched it at least twice myself, and got a reasonable amount of enjoyment out of it both times.

Return of the Whistler, The (1948)

*** (out of 4)

The seventh and final film in Columbia's series tells the story of a man (Michael Duane) who checks his fiancé (Lenore Aubert) into a hotel room but when he returns the next day she is gone. He eventually tracks her to a strange family who claims the woman is already married but there's more going on. The series certainly ends on a very high note and I have to wonder why more movies weren't made unless they simply weren't making money. Richard Dix is missing but Duane makes for a good leading man and carries the film just fine. Aubert, from Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, turns in a fine performance as does Richard Lane from the Boston Blackie series. What has shocked me the most about this series is that all of the screenplays are "A" level in their style and sharpness. This film offers a lot of nice twists and turns, which make it worth watching for mystery or noir fans.

Due to circumstances, Michael Duane and Lenore Aubert have to check into a hotel so they can get married the next day. Still unmarried, and needing to get his car fixed, Duane decides to search for a garage and pick up Aubert the next morning. The next morning however, he discovers his fiancé checked out of the hotel minutes after he left, which he cannot believe. Private detective Richard Lane overhears the conversation and decides to help him track down his fiancé. They drive back to Duane's apartment for some photos to help Lane. At the apartment Duane finds Aubert's old marriage license, she's a widow. When he hands over the photos and the license to Lane, Lane knocks him out cold and takes off! When he comes to, Duane realizes Aubert must be caught in something dangerous and heads for the estate of her dead husband, to find a clue...

Based on a short story by Cornell Woolrich, this was the last of the Whistler movies, and the only one without Richard Dix, who was in bad health (and would die the next year). It's still a worthy entry in the series, even if some of the twists are not too surprising. Duane, who had already co-starred in a another Whistler movie ('The Secret Of The Whistler') and Aubert do a decent job, as does the rest of the no- name cast. Aubert, who plays a French woman, does tend to forget her French accent quite often. Random trivia: uncredited actor Fred F. Sears would go on to direct many movies himself including a few noirs like 'Chicago Syndicate'.

While it's a B-movie, it's very lean and fast-moving thanks to director D. Ross Lederman ('Strange Alibi', 'Key Witness'), and it has above-average production values with some nice sets. The chiaroscuro cinematography by DoP Philip Tannura ('Key Witness', Edgar J. Ulmer's 'Strange Illusion') is really nice, and also features the necessary shadow of 'The Whistler' in some key scenes. All in all, not a bad way to end the series.

Last of the Whistler movies and the only one without star Richard Dix. The plot here is about a man (Michael Duane) whose fiancée (Lenore Aubert) disappears from her hotel the night before they are to be married. He investigates along with the assistance of a private detective. Michael Duane is okay but it's easy to see why the series didn't continue with him. Lenore Aubert is lovely. Richard Lane, usually playing Inspector Farraday in the Boston Blackie series, plays the private eye here. Great character actor Olin Howland stands out as a hotel clerk. Not a bad B movie but missing the screen presence of someone like Richard Dix. Still worth checking out if you catch it on TV one of these days.

The Whistler series was an excellent B mystery series from the 1940s. Each of the films had starred Richard Dix...but in 1947 he had a heart attack and was in ill health until his death in 1949. But the studio wanted to carry on the series and brought us "Return of the Whistler"...a similar but Dix-less installment in the series. It turned out to be the last in the series as well. Additionally, the exciting director William Castle directed most of the Whistler films...though not this one.

The mystery in this film is a good one. When Ted (Michael Duane) and his fiancée, Alice (Lenore Aubert), arrive at a hotel, things seem pretty normal. But when Ted leaves and then returns, he finds Alice missing--and the hotel desk manager is lying about her leaving on her own. But who took her...and why?! Well, the solution turns out to be very interesting...and well worth seeing.

Despite the stars of this film being pretty much complete unknowns, the film works well because the acting is good AND, most importantly, the mystery is very well written and engaging. Overall, actually one of the better entries in the series...and it's a shame this was the last.

This being the final entry in the superlative Whistler series, I was expecting a dud. But it's not. Overall, the movie is definitely second rank but still representative of many of the series' better elements. The mystery sets up quickly as prospective bride (Aubert) disappears from her hotel room, leaving prospective groom (Duane) wondering what went wrong. After all, she seemed so sincere and loving. The hotel clerk (Howland, I believe) is worse than no help and may make you glad for Motel 6. The mystery deepens as detective Lane turns up clues and things begin to appear not as expected.

Duane is serviceable in the lead, replacing series regular Richard Dix. More importantly, I'm not sure how well the aging, dissipated Dix could have matched up with the innocent bridegroom role, anyway. What the entry lacks is the trademark provocative ending and the suffused atmosphere that characterize the William Castle directed entries, suggesting that Castle was more formative to the series' overall excellence than perhaps thought.

Still, it's puzzling to me that the series ended so abruptly, even without Dix. The material certainly reflected popular noirish programming of the period, so I would surmise that an audience was there. Perhaps there's an inside story. Nonetheless, in my little book, The Whistler series remains the most memorably unusual to emerge from the movie- drenched 1940's, even if this entry falls short.

Michael Duane and emigree Lenore Aubert are on their wedding trip, but the officiant isn't available. When their car breaks down, night hotel clerk Olin Howland won't let them share a bed room. So Duane puts Miss Aubert in the room and goes down to the garage where the car is being fixed. The next morning, he returns to find a painter redong the room, and no sign of his fiancee. In fact, when Howland is roused, he insists she went back to the city.

At first I thought this was going to follow modern urban myth of "The Hotel Room That Disappeared". After all, it's been used in at least a couple of other movies. But the film started tking a different tack with PI Richard Lane, who offers to help Duane, travels with him back to his apartment to recover a photo of Miss Aubert, and then does something very surprising.

This was the last entry in the WHISTLER series for the movie; Richard Dix had retired after the last one and would die the following year, and no one here has enough star power to keep a B series going, not when Columbia was shutting its series down. Too bad. It's nicely plotted, and D. Ross Lederman directs efficiently, as he was wont to. With James Cardwell, Ann Shoemaker, Sarah Padden, and Jack Rice.

This is the eighth and final Whistler film. It was made without Richard Dix in the lead, as he was too ill and died the following year. This time the lead is Michael Duane. D. Ross Lederman directed this one. The leading lady who plays a young French woman is Lenore Aubert, a stage name for Eleonore Leisner, who was Slovenian. She is very effective. Possibly in order to try to make up for the absence of the usual leading man, the producers chose a superior mystery writer, Cornell Woolrich. The story really is very good indeed. The film begins with a night of a torrential downpour. A young couple are driving through the rain, Duane and Aubert. They pull up in front of one of those private homes of a Justice of the Peace which has a neon sign saying "Marriages Performed". They have made an appointment to be married. But the Justice has been kept away by the storm and will not return until morning. So the couple drive into a nearby town and manage with difficulty to find a room for the night in a small hotel, but because they admit they are not yet married, Duane is told he cannot stay overnight with the lady, so he leaves her there and goes to get their car fixed and stay overnight in it. He returns the next morning, the sun shining brightly, and with an expectant smile on his face goes to the room where his bride to be will be waiting. But she has disappeared and the room is being decorated by a grumpy workman. Duane is told that Aubert left half an hour after he did the night before. He knows that is impossible, but can prove nothing. The police do not believe him and refuse to help. How is he going to find her? What can he do? The situation is desperate in the extreme. And that is merely the beginning of the mystery. This is a really, really good one. A magnificent way to close the series.

The "Whistler" series of mysteries in the 1940s was one of the immediate ancestors of "film noir." The stories were usually dark, the characters were morally ambiguous, and the shadowy, anonymous narrator ("I am the Whistler") added an extra touch of creepiness.

This last entry in the series is different from the others. It's lighter, in both senses of the word. Though it's an adequate "B" mystery, it's no grimmer than an Agatha Christie film.

The difference is partly due to the writing and directing, but the absence of Richard Dix, the aging former star who played the leads in the previous films, is a big factor. Dix had a "noir" persona if ever there was one. He looked like a man haunted by the past and worried about the future. Here he's replaced by fresh-faced young Michael Duane, who just doesn't have the same gravitas.

The plot is a variation on a familiar theme. A man's new fiancée vanishes, and he quickly realizes how little he really knows about her. The more he learns what seems to be the truth, the more it makes sense simply to forget all about her, but he can't get past the feeling that somebody is lying to him.

The mystery woman is played by Lenore Aubert, who was sort of the poor man's Hedy Lamarr in the 1940s. She's supposed to be a French widow here, though she doesn't sound terribly French. (She was actually born in Slovenia and raised in Austria, and her Gallic-sounding screen name was dreamed up by Hollywood.)

This is a decent little crime story, but it's not representative of the "Whistler" movies. If you don't happen to like it, at least give another film in the series a look.

The WHISTLER movie series, produced by Columbia Pictures, ended with THE RETURN OF THE WHISTLER, and its a good noir, although series star Richard Dix is not present, who passed after this film's release. The cast of supporting actors is worth noting, including BOSTON BLACKIE co-star Richard Lane again turning up as a detective. Here, Lenore Aubert plays a young French woman who gets caught up with a strange wealthy family, marrying the son --but everyone makes her out to be a ruthless gold digger. Lots of suspicious types here! Aubert became an overnight star not too long after this film in the iconic ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN, followed by ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET THE KILLER. The Whistler's creepy narration, much like THE SHADOW, is always fun. Based on a Cornel Woolrich story. Director D. Ross Lederman replaced William Castle, who was also behind the LONE WOLF AND BOSTON BLACKIE films. Finally on dvd, either sold separately or in box sets.

"The Whistler" really didn't go anywhere, he's here, whistling his mournful dirge and giving us the lowdown on the case at hand. The difference is that Richard Dix was replaced by Michael Duane as the main character in this, the last of the series.

The good news is that this one is an entertaining, spellbinding story for 50 mysterious minutes. The bad news is that the picture lasts for 60 minutes, and begins to fall apart towards the end. I often think that authors and screenwriters start with a terrific idea for a story and then can't figure out how to end it (exhibit A is "Harvey").

I thought Michael Duane was a good main figure and did a creditable job in this film, but then disappears soon after from motion pictures. Boston Blackie fans will recognize Richard Lane, who played Insp. Farraday in that series. This was a good entry in "The Whistler" series, before losing some credibility in the last 10 minutes. In fact, it was very good, for the first 50.