Assalto nas Trevas

... is how I describe Richard Dix's final film and the last of the Whistler series of B films in which he starred with twists and turns like the California roads over which his trucks roll.

Dix plays trucking company owner Steve Reynolds, who has just gotten engaged to diner owner Eileen Blair. He has a single alcoholic drink to celebrate his engagement and, while driving his truck, picks up a hitchhiker simply because he is in a good mood. That less than a minute it took to pick up the hitchhiker causes Steve to be at a point on the road where he has a near collision with a reckless driver who simply keeps on driving. Steve crashes into a gas station to keep from hitting the reckless driver. But Steve is readily written up for drunk driving by a cop who is resentful of the fact that Steve got Eileen. Steve says the hitchhiker can verify what happened, but he is gone. Nobody at the site of the wreck saw the reckless driver, and nobody else saw the hitchhiker. It is like he disintegrated. This is the Twilight Zone part of the film.

From there things just go horribly wrong for Steve. He is framed for murder, runs away making himself look guilty, and in attempting to clear himself runs across a major criminal enterprise. To tell you more would be to tell too much, but it is a very entertaining B film. Dix was great in this Whistler series of films, here playing somebody who is not a gray character, but a straight shooter who just got caught up in events.

Truck-firm owner Steve Reynolds (Richard Dix) gets involved in a feud with a rival firm, and shortly thereafter is slugged by a masked assailant who steals the truck he is driving. The assailant runs down a policeman in the truck and leaves other clues pointing to Reynolds as the cop killer.

With only a glove, with diamonds stuck in the thumb, as a clue, and while evading the police and other characters after him and the diamonds, Reynolds, with the help of his fiancée and her son, finally runs down the guilty party and clears himself.

Richard Dix stars in this seventh instalment of the Whistler series and, sadly, it's his final film. Always a likeable presence, Dix does a great job as always and bolsters this standard thriller somewhat. Not the best Whistler, but enjoyable enough, if a little convoluted.

"The Thirteenth Hour" is the final installment of The Whistler series which starred Richard Dix. Sadly, shortly after making the movie, Dix died of a heart attack at age 56.

When the story begins, Steve Reynolds (Richard Dix) owns a small trucking company and life is just fine. However, he's in for a horrible time...and it all begins when he picks up a hitchhiker. His car is run off the road and there is no obvious evidence that another driver was involved. Steve tells the cops to ask the hitchhiker what happened...and the man disappeared! The court believes Steve was drunk and they take away his license...and it's obvious the cops have it out for Steve. Soon after, Steve is deliberately set-up for murder when an unknown person runs over a policeman in Steve's truck. Steve is knocked out and stuck behind the wheel...and the police think he's a killer. So, he runs away before the police can apprehend him and he spends the rest of the film trying to discover who is doing all this to him and why. The only clue he has is a glove.

This is an enjoyable and well written installment of this B-movie series. Not among the very best but quite good and well worth seeing.

For a while I had the impression that the Italians and the Spanish held the titles for the world's ugliest leading Men. Enter Richard Dix with whom they partner with Karen Morley as a girlfriend. Out of all the men in America, I am quite sure she could have chosen a better mate. But what the Hell, I am not the casting director, yet from what I am seeing. They shouldn't have that job either.

Other than that it's your typical run of the mill B-movie. That won't ruin your day as long as you keep your expectation in line with what you're about to witness. Personally, I would find these movies more believable, if they would pair women with these guys who actually look like they would date them.

5 out of 10 for a one and done.

1st watched 5/29/2000 - (Dir-William Clemens): Interesting story that keeps you attached till the end in this obvious "one in a series of films" surrounding mysterious things that happen around a whistler that shows up in shadows.Very much like "The Fugitive" TV series and movie that followed.