A Whistle Stop Tour - 2024 - UK

A Whistle Stop Tour - 2024 - 6/10

 
Short where critic Kim Newman gabs about “The Whistler”.
Primarily the eight film series from Columbia, though he touches on the long running OTR series from Signal Oil, as well as the TV series, of which I was unaware.
Fans of the Dix series will find nothing new, nor is this an introduction to the series.
From a remastered box set, unavailable in the US.
I wasted time studying titles in Newman’s shelves.

Mysterious Intruder - 1946 - USA

Mysterious Intruder - 1946 - 6/10

 
One of the last of the Whistler series is also one of the best.
A mild-mannered, kind-hearted shopkeeper hires a private detective to search for a missing child.
The girl had disappeared sever years earlier, but she has now come into a huge inheritance.
That triggers the PI’s larcenous eye, as he is a rather shadowy spirit.
Soon, there are brooding thugs and impersonators.
The story moves hard, packing in details.  Best, it mirrors the Whistler OTR, loaded with dubious characters.
Jeremy Arnold provides an incisive commentary touching on pre-schlock director William Castle, ex-football alum Dix and MacLane, Charles Lane (character actor with 300+ roles!), not to mention the ill-starred actresses, as well as the mechanics of the B-studio output.

He Walked By Night - 1948 - USA

He Walked By Night - 1948 - 7/10

 
A beat cop accidentally interrupts a burglar and is killed for his interference.
Police manhunt of the cop killer is no mere procedural.
For one thing, the killer / thief is smart.  Really smart.
He has devised a homemade radio set to eavesdrop on the police radio channel.
His patterns of crime, he changes those to muddy the trail.
Moody photography, eerie use of the Los Angeles sewer system.
Richard Basehart starred in several Noirs, this one of his best.
Audio commentary by film historians worth listening to, as well.

To Have And Have Not - 1944 - USA

To Have And Have Not - 1944 - 7/10

 
Ex-pat fisherman rents his boat out to US swells who could only land a fish in a grocery.
Set in WWII Martinique, France has fallen and the Caribbean colony comes under Nazi control.
Fishing gives way to smuggling, trafficking souls barely one step ahead of the Gestapo.
Then there’s a penniless female, stranded, as it were, on an island paradise.
Fast paced Noir boats electric chemistry between Bogart and Bacall, and bristling dialogue.
Bacall sings, Hoagy Carmichael plays piano.

If you desire further adventures (similar), check out the OTR “Bold Venture”.
https://archive.org/details/BoldVenture57Episodes

A Christmas Carol - 1941 - USA

A Christmas Carol - 1941 - 6/10

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A radio perennial that aired regularly for decades before fading away.
Ronald Colman makes a crisp Ebenezer Scrooge, bolstered with assorted supporting actors and musical accompaniment.
What is surprising is how much of the Dickens tale is distilled into a half hour.
My ancient vinyl is paired with the Christmas section of “The Pickwick Papers” read by Charles Laughton.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RmnelkRvfk

The Whistler - 1944 - USA

The Whistler - 1944 - 6/10

 
Tycoon Earl, bumming after the death of his wife, hires a killer to snuff him out.
Only condition, he doesn’t want to know when or where.
Then he finds out his wife ain’t dead.
When he tries to cancel – oh, hell.
Fast paced B-film makes decent Noir, although undermined by absurd plot twists.
Richard Dix, the businessman, looks disheveled most of the time, with ill-fitting suits.
The OTR on which this is based is a terrific series, worth listening to.

The Phantom Empire - 1935 - USA

The Phantom Empire - 1935 - 5/10

 
Oh, man.  One of the most absurd serials ever, and mightily entertaining!
The lost civilization of Mu is somehow underneath the Western desert.
More than that, it is underneath Gene Autry’s Radio Ranch.
He and his cowpokes find it, but the Muranian Queen does not want surface dwellers near her kingdom.
Meanwhile, there are the usual villains, greedy land developers who cover Radio Ranch!
All sorts of shenanigans keep Gene and his friends galloping across the sagebrush.
Still, he finds time to sing daily at 2:00.
Did I mention Mu robots wearing metal Stetsons?

Cop Hater - 1958 - USA

Cop Hater - 1958 - 6/10

Late entry in Noir genre is a grimy, sweaty hunt for a cop killer.
Dialogue stilted initially, though one grows accustomed to it.  Based on an Ed McBain novel.  (For ripe pulp prose, track down episodes of “Broadway Is My Beat,” OTR from the 50's.)
From the look of the barely clad females, air conditioning had not been invented yet.
Hot summer, lingerie cheesecake cooling in front of open blade fans.
Many picture compositions appear yanked off detective paperbacks.

 
The precinct knuckles down, slaps suspects, cuts deals.  Sensitive, good-guy cops, no.
Robert Loggia is the main star.  Look for a young Jerry Orbach (Law & Order) as delinquent gang leader.

 
Film simmers and boils into a bruising finish with twist ending.
Sleazy, enjoyable film.

The Naked City - 1948 - USA

The Naked City - 1948 - 6/10

 
Acclaimed Noir, shown in documentary fashion, of a police investigation.
Realism is helped by location shooting across New York.
Open windows and street filming also mean the audio leaves much to be desired.
Story itself is a dry procedural of cops tracking the murderer of a model.
As for Noir camera flourishes and characters, The Naked City is fairly light.
The villains are the most memorable, cops bland.
I was not disappointed, though this reminded me of an OTR show.

The Master Key - 1945 - USA

The Master Key - 1945 - 6/10

 
Universal serial set in 1938, before WWII.
Secret Nazis and Nazi sympathizers plan to buy up all the US manufacturing companies and corporations they can.
That way, once war starts, they will own the States.
To accomplish their task, they need money - lots of it.
Fortunately, they have copied the “Orotron,” a device that can extract an endless supply of gold from sea water.
Combating this conspiracy is one FBI agent, one police detective, and a plucky female newspaper reporter.
Luckily for them, there is an empty theater hall nearby, filled with juvenile delinquents who don’t like Nazis, either.
Fast paced cliffhanger with fairly good twists - the usual cheats, nice cast, inventive plot.

Are You Listening? - 1932 - USA

Are You Listening? - 1932 - 6/10

Bleak Pre-Code title from MGM, starring Billy Haines and a confusing assortment of blondes.
Haines writes and directs (commercials, comedies, dramas) for a radio station.

 
He carries on with another writer, deals with his scold of a wife (actress Karen Morley rips this).
A cynical film, Are You Listening has a dark tone and captures the anxiety of the Depression.
The other narrative is of the three sisters trying to “make it" in the City.

 
Women chase husband material (wealthy or high earners), men grope as casual predators.
Being Pre-Code, expect negligees, easy access relationships, unscrupulous villains.
Numerous old stars and character actors in downbeat film.

Cover Up - 1949 - USA

Cover Up - 1949 - 6/10

 
More mystery than Noir.
During Christmas revels, an insurance investigator hits the small town where the most hated man has killed himself.
“Where’s the gun he shot himself with?”  – No idea.
‘What caliber of bullets were found?”  – Bullets, what bullets?
“Were there powder buns on his hands or clothes?”  – No, sir.
Smiling faces stonewall him the whole time.  
Meanwhile, a fetching young miss catches his eye.  So, add a dash of romance.
OTR buffs will recognize the template for Johnny Dollar.

I Love A Mystery - 1945 - USA

I Love A Mystery - 1945 - 6/10

 
Decent Columbia B-flick, based on popular radio show.
Wealthy husband has been told - no, prophesied to - he would die after a year.
Well, times up, big boy!
His wife becomes an invalid, a weird melody haunts him, a mysterious dame hooks up with him at the Russian Samovar club, he is pursued by a pegleg, death attempts, the secret society of Barokan!
This is the opening ten minutes!
I recognized many character actors, but the only real face was George Macready.
Hold on, keep up, and brace for twists.

Radio Days - 1987 - USA

Radio Days - 1987 - 8/10

 
Shimmering 40’s nostalgia.  My go-to suggestion for people who say they don’t like Woody Allen films.
Tall tales and anecdotes from Old Time Radio’s golden age.
Interspersed with various members of a struggling Rockaway family.
Comic situations and laughs come fast and often, with tons of cameos (Tito Puente, Kitty Carlisle, Diane Keaton, Wally Schawn).
Likely the most personal of Allen’s films, or at least the most revealing of his childhood, and early years as a gag writer.
Highly exaggerated, to be sure, but packed with unforgettable moments.

Conflict - 1945 - USA

Conflict - 1945 - 6/10

Dressing for their fifth wedding anniversary party, Kathryn and Richard realize their marriage is stale.
The spark ain’t there no more.
Besides, Richard is … ahem … in love with Kathryn’s younger sister. Of which Kathy is aware.
What to do? Carry on? Divorce? Murder?

Overbaked Warners film boasts fine cast and superb photography.
The storyline is clunky and has been done countless times before and after.
Audiences of that era would have heard variations yearly on radio shows such as “Suspense,” “The Whistler,” and many others.
Loads of atmosphere, insufficient oomph.

Two O’Clock Courage - 1945 - USA

Two O’Clock Courage - 1945 - 6/10

Gent staggers along darkened street, a nasty gash in his head.
Fortunately, an attractive female cabbie picks him up, realizes he has amnesia, then takes a shine to him.
Because … a high profile murder has been committed and he could be suspect Number One!
Tom Conway in easy going B-film mystery, with many pluses for Noir fans.
This has one of Jane Greer’s earliest roles, Anthony Mann directs, Jean Brooks has a key part.
There are comic elements, so while this has the Noir look, as well as an edge, this is more light hearted.

Watching this reminded me how astonishing the output was of this generation of players.
Most worked in films (later TV), radio shows, theatre boards, even commercials.
Richard Lane, for example, who plays a nosy reporter in this, had 176 acting roles, countless OTR shows, and was Los Angles announcer for roller derby as well as wrestling matches.