The Mark of the Whistler, (aka The Marked Man) is a 1944 American mystery film noir based on the radio drama The Whistler.[1] Directed by William Castle, the production features Richard Dix, Porter Hall and Janis Carter.[2] It is the second of Columbia Pictures' eight "Whistler" films produced in the 1940s, all but the last starring Dix.[3]
| The Mark of the Whistler | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster
| |
| Directed by | William Castle |
| Screenplay by | George Bricker |
| Story by | Cornell Woolrich (short story "Dormant Account") |
| Based on | The Whistler 1942-55 radio series byJ. Donald Wilson |
| Produced by | Rudolph C. Flothow |
| Starring | Richard Dix Janis Carter |
| Narrated by | Otto Forrest |
| Cinematography | George Meehan |
| Edited by | Reg Browne |
| Music by | Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco |
Production | Larry Darmour Productions |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 60 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
A drifter claims the money in a dormant bank account. Later, he becomes the target of men who are the sons of the man's old partner, who is now in prison due to a conflict with him over the money.
Bosley Crowther, the film critic for The New York Times, gave the film a mixed review, writing "The dodges by which a fellow successfully stakes a phony claim to a dormant account in a savings bank and swindles $29,000 lend some fair to middling interest to Columbia's latest Whistler-series film—one called The Mark of the Whistler...In this dubious demonstration, the film does present a criminal case with the patient documentation familiar in crime-and-punishment shorts. But the things that happen to this defrauder after he has got the cash are just the claptrap of cheap melodrama—and they are bluntly presented that way."[4]
