The Return of the Whistler

A weird mind game noir that doesn't make too much sense if you think about it closely but is fun enough while it's going on. This is the only Whistler film without Dix, and it's a bit better for it, but the acting is still nothing special. That, combined with the very quick pace, means it doesn't have much going for it outside the potential in the script. I enjoyed it, but it's nothing special.

Richard Dix who had starred in the first seven films of The Whistler series had suffered a heart attack and couldn't continue. He ended up dying in 1949 as a result of his declining health. In his place we get Michael Duane for The Return of the Whistler (1948), a return that was very short-lived as both The Whistler series and Duane was finished in Hollywood once this was released. Was alright. Didn't have so much the darker tones of some of the Dix entries, but fine enough in a plain way.