THE THIRTEENTH HOUR
US, 1947, 65 minutes, Black-and-white.
Richard Dix, Karen Morley, John Kellogg, Jim Bannon, Regis Toomey, Mark Dennis, Bernadine Hayes.
Directed by William Clemens.
The Whistler was originally a radio program on CBS, from 1942 to 1955.
A series of eight films began in 1944, small supporting features at Columbia. Four of the films were directed by William Castle who, during the 1950s, directed small budget action adventures like Slaves of Babylon, Saracen Blade. From 1958 to 1968 he made a number of exploitative horror films with all kinds of gimmicks to scare audiences, House on Haunted Hill, I Saw What you Did. He also produced Rosemary’s Baby.
• The Whistler - 1944, directed by William Castle
• The Mark of the Whistler - 1944, directed by William Castle
• The Power of the Whistler – 1945, directed by Lew Landers
• Voice of the Whistler – 1945, directed by William Castle
• Mysterious Intruder – 1946, directed by William Castle
• The Secret of the Whistler – 1946, directed by George Sherman
• The Thirteenth Hour – 1947, directed by William Clemens
• The Return of the Whistler – 1948, directed by D. Ross Lederman
As with the radio program, the films are introduced by a shadowy figure walking across the screen, with his signature whistling, which sometimes recurs throughout the film is. He begins to speak, is a narrator of stories about crime, sometimes intervening with narration during the action of the films.
The star of seven of the eight of the films was Richard Dix who had begun his silent film career in 1917, was a popular star for the next 30 years, appearing in the 1931 Academy Award winning Cimarron.
The interesting point about Richard Dix’s presence is that he portrayed a different character in each film. Most of the characters are not entirely sympathetic, ambiguous in their moral attitudes, sometimes swinging between the law and working outside the law.
This is the seventh in the Whistler series from Columbia Studios, 1944 to 1948. It is the last film in weeks which Richard Dix featured, in fact, his last film altogether. He had appeared in the previous six films, a different character in each, as is the case here.
This time he portrays the manager of a trucking firm, engaged to the waitress in the local diner, a firm friend with her son. They are played by Karen Morley and Mark Dennis. He comes under suspicion by the police for drinking and is disqualified from driving. With pressure from a necessary delivery, he runs the risk of driving, confronts a policeman who is killed – and his blamed for the murder.
He decides to move away but then is moved to come back to clear his name. He relies on his partner to collaborate with him to unmask the killers, having interviews with the head of a rival trucking company, a former policeman.
The assistant waitress at the diner is under suspicion, especially from Karen Morley’s alert son. They also discover a false finger which is filled with diamonds.
There are a number of killings and Dix relies on his partner – only to find that he is the criminal, the killer, in league with the assistant waitress. Under pressure, he agrees that the killer use the waitress’s car, go back to get the diamonds. However, the young lad is alert, gives the police the information. There is a shootout – and order is restored.
A lower key drama than some of the previous films. It was directed by William Clemens, who had directed a number of small features during the 1930s and 40s.
