Strange Tales of the Whistler

May 29, 2010 - June 5, 2010

The Power of the Whistler, June 2

I am the Whistler. I know many things, for I walk by night. I know many strange tales, many secrets hidden in the hearts of men and women who have stepped into the shadows. Yes, I know the nameless terrors of which they dare not speak.—The Whistler

Step with us into the shadows of B-movie history, where shabbily budgeted productions are shrouded in eerie atmosphere and fate completes its ironic work in a scant sixty minutes. Yes, this is the world of The Whistler. Inspired by a radio program that had been haunting American living rooms since 1942, Columbia’s screen version of The Whistler borrowed the radio show’s unsettling signature melody and mysterious narrator, and added another compelling element: actor Richard Dix, who starred in seven episodes of what became an eight-film series. The square-jawed, big-framed, tired-eyed Dix plays a different character in each installment, but whether wealthy industrialist, sleazy flatfoot, deranged amnesiac, or down-and-out hustler, he always ends up desperate, facing some outrageous predicament posed by a capricious destiny. And what of the Whistler himself? He is perceived only as a trench-coated shadow and a disembodied voice, delivering ominous pronouncements like some creepy, malapropism-prone oracle, or taunting the characters from outside the frame like a sarcastic superego.

This summer, PFA showcases new and restored prints of all seven of the Dix-starring Whistler films, including four directed by William Castle before he made his ballyhoo breakthrough with works like The Tingler and 13 Ghosts. With two double features and a triple—economical storytelling at an economical ticket price—the series offers a rare chance to witness every detail of these strange tales, none of which have been released on DVD. What secrets lurk in the darkness of the theater? Only the Whistler knows.

Juliet Clark
Editor

Saturday, May 29, 2010
6:30 p.m. The Whistler and The Mark of the Whistler
Double feature. In the twisty noir The Whistler, Richard Dix plans his suicide using a contract killer, then finds the contract can’t be canceled. With The Mark of the Whistler, based on a Cornell Woolrich story. Both films directed by William Castle. (119 mins)

Wednesday, June 2, 2010
7:00 p.m. The Power of the Whistler, Voice of the Whistler, and Mysterious Intruder
Triple feature. Richard Dix is an amnesiac whose past might best be forgotten in the cunning chiller The Power of the Whistler, directed by Lew Landers. With two more Whistler entries, both directed by William Castle: Voice of the Whistler and Mysterious Intruder. (188 mins)

Saturday, June 5, 2010
5:30 p.m. The Secret of the Whistler and The Thirteenth Hour
Double feature. In The Secret of the Whistler, directed by George Sherman, painter Richard Dix finds “companionship” with a lissome blonde while awaiting the death of his wealthy, ailing wife, but the wife’s legacy won’t be exactly what he bargained for. With The Thirteenth Hour, Dix’s final film. (127 mins)

Series organized by Steve Seid. Program notes by Juliet Clark.

The Whistler series will also be screened at the Roxie Cinema in May, during their noir series. Thanks to Elliot Lavine for pushing to revive these films.