''Whispering Smith'' is a 1948 American Western film directed by Leslie Fenton and starring

Alan Ladd Alan Walbridge Ladd (September 3, 1913 – January 29, 1964) was an American actor and film producer. Ladd found success in film in the 1940s and early 1950s, particularly in films noir and Westerns. He was often paired with Veronica Lake ...

as a railroad

detective A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads th ...

assigned to stop a gang of train robbers. The supporting cast includes Robert Preston, Brenda Marshall and Donald Crisp. The picture is based on a

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

Frank H. Spearman Frank Hamilton Spearman (September 6, 1859 – December 29, 1937) was an American writer. Career overview Spearman was known for his books in the Western fiction genre and especially for his fiction and non-fiction works on the topic of railr ...

and a previous 1926 film adaptation starring

H. B. Warner Henry Byron Warner (born Henry Byron Lickfold, 26 October 1876 – 21 December 1958) was an English film and theatre actor. He was popular during the silent era and played Jesus Christ in '' The King of Kings''. In later years, he successfu ...

Plot

The bad Barton boys—Blake, Leroy, and Gabby—rob a train and shoot a guard. Luke Smith, known as "Whispering" to some for his quiet ways, is a detective for the railroad sent to investigate. Murray Sinclair, an old friend of Smith's, is in charge of the railroad's wrecking crew. He's glad to see Smith, who shoots Leroy and Gabby and is saved when a bullet is deflected by a harmonica in his pocket, given him long ago by his sweetheart Marian, who is now Sinclair's wife. It saddens Smith to find out that Sinclair might be in cahoots with Barney Rebstock, a rancher with a bad reputation. Rebstock has been hiding the remaining Barton brother, Blake, who is tracked down by Smith. Whitey DuSang is a hired gun for Rebstock, who wants to see Smith dead. When the railroad's boss gives Sinclair an order, Sinclair rebels and is fired. Rebstock hires him to pull off a string of daring train holdups. Smith forms a posse. Whitey kills a guard and betrays Rebstock, shooting him. Sinclair is wounded. Smith does away with Whitey but gives his old friend Sinclair a last chance. When Sinclair rides home, he finds Marian packing and strikes her, accusing her of leaving him for Smith. Smith shows up and Sinclair apologises for his actions. He seems sincere, but when Smith's back is turned, Sinclair pulls a hidden gun. Before he can fire, Sinclair falls over and dies from his wound. Smith leaves town, his work there done.

Cast

as Whispering Smith * Robert Preston as Murray Sinclair * Brenda Marshall as Marian Sinclair * Donald Crisp as Barney Rebstock * William Demarest as Bill Dansing * Fay Holden as Emmy Dansing *

Murvyn Vye Marvin Wesley Vye Jr. (July 15, 1913 – August 17, 1976) was an American character actor. He is best known for portraying Prince Ken Arok in the comedy film ''Road to Bali''. Early years Vye was born in Quincy, Massachusetts, and educat ...

as Blake Barton *

Frank Faylen Frank Faylen (born Charles Francis Ruf, December 8, 1905 – August 2, 1985) was an American film and television actor. Largely a bit player and character actor, he occasionally played more fleshed-out supporting roles during his forty-two ...

as Whitey Du Sang * John Eldredge as George McCloud * Ward Wood as Leroy Barton (as Robert Wood) *

J. Farrell MacDonald John Farrell MacDonald (June 6, 1875 – August 2, 1952) was an American character actor and director. He played supporting roles and occasional leads. He appeared in over 325 films over a four-decade career from 1911 to 1951, and directed fort ...

as Bill Baggs * Will Wright as Sheriff McSwiggin * Don Barclay as Dr. Sawbuck * Eddy Waller as Conductor (as Eddy Waller) * Ashley Cowan as Brakeman * Jimmie Dundee as Karg * Ray Teal as Seagrue * Bob Kortman as Gabby Barton

Production

The film was announced in early 1947 as a vehicle for Alan Ladd. It was Ladd's first Western and his first movie in colour. The script made a number of changes to the original novel including changing the double love story to one. Brenda Marshall was given her first screen role in four years. Filming began on 14 April 1947. The role of Whispering Smith was partly based on Jake Lefors. The part of Murray Sinclair, Smith's friend who turns to crime, was supposedly inspired by

Butch Cassidy Robert LeRoy Parker (April 13, 1866 – November 7, 1908), better known as Butch Cassidy, was an American train and bank robber and the leader of a gang of criminal outlaws known as the "Wild Bunch" in the Old West. Parker engaged in crimina ...

. The filmmakers built a Western town on five acres of the backlot at a cost of $70,000. It included 2000 feet of railroad track on which authentic 1870 locomotives owned by Paramount were operated. The trains were converted from their original wood-burning fuel system to oil by their original owner, the Virginia & Truckee Railroad of Carson City, Nevada. The set was later re-used in many later TV shows and films, including ''

Bonanza ''Bonanza'' is an American Western television series that ran on NBC from September 13, 1959, to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 432 episodes, ''Bonanza'' is NBC's longest-running western, the second-longest-running western series on U ...

''.

Reception

The film was not released until 1949, by which time Paramount had made and released another Ladd film, '' Beyond Glory''. The film was popular with audiences. According to ''Variety'' it was the 20th-most popular film in the US and Canada in 1949. It was also one of the most watched films of the year in the UK.

Possible follow up

Sol Lesser Sol Lesser (February 17, 1890 – September 19, 1980) was an American film producer. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960 and was awarded the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in 1961. Biography In 1913, while living in San F ...

, who had rights to ten ''Whispering Smith'' stories, wanted to film some of them with Robert Mitchum, who had begun his career as a leading man in a pair of Zane Grey Westerns. These films were not made. However, Audie Murphy later starred in a ''Whispering Smith'' TV series.

References

External links

* * * {{AFI film, id=25808, title=Whispering Smith 1948 films 1940s historical films 1948 Western (genre) films American historical films American Western (genre) films Films scored by Adolph Deutsch Films based on American novels Films based on Western (genre) novels Films directed by Leslie Fenton Paramount Pictures films Rail transport films 1940s English-language films 1940s American films