''Whispering Smith'' is a 1948 American

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

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 Donald William Crisp (27 July 188225 May 1974) was an English film actor as well as an early producer, director and screenwriter. His career lasted from the early silent film era into the 1960s. He won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor ...

. 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", itself ...

by Frank H. Spearman and a previous 1926 film adaptation starring H. B. Warner.

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 *

as Barney Rebstock *

William Demarest Carl William Demarest (February 27, 1892 – December 27, 1983) was an American character actor, known especially for his roles in screwball comedies by Preston Sturges and for playing Uncle Charley in the sitcom '' My Three Sons'' Demarest, ...

as Bill Dansing * Fay Holden as Emmy Dansing * Murvyn Vye as Blake Barton * Frank Faylen as Whitey Du Sang * John Eldredge as George McCloud *

Ward Wood Ward Wood (August 8, 1924 – November 3, 2001), was an American actor and television writer. Wood was probably best known for his recurring role as police Lt. Art Malcolm in the TV series ''Mannix'' from 1968 to 1975. Wood was born in Grangev ...

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 Edward Carlingford Waller (June 14, 1889 – August 20, 1977) was an American stage, film and television actor. Early years Born in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, he was a son of the Rev. Thomas M. Waller, a Presbyterian minister, and Anna Ta ...

as Conductor (as Eddy Waller) * Ashley Cowan as Brakeman * Jimmie Dundee as Karg * Ray Teal as Seagrue *

Bob Kortman Robert F. Kortman (December 24, 1887 – March 13, 1967) was an American film actor mostly associated with westerns, though he also appeared in a number of Laurel and Hardy comedies. He appeared in more than 260 films between 1914 and 1952. ...

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 crimin ...

. 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 ...

''.

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, who had rights to ten ''Whispering Smith'' stories, wanted to film some of them with

Robert Mitchum Robert Charles Durman Mitchum (August 6, 1917 – July 1, 1997) was an American actor. He rose to prominence with an Academy Award nomination for the Best Supporting Actor for ''The Story of G.I. Joe'' (1945), followed by his starring in ...

, who had begun his career as a leading man in a pair of

Zane Grey Pearl Zane Grey (January 31, 1872 – October 23, 1939) was an American author and dentist. He is known for his popular adventure novels and stories associated with the Western genre in literature and the arts; he idealized the American fronti ...

Westerns. These films were not made. However,

Audie Murphy Audie Leon Murphy (20 June 1925 – 28 May 1971) was an American soldier, actor and songwriter. He was one of the most decorated American combat soldiers of World War II. He received every military combat award for valor available from t ...

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