Neil Doyle Amnesia themes were a favorite of detective stories in the '40s, and THE POWER OF THE WHISTLER is no exception. A man who is befriended by a woman who senses danger in his future (JANIS CARTER) is unable to recall anything about his past. She and her sister both combine forces to delve into the few clues they found in the man's pockets and go about trying to hunt down someone who knows his identity.If you can get past the implausibility of the set-up--a complete stranger (Carter) willing to become a full time detective upon short acquaintance of a man she knows nothing about--well, then you can sit back and watch the story unfold without too much cynicism.The man's identity remains a teasing enigma up until the last fifteen minutes or so. JEFF DONNELL is the helpful sister who unravels a few clues of her own.The script is full of loopholes, coincidences, contrivances, as all of these Whistler series are, but it makes an engrossing story if you're willing to suspend your disbelief.

MartinHafer This is one of the more frustrating movies I've seen in some time. That's because the basic story idea is brilliant and very engaging--so engaging that even with the plot's many, many faults, it still was worth watching. The bottom line is that the film had so many plot holes and irrational behaviors on the part of the characters that I was frustrated beyond belief. My wife also watched the film with me and we both found ourselves complaining out loud repeatedly at all the bone-headed actions of the cast--particularly, but not exclusively, Janis Carter (who played "Jean Lang"). The writer, Aubrey Wisberg, had great ideas but either rushed the film into production before all the kinks could be worked out or they didn't care--I'm not sure which.Richard Dix returns again to the series and I liked his being in the Whistler films because he was a very good actor and it was neat to see the same person play different roles in the lead in every Whistler film--what a great concept. It starts off very well as he's struck by a hit and run driver and loses his memory. As he wanders about, Jean sees him and takes pity on him--discovering that he has amnesia and she tries to help him recover his memories. Not knowing what sort of person he was is a great idea--especially as the hidden truth about Dix is really exciting like an episode of the Twlight Zone or Outer Limits.However, here is a partial list of stupid behaviors (those not by Jean are noted): --When she discovers Dix wandering about, she never thinks to take him to the police (who can take fingerprints and check out his story very quickly), but takes him home! What if he's a maniac or a sex offender or is an Amway salesman? --When Dix touches three animals and only a short time later they are dead, no red flag was raised to idiot Jean. A stranger appears and in the space of less than a day, three cute animals die around him and yet that doesn't result in her questioning his character! --When you discover that he IS lying about his past and has every appearance of being a maniac up to no good, you are fortunately stopped by the police who can easily save you! Yet, when they question him and he lies, you say nothing--you don't even ask for help, even though the cops have guns drawn on Dix and to your knowledge Dix is unarmed.--When Dix tries to kill you and chases you, you never scream for help! You just run and hide! --When Dix acts clingy and creepy later in the film (saying he loves you after only knowing you a day), you let this slide.--When Jean and Dix visit the actress early in the film, the actress says she doesn't know him and tells them to leave. Late in the film, she says she DID know him and that he was a dangerous maniac--yet said nothing!!! Had she just told Jean this in the beginning, the entire rest of the film would have been irrelevant!! Now this isn't to say ALL the characters were stupid. Jean's sister and her boyfriend were both good and intelligent characters. But Jean's actions go way beyond pathetically stupid making her seem ridiculous and forcing the audience to cheer for her to die! Plus, the actress and her story made absolutely no sense at all. It's really a shame, as apart from these problems, the plot was amazing and super-exciting. I really hope someone at a studio watches this film and decides to do a remake--the story idea and most of the plot are amazing.

karlpov Richard Dix plays...well, that's the secret. He gets hit by a car early on in the movie and gets one of those handy Hollywood cases of amnesia. Shortly after being hit, he's asked by a girl in a restaurant to be allowed to tell his fortune for a lark, to show her friends how it's done. The cards come up bad, and then his amnesia comes to light, causing the amateur fortuneteller to more or less adopt him so she can help him find out who he is. You'll notice that folks trust one another in this flick a lot more than they probably ever did in real life. With the results your parents probably warned you about. Dix, as usual, is great as this befuddled but somehow sinister stranger. This is perhaps the best of the Whistler movies. Warning: Implied violence to cuddly animals!

John Seal Columbia's B pictures were generally the worst of the major studios. It's hard to forgive them for those awful Jungle Jim films and producer Sam Katzman generally had no artistic quality in his product. Maybe his absence explains the relative excellence of the Whistler series, in particular this very early entry in the Psycho Killer stakes. More reminiscent of Val Lewton than Katzman, The Power of the Whistler foreshadowed many Hollywood psychological features of the next half century.