Copyright 18 February 1949 by Paramount Pictures, Inc. U.S. release: 9 December 1948. New York opening at the Paramount: 14 February 1949. U.K. release: 4 April 1949. 88 minutes. COMMENT: Third re-make of Frank Hamilton Spearman's 1906 novel about a railroad detective has a considerable cult reputation that in my opinion is not wholly deserved. For one thing, I'm not altogether happy with Alan Ladd as Whispering Smith. H.B. Warner in George Melford's 1926 version sounds much more like Spearman's charismatic hero. Nonetheless, the studio has not spared the cash and this version is certainly a colorful period piece and it has been handsomely represented on Universal's DVD. If Ladd is not quite the "Whispering Smith" of the villains' nightmares, the rest of the players are ideally cast. Full marks to Preston and Crisp, but even the smallest bits are just perfect.

I must admit, I've only seen a couple of Alan Ladd films, not even "Shane". Here, his character's personality is that of a very private person, who mostly only speaks when he thinks he has something important to say. He appears to be very low key, but behind that languid stony face with penetrating soulful eyes, he's as tenacious as a bull dog about things he thinks are important, as his long time friend Murray Sinclair(Robert Preston) finds out after Smith(Ladd) discovers his criminal activities relating to the railroad he has long worked for, as has Smith, as a detective.Beefy Robert Preston was often cast by Hollywood as a flawed or unlucky character, often a friend of the lead male or female, who is talked into joining a crooked operation. Another classic example of this is seen in the railroad-dominated de Mille epic : "Union Pacific". Other examples include "Reap the Wild Wind" and "The Last Frontier". Usually, as in the present film, he's marked for eventual death. For a rare role where he is the hero, see the oil epic "Tulsa".It soon becomes clear that Murray married Smith's one time girlfriend(Marian), who still pines for Smith: still unmarried. Smith seems uncomfortable in expressing affectionate emotions, except with his eyes, and prefers a life where he travels around a lot, often in danger of being killed. Murray's breezy garrulous extrovert personality is so different from Smith's, its hard to believe Marian would feel comfortable with both. Apparently, she doesn't really. She's constantly expressing concern about Smith's safety and health, which eventually become wearing on Murray, who becomes jealous of Smith. But that's not the only reason Murray's friendship with Smith becomes unraveled during the course of the film. Smith gradually discovers his increasing involvement in staging train wrecks, then claiming that much of the perfectly undamaged freight is damaged, which is pilfered, often carried to the ranch of his neighbor Barney Rebstock(well played by familiar character actor Donald Crisp). After Murray's new superintendent(the no nonsense McCloud) finds out about his misclassification of freight, he's fired, which just makes him form a closer tie with Barney, with more frequent suspicious train wrecks occurring. Presumably, Murray is now leading the staging of these wrecks, Smith having killed the 3 Barton brothers, who presumably previously staged the wrecks. Smith tries to talk him into moving elsewhere and starting over with a new legitimate life. But Murray gets mad and decks Smith, who them turns to Marian to try to talk Murray into pulling up stakes. Surprisingly, Murray agrees, but is already committed to lead one last train wreck heist. Unfortunately, the law is alerted to this one. He gets shot in the arm and is slowly bleeding to death as he heads for home. Smith and sidekick Bill(William Demarest)follow him plus 2 companions. The companions are shot dead, and Smith has a chance to shoot Murray, but declines. The 2 arrive at Murray's after Murray, but Marian tells them she hasn't seen Murray, after giving them some incriminating info. But Smith detects the lie in her body language, as well as the blood spots on the porch, and doubles back after seemingly leaving. There follows a strange confrontation with Murray: partly antagonistic and partly conciliatory. Murray is now very weak, slouched in a chair. He has an opportunity to shoot Smith in the back, but finally declines it as he collapses onto the floor, thus reciprocating Smith's previous restrain(which he doesn't know about).We may wonder why Smith repeatedly bends over backwards to try to give the uncooperative Murray opportunities to rehabilitate himself. We must assume that either their friendship extends to the very distant past, or perhaps Murray once saved his life, or perhaps he has(or had) a homoerotic relationship with the man(Of course, with the film codes of the time, this possibility wouldn't be made obvious). Even as Murray expires, having just nearly decided to shoot him, Smith squeezes his hand, as an expression of lingering affection. Very unusual!The film begins with Smith leisurely riding his horse through the snow of the low slopes of the Sierras(presumably), then being shot at from a distance, wrongly being assumed dead as a result. We have to assume these men knew he was trailing them, otherwise this makes no sense.(They were the 3 Barton train robbers). Smith's horse was badly wounded, hence useless for him to ride. Thus, he walks toward civilization, which appears as a rail line. He builds a big bonfire as a signal for a train to stop, despite the fact that there is a driving rain that should have extinguished such a fire! Brenda Marshall(Marian) repeatedly looks longingly deep into Smith's eyes, suggesting a deeper affection than usual for the leading lady. Although not stated, I suspect that the other, older, occasionally featured woman: Emmy, also red-haired, is Marian's mother. This would also explain why her husband Bill is a frequent sidekick of both Murray and, especially, Smith. Among the pantheon of villains, none is more chilling than the heavy- lidded, mostly silent, Whitey(Frank Faylon): Barney's right hand man and executioner. Eventually, Barney becomes his victim, when Whitey decides to take his cash from the last train holdup. A little later, Whitey becomes a victim of Smith's pursuit of the thieves.Currently available in a DVD package of 4 '50s westerns, with different leading men.

Two railroad buddies drift apart when one decides to join a local gang.Good "buddy" western. The soft-spoken Ladd and the voluble Preston play off one another really well. Their friendship appears touchingly real, unusual for movie make-believe. Then too, the movie has a lot of colorful aspects, especially the train wreckage scene that's both well-written and well-mounted, and like no other western set-up I've seen. There's also some great Sierra scenery along with a fine supporting cast. I especially like Frank Faylen's droopy-eyed gunman and Donald Crisp's friendly bad guy. And catch the lovely Brenda Marshall, unusually soulful for a western heroine. In fact, each of the supporting players manages a distinctive personality.Certainly, no one could ever accuse Ladd of over-acting. He was always best when asserting a kind of quiet authority as he does here. Actually, that's an effective way to compete with Preston's naturally big personality. So, when the two have a showdown, it's almost like two complementary personalities tragically splitting apart. Something should also be said of the skillfully thought-out script that manages to mesh the complex plot into a believable whole. Anyway, in my book, it's a colorfully done, generally underrated oater from Hollywood's golden period.

Alan Ladd's first starring western and first film in technicolor is Whispering Smith. I have a funny feeling that someone at Paramount figured out that in boots with a couple of inches of heels on them, Mr. Ladd could get some additional height unnoticed. He certainly did do a lot of westerns after Whispering Smith.According to the films of Alan Ladd and the biography by Beverly Linet, Ladd had purchased a ranch for his family and enjoyed his time out there and became an expert rider. For someone who arrived late to the western genre, Alan Ladd does sit the saddle well and looks right at home on the range.The story based on a novel by Frank Spearman had been filmed two times previously as a silent film. Ladd is a railroad detective and we first meet him going after Murvyn Vye and his two outlaw brothers. Ladd's best friend is Robert Preston and his wife Brenda Marshall almost married Ladd back in the day.Preston is a happy go lucky sort, but a lout none the less. The green eyed monster gets him though as Ladd is hanging around. Preston falls for the line that chief villain Donald Crisp gives him. Especially after he gets fired from the railroad after tangling with new superintendent John Eldredge. With his knowledge about the railroad, Preston becomes invaluable to Crisp.Whispering Smith is directed by Leslie Fenton, former actor who was gradually getting into A films, but he retired after directing only a few more films after this one. The character he creates for Ladd is a harbinger of the one that George Stevens did for Ladd in Shane. I have no doubt that Stevens cast Ladd in Shane after viewing Whispering Smith.And Whispering Smith probably would be considered a classic western if someone like George Stevens or John Ford or Anthony Mann had directed it. It's that good.Donald Crisp is a garrulous, but crafty outlaw leader. William Demarest is fine in the sidekick role. But the portrayal among the supporting cast to watch is Frank Faylen's as the albino killer in Crisp's gang. I also think that George Stevens was influenced in his direction of Jack Palance in Shane from Faylen's portrayal. Faylen has even less dialog than Palance did in Shane, but he will absolutely chill you when you watch the film.Whispering Smith is an absolute must for western fans and fans of Alan Ladd. It's a turning point film in his career and I'm glad it is finally out on DVD. Only wish a VHS version had been made of it.