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	The Power Of The Whistler Columbia Released: April 19, 1945 66 Minutes
	Directed by Lew Landers Written by Aubrey Wisberg Cast Richard Dix .... William Everest Janis Carter .... Jean Lane Jeff Donnell .... Frances 'Frankie' Lane Loren Tindall .... Charles Kent Tala Birell .... Constantine Ivaneska John Abbott .... Kaspar Andropolous Murray Alper .... Joe Blainey, trucker Cy Kendall .... Druggist Suggested by the Columbia Broadcasting System Program "The Whistler" Director of Photography L.W. O'Connell, A.S.C. Produced by Leonard S. Picker

The Power Of The Whistler
Columbia
Released: April 19, 1945
66 Minutes

Directed by
Lew Landers

Written by
Aubrey Wisberg

Cast
Richard Dix .... William Everest
Janis Carter .... Jean Lane
Jeff Donnell .... Frances 'Frankie' Lane
Loren Tindall .... Charles Kent
Tala Birell .... Constantine Ivaneska
John Abbott .... Kaspar Andropolous
Murray Alper .... Joe Blainey, trucker
Cy Kendall .... Druggist

Suggested by the
Columbia Broadcasting System Program
"The Whistler"

Director of Photography
L.W. O'Connell, A.S.C.

Produced by
Leonard S. Picker

US Three Sheet

Title Lobby Card

The Power Of The Whistler

The shadow of the Whistler
trails a madman.
William Everest (Richard Dix), a homicidal maniac who has escaped from a mental institution, suffers a temporary lapse of memory when he strikes his head on a lamp post in trying to avoid being hit by a passing automobile. He wanders into a cafe where Jean Lang (Janis Carter), and her sister, Frances (Jeff Donnell) are playing cards with Frances' boyfriend, Charlie (Loren Tindall).

Sighting the handsome stranger, Jean uses the cards to tell his fortune. The pasteboards foretell death within 24 hours. She warns him of his danger and tries to help him. Everest says he can't even remember his own name. Jean has him go through his pockets where he finds a cigarette lighter, a doctor's prescription, an order for a birthday cake, a receipt for two dozen roses, a Canadian dollar, a key and a railroad schedule.

The receipt for the flowers bears the name of Constantina Ivaneska (Tala Biroll) a Russian dancer, but when Joan takes Everest to see her Constantina denies knowing Everest. However, Jean spots two dozen roses in a vase. While Everest waits outside Jean next investigates an address on the prescription blank, finding that it is a book shop, where the proprietor informs her that a man answering Everest's description looked at a book on the art of administering poison.

Richard Dix
meets with a mysterious accident!

Who killed the canary and the cat
and the...?...?
Still anxious to assist the stranger, Jean arrainges to have him stay overnight at the apartment she shares with Frances. She persuades Frances to help her in her self-appointed task.

The next morning Everast recovers his memory, but fails to reveal his idontity to Joan.

Meanwhile, Frances, helping track down the meager clues, discovers that the prescription was for a deadly poison, and that the cake was sent to John Crawford (Kenneth MacDonald), chief warden of the Hudson mental Institution. on the cigarette lighter found in Everest's pocket are the initials "C.C. to J.C." Frances deduces that the "J.C." refers to John Crawford.

Everest informs Jean that he now remembers the name of an acquaintance, Edward Calhoun, residing in Woodville, a town which had been marked off with pencil on the railroad schedule. He persuades her to travel to Woodville with him.

"You've violated the law in
more than one way, Mister!"

Romance on his lips...
murder on his mind!
Frances tells Charlie what she has learned about the stranger, and Charlie rounds Constantina, the cake baker and the book dealer and has them tell their story to the police, Constantlina admits knowing Everest, describing him as a former suitor in the days before his mind snapped. She explained she previously had denied knowing him because, she did,not want any rumors to reach her present fiance. Constantina reports that Everest had threatened to kill Judge Edward Calhoun, who signad the papers committing him to the asylum.

The police go into lmmediate action, instructing the authorities at Hudson to warn Crawford about the cake. Crawford and his family are ready to take their first bite of the poisoned pastry when, in the nick of time, a State policeman reaches their home. Crawford reports that Everest, in escaping from the Institution stole his suit, his cigarette lighter, a Canadian dollar and a skelton key.

Meanwhile, Everest, after reaching Woodville with Joan, borrows an automobile from the railroad station telegrapher after informing him he is an old friend of Calhoun's. While they are driving to the Calhoun home Jean notices an identification label on Everest's suit.. It reads "John Crawford. Hudson Mental Hospital."

Immediately suspicious she tries to jump from the car, Everest reaches for a knife and is about to cut her throat when she wrenches herself free. She runs for her life, Everest in pursuit. Jean reaches a barn where she hastily climbs a ladder to the loft. Everest, still, carrying the knife, climbs up after her. Protecting herself, Joan reaches for a pitchfork and thrusts it at Everest, the tines piercing his throat.

Richard Dix and Janis Carter
share a secret.

Jeff Donnell and Loren Tindall
discover a clue.

Half Sheet

Go To:
- Home -
The Paramount Years - At RKO - The Other Studios
Cimarron
-The Lost Films Of Richard Dix-
-The Whistler Series-

Credits this page from the Columbia Studios, The Power Of The Whistler, press release.