Whistle Stop (1946)

User Rating:

5.7/10   

Director:

Léonide Moguy

Writers:

Maritta M. Wolff (novel)
Philip Yordan (screenplay)

Release Date:

25 January 1946 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Crime | Film-Noir

Tagline:

SHE SPELLED TROUBLE FOR EVERY GUY THAT MADE A PLAY FOR HER! (original print ad - all caps)

Plot:

When beautiful Mary returns home to her "whistle stop" home town, long-standing feelings of animosity between two of her old boyfriends leads to robbery and murder.

Plot Keywords:

Carnival | Mink Coat | Bartender | Cigarettes | Chicago

Cast

George Raft	...	Kenny Veech
Ava Gardner	...	Mary
Victor McLaglen	...	Gitlo
Tom Conway	...	Lew Lentz
Jorja Curtright	...	Fran
Jane Nigh	...	Josie Veech
Florence Bates	...	Molly Veech
Charles Drake	...	Ernie
Charles Judels	...	Sam Veech
Carmel Myers	...	Estelle
Jimmy Conlin	...	Al - the Barber
Jimmy Ames	...	Mr. Barker
Mack Gray	...	Bartender

Runtime:

85 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | Finland:K-16 | USA:Approved (PCA #11258, General Audience) | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

San Fernando, California, USA

Company:

Nero Films

Trivia:

Mack Gray, who plays the replacement bartender, was an old friend of Raft's and his film career consisted mostly of cameos in Raft films.

Quotes:

Lew Lentz: [Referring to Kenny] I hate his guts! The arrogant way he walks around like he owns the town, and he hasn't got the price of yesterday's newspaper.

Fun to see a movie of this period with stars in the early years of their careers.

I wanted to see this movie because I had read the novel "Whistle Stop" which was written by Maritta Wolff when she was a college student and was recently republished. The novel gave a great presentation of the Post Depression era and Wolff's beautifully descriptive writing won her a prestigious award. The scriptwriter changed the story significantly. While one part would probably have been too sensitive for the time, I think today's movie writers would portray more of Wolff's imagery of life on both "sides of the tracks". I doubt if an author today would allow his or her book to be an inspiration to a screenwriter who would use some characters and some dialogue yet change the story so dramatically. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the movie AFTER reading the book as it was fascinating to see the similarities and the differences. I'd recommend reading the book and then enjoying the mid-1940's black & white film with the gorgeous Ava Gardner and a young Victor McLaghlin. This certainly isn't the best of '40's crime drama but it was fun to see. If you've already seen the movie, read the book!!