The Whisperers (1967)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Bryan Forbes

Writers:

Bryan Forbes (screenplay)
Robert Nicolson (novel)

Release Date:

1967 (West Germany)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

The Whisperers, who are they?

Plot:

The title refers to the creatures a very poor addled old lady (Dame Edith Evans) imagines in her paranoid fantasies...

Plot Keywords:

Old Lady | Radio | Social Realism | Husband Wife Relationship | Welfare Office

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 8 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Edith Evans	...	Mrs. Maggie Ross
Eric Portman	...	Archie Ross
Nanette Newman	...	The Girl Upstairs
Avis Bunnage	...	Mrs. Noonan
Gerald Sim	...	Mr. Conrad
Ronald Fraser	...	Charlie Ross
Robin Bailey	...	Psychiatrist
Kenneth Griffith	...	Mr. Weaver
Leonard Rossiter	...	Assistance Board Officer
Margaret Tyzack	...	Hospital Almoner
Clare Kelly	...	Prostitute
Michael Lees	...	First Young Man
Lionel Gamlin	...	Mr. Conrad's Colleague
Robert Russell	...	Andy
Harry Baird	...	Earl, The Man Upstairs

Also Known As:

The Whisperers (USA)

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-7 (new rating: 2001) | France:U | UK:A (original rating) | Finland:K-8 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Manchester, Greater Manchester, England, UK

Company:

Seven Pines

Quotes:

Mrs. Ross: Are you there?

Are you there?

The Whisperers is a quiet British film set in Manchester, England which is northern and quite separate from the southern part of the country. In this film, Dame Edith Evans plays Margaret or Maggie Ross, a lonely elderly woman, who has a son, Charlie, and an estranged husband, Archie. The film opens as she spends her day going to the police complaining about the interracial couple upstairs or anything. She goes to the library to read the newspaper and places her feet by the heater for warmth. She also stops at the office for assistance where one person, Conrad, played wonderfully by under-appreciated Gerald Sim looks upon her very well. Her son visits for only five minutes and leaves a secret stash of money behind which causes more problems than solves for her. Maggie is quite lonely but fiercely independent. She gets the money and believes it's hers from assistance. Not realizing it may have been her son's stolen money, Charlie goes to prison but no mention of him after the money leads to meeting a woman who takes her to the bar and takes advantage of Maggie's vulnerability. Once she is passed out, the wife's husband takes her and dumps her near her home. They have robbed her and left her to die in exposure. She survives and recovers and somehow the audience meets Archie who is bribed into taking Maggie home from the hospital and staying with her. Maggie kept all of his newspapers just as he ordered and read them in her spare room which was like a library. When she comes home to the flat, the room is cleaned up. We learn that the newspapers symbolized her husband's presence in the household. After all, she never bought the paper but read it at the library for free. So all the old papers were his is cleared up. You feel sorry for Maggie but there are so many of Maggies out there who just want a little companionship, friendship, and compassion without something in return. Dame Edith Evans surely proved her acting skills making us feel for Maggie Ross.