Whispering Smith Speaks

I sat down to watch this film not really knowing what to expect and what a lovely surprise it was, the only thing wrong was the quality of the DVD, there were clearly some small bits missing, possibly from the end of the reels, but it was not so bad as to mar the viewing of this great little film. Gordon Harrington is the son of a railroad magnate who is given little to do in his fathers business beyond rubber stamping letters. Disatisfied he decided to head out west and become the line walker for a small railroad line who's general manager is a woman who unwittingly owns a lucrative piece of land which she thinks is worthless, she has been offered $15000 for it which she is eager to take. Gordon, who is known as John Smith realises that there is more to this than meets the eye and realises he needs to help the girl and her mother. Anyway, George O'Brien gives a wonderfully light hearted performance, showing a lovely flair for humour with a very personable screen presence, he was wasted in so many of the B westerns he made. Irene Ware is also very good as the first girl who could make a big mistake, all the cast were excellent with the exception of the actress who played the mother, she was extremely amateurish, but, she is not in the movie enough for it to make a difference. Cal and Bill, the two engineers who run the train on the small line were great fun as a double act and in the scene where the engine is racing to Denver (not Detroit as stated in the plot synopsis)you can see O'Brien and the actor playing Bill were having a whale of a time. Not a big budget blockbuster, but, very entertaining all the same, see it if you get the chance. And, no, for once O'Brien doesn't get his shirt off.