The Thirteenth Hour (1947)

Truly Dreadful Film

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

"The Thirteenth Hour" is the final installment of The Whistler series which starred Richard Dix. Sadly, shortly after making the movie, Dix died of a heart attack at age 56.When the story begins, Steve Reynolds (Richard Dix) owns a small trucking company and life is just fine. However, he's in for a horrible time...and it all begins when he picks up a hitchhiker. His car is run off the road and there is no obvious evidence that another driver was involved. Steve tells the cops to ask the hitchhiker what happened...and the man disappeared! The court believes Steve was drunk and they take away his license...and it's obvious the cops have it out for Steve. Soon after, Steve is deliberately set-up for murder when an unknown person runs over a policeman in Steve's truck. Steve is knocked out and stuck behind the wheel...and the police think he's a killer. So, he runs away before the police can apprehend him and he spends the rest of the film trying to discover who is doing all this to him and why. The only clue he has is a glove.This is an enjoyable and well written installment of this B-movie series. Not among the very best but quite good and well worth seeing.

In his last film, Richard Dix finds his life turned upside down thanks to rules and regulations for truck drivers that result in the suspension of his license. He finds that one drink is one too many thanks to another driver too busy trying to kiss his girlfriend than pay attention to the road. His only witness disappears seemingly into thin air after the truck veers off the road to avoid the other driver, crashing into a gas station ironically as a police officer reports in that nothing is going on. That officer, it turns out, is the rival for the affections of his waitress girlfriend (Karen Morley). Unable to drive after the trial with a suspended license, Dix finds himself the main suspect in the murder of his rival, seemingly linked to the trucking company Dix has started. The road to his clearing leads him straight to the path of...you guessed it...the Whistler.Dix helps a tricky, but intriguing story line, move along as a rather supernatural element takes over the organized crime hints. Who is that mysterious passenger who disappears? While only the whistler knows for sure, I suspected that he was actually the whistler guiding Dix to his destiny. Moving at a fast and furious speed, this has great character performances and moody photography as well to recommend it.

Probably the most "Hitchcockian" of the "Whistler" series (an innocent man framed for murder, trying to evade capture from the police and bring the real killer to justice), "The Thirteenth Hour" is also notable for being the last film in the series for Richard Dix, as well as his last film in general. And it is an appropriate farewell: it has one of the very few happy endings in this series, and Dix has his warmest, most loving relationship with a woman (the likable Karen Morley). Dix died shortly after completing this film, but at least the fictional character he played in his last film seemed like he went on to live a long and happy life. The one major problem with "The Thirteenth Hour" is that the one big surprise of the plot is not very surprising for mystery fans. But it's still a well-done B-movie, and even features a particularly competent child's performance (from Morley's son). **1/2 out of 4.

1st watched 5/29/2000 - (Dir-William Clemens): Interesting story that keeps you attached till the end in this obvious "one in a series of films" surrounding mysterious things that happen around a whistler that shows up in shadows.Very much like "The Fugitive" TV series and movie that followed.