The 13th Hour (1947)

65 mins | Drama | 6 March 1947

Director:

William Clemens

Cinematographer:

Vincent Farrar

Editor:

Dwight Caldwell

Production Designer:

Hans Radon

Production Company:

Darmour, Inc.
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HISTORY

The working title of this film was The Hunter Is a Fugitive. As with other pictures in "The Whistler" series, The 13th Hour opens with a shadowy figure who whistles a haunting tune and then declares "I am The Whistler, I know many strange tales." The voice of The Whistler also closes the story, revealing the fate of the protagonist. For additional information about "The Whistler" series, please consult the Series Index and See Entry for The Whistler. The 13th Hour was the last film of actor Richard Dix, who died on 20 Sep 1949. ...

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The working title of this film was The Hunter Is a Fugitive. As with other pictures in "The Whistler" series, The 13th Hour opens with a shadowy figure who whistles a haunting tune and then declares "I am The Whistler, I know many strange tales." The voice of The Whistler also closes the story, revealing the fate of the protagonist. For additional information about "The Whistler" series, please consult the Series Index and See Entry for The Whistler. The 13th Hour was the last film of actor Richard Dix, who died on 20 Sep 1949.

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SOURCE CITATIONS
SOURCE
DATE
PAGE
Box Office
22 Feb 1947
---
Daily Variety
18 Mar 1947
---
Film Daily
21 Feb 1947
p. 8
Harrison's Reports
15 Feb 1947
p. 26
Hollywood Reporter
18 Mar 1947
p. 3
CAST
PRODUCTION CREDITS
NAME
PARENT COMPANY
PRODUCTION COMPANY
DISTRIBUTION COMPANY
NAME
CREDITED AS
CREDIT
DIRECTORS
Carter DeHaven
Asst dir
PRODUCER
Rudolph C. Flothow
Prod
PHOTOGRAPHY
Dir of photog
ART DIRECTOR
Art dir
FILM EDITOR
Film ed
SET DECORATOR
Set dec
MUSIC
SOUND
SOURCES
LITERARY
Suggested by the radio series The Whistler created by J. Donald Wilson (16 May 1942--8 Sep 1955).
LITERARY SOURCE AUTHOR
MUSIC
"The Whistler" theme music by Wilbur Hatch.
SONGWRITER/COMPOSER
DETAILS
Series:
Alternate Title:
The Hunter Is a Fugitive
Release Date:
6 March 1947
Production Date:
3 Oct--22 Oct 1946
Copyright Info
Claimant
Date
Copyright Number
Columbia Pictures Corp.
6 March 1947
LP927
Physical Properties:
Sound
RCA Sound System
Black and White
Duration(in mins):
65
Country:
United States
SYNOPSIS

At a café, along a lonely highway in a small town, truck driver Steve Reynolds celebrates his sweetheart Eileen Blair's birthday by giving her an engagement ring and drinking a toast. After Steve leaves the party to make a delivery, a drunken driver swerves into his path, forcing him to smash into McCabe's gas station in order to avoid a collision. Don Parker, a motorcycle policeman and Steve's rival for Eileen's affections, witnesses the crash and arrests Steve for drunk driving. When Steve is found guilty and his license revoked, his only recourse is to run his business from his desk. Jerry Mason, Steve's competitor, offers to buy his business, but although in debt, Steve refuses. One night, one of Steve's drivers falls ill and Steve decides to drive the truck himself. Forced by engine trouble to stop along the road, Steve climbs out of his cab and is assaulted by a mysterious assailant, who knocks him unconscious and then seizes control of the wheel. When Don pursues the truck for speeding, Steve's attacker backs into the officer and kills him. Just then, Steve regains consciousness and begins to struggle with the man, but he escapes, leaving behind a glove with a missing thumb. Wanted for Don's murder, Steve goes into hiding, disguising himself as a blind man. Suspecting that Jerry is involved in the crime, Steve follows him to a restaurant and discovers that Jerry is running a stolen car ring from his garage. Hurrying to the diner, Steve entrusts the glove to Eileen for safekeeping, but their conversation is overheard by waitress Mabel Sands. Steve then enlists Charlie Cook, ...

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At a café, along a lonely highway in a small town, truck driver Steve Reynolds celebrates his sweetheart Eileen Blair's birthday by giving her an engagement ring and drinking a toast. After Steve leaves the party to make a delivery, a drunken driver swerves into his path, forcing him to smash into McCabe's gas station in order to avoid a collision. Don Parker, a motorcycle policeman and Steve's rival for Eileen's affections, witnesses the crash and arrests Steve for drunk driving. When Steve is found guilty and his license revoked, his only recourse is to run his business from his desk. Jerry Mason, Steve's competitor, offers to buy his business, but although in debt, Steve refuses. One night, one of Steve's drivers falls ill and Steve decides to drive the truck himself. Forced by engine trouble to stop along the road, Steve climbs out of his cab and is assaulted by a mysterious assailant, who knocks him unconscious and then seizes control of the wheel. When Don pursues the truck for speeding, Steve's attacker backs into the officer and kills him. Just then, Steve regains consciousness and begins to struggle with the man, but he escapes, leaving behind a glove with a missing thumb. Wanted for Don's murder, Steve goes into hiding, disguising himself as a blind man. Suspecting that Jerry is involved in the crime, Steve follows him to a restaurant and discovers that Jerry is running a stolen car ring from his garage. Hurrying to the diner, Steve entrusts the glove to Eileen for safekeeping, but their conversation is overheard by waitress Mabel Sands. Steve then enlists Charlie Cook, his friend and mechanic, to secure a job at Jerry's garage and observe the operation. When Charlie reports that several stolen cars have been delivered to the garage, Steve suggests going to the police with the information, but Charlie convinces him that they should apprehend the thieves themselves. That night, Steve finds Jerry's dead body on the floor next to an empty safe in the garage. At that moment, a shadowy figure knocks Steve unconscious. Upon regaining consciousness, Steve discovers that Charlie has also been knocked out. Dissuaded by Charlie from giving himself up, Steve returns to the diner, defeated, and Eileen shows him the cache of diamonds that she found concealed in the thumb of the glove. When Tommy, Eileen's young son, recalls seeing Mabel call someone, Steve begins to suspect that Mabel is in league with the glove's owner. Hurrying to Charlie's apartment, Steve tells Charlie that Mabel's boyfriend killed Don and Jerry, and asks him to accompany him to Mabel's apartment. Once there, Charlie trains a gun on Steve and declares that he is Mabel's accomplice. After explaining that he killed Don because the officer was blackmailing him about stealing the diamonds, Charlie forces Steve to write a letter to Eileen, claiming that the killers have captured him and Charlie, and are holding Steve hostage for the diamonds while Charlie delivers the letter. At the bottom of the page, Steve cleverly inserts a message stating that the diamonds are hidden in the glove, thus alerting Eileen to danger. Charlie then delivers the letter, and when Eileen and Tommy read it, they realize that something is amiss. After Eileen insists on driving Charlie and the glove to the criminals' hideout, Tommy notifies the police about his mother's license plate number. Tracing the car to Mabel's apartment, the police arrive just in time to arrest Mabel and Charlie as they are leaving the building. Exonerated of all guilt, Steve uses the reward money for the diamonds to rescue his failing business.

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Legend
Viewed by AFI
Partially Viewed
Offscreen Credit
Name Occurs Before Title
AFI Life Achievement Award

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