Classic TV Westerns- Whispering Smith (1961)

[ethanedwards]

WHISPERING SMITH

WHISPERING COMPANY/ NBC

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Information From IMDb

Plot Summary
Whispering Smith was a detective on the Denver,
Colorado Police Department in the 1870s.
This show took case histories from Smith's adventures.
George Romack was Smith's partner and John Richards was the police chief.
Written by J.E. McKillop

Series Cast
Audie Murphy ... Tom 'Whispering' Smith (26 episodes, 1961)
Guy Mitchell ... George Romack (26 episodes, 1961)
Sam Buffington ... John Richards (17 episodes, 1961)
Jim Sheppard ... Deputy Jim (6 episodes, 1961)
Chick Hannon ... Barfly (3 episodes, 1961)
John Harmon ... Jackie Rouge / ... (2 episodes, 1961)
Kay Stewart ... Bella Laughlin / ... (2 episodes, 1961)
Jess Kirkpatrick ... Mack, Stage Manager / ... (2 episodes, 1961)
Jim Hayward ... Cyrus Gratch / ... (2 episodes, 1961)
Herbert Lytton ... Doc Henderson / ... (2 episodes, 1961)
Bill McLean ... Corky, Bartender / ... (2 episodes, 1961)
Salvador Baguez ... Bandit / ... (2 episodes, 1961)
Willard W. Willingham ... Billy Wilson (2 episodes, 1961)
Jerry Catron ... Carruthers / ... (2 episodes, 1961)
Herman Hack ... Man Turning in Reeger / ... (2 episodes, 1961)
Jack Tornek ... Townsman (2 episodes, 1961)

Series Directed
Christian Nyby (5 episodes, 1961)
Frank Arrigo (4 episodes, 1961)
and more....

Series Produced
Herbert Coleman .... producer (11 episodes, 1961)
Willard W. Willingham .... producer (8 episodes, 1961)
Joseph Hoffman .... producer (7 episodes, 1961)
and more...

Series Writing Credits
Frank H. Spearman (26 episodes, 1961)
Willard W. Willingham (6 episodes, 1961)
and more...

Series Original Music
Richard Shores (22 episodes, 1961)
Gerald Fried (2 episodes, 1961)

Series Cinematography
Neal Beckner (5 episodes, 1961)
Ray Rennahan (5 episodes, 1961)
Bud Thackery (5 episodes, 1961)
and more.....

Trivia
This series was filmed in 1959, but did not premiere until 1961.

Filming Location
Revue Studios, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

[ethanedwards]

Whispering Smith is an American Western series that aired on NBC.
Based on a 1948 movie, the series stars Audie Murphy as Tom "Whispering" Smith,
a police detective in Denver, Colorado. Filming of the series began in 1959,
but the program did not air until May 8, 1961, because of unexpected production problems.

Whispering Smith combines elements of CBS's Have Gun - Will Travel
starring Richard Boone, NBC's Tales of Wells Fargo starring Dale Robertson,
the syndicated Shotgun Slade with Scott Brady, and ABC's The Man From Blackhawk,
a Stirling Silliphant production starring Robert Rockwell.
While the setting of the series is unique,
it is otherwise a standard detective program.

It goes without saying what Audie Murphy achieved,
and his profile is featured here
Screen Legends- Audie Murphy

Audie Murphy whist successful in his movies,
wanted this series to work, alas it didn't.
Guy 'Singing The Blues' Mitchell was his co-star,
but his movie career never really took off,
and he made the wise decision to continue singing.

User Review

Audie takes on the small screen .......
24 May 2006 | by revdrcac (United States)

Audie Murphy appeared in a number of enjoyable westerns in the 1950's before trying his luck in TV with this role as a cowboy detective. The acting and casting in this series were well-executed. However, the writing and erratic story lines were problematic in this series.

Audie Murphy was perfect for this role, which had been originated in a movie of the same name. Murphy made the role his own, and seemed to be very serious about seeing this series succeed. Eventually, he returned to the silver screen, seemingly disillusioned by his TV experience.

This series is worth a look, but does not compare with his superior films of the 1950's.