After all was said and done - I honestly found it hard to believe possible that (following all of the utter nonsense that took place in Whistle Stop's truly preposterous story) director Leonide Moguy actually had the gall to twist its ending into a "happy" one.
And, if it wasn't bad enough being happy - This cheery "Hi-Ya, Handsome" ending actually had the 2 love-birds (hand-in-hand) smiling at one another as they (get this!) walked off into the sunset together. (Sheesh! Spare me!)
And, hey, speaking about Ava Gardner - Yeah. OK. She may have been something of a real hot looker in her heyday, but, man, her apparent skills as a competent actress were pathetically one-dimensional, at best.
And another thing - With Gardner always wearing damn shoulder pads that would rival those worn by any professional football player - I swear that this woman must have changed her outfits at least umpteen times throughout the course of Whistle Stop's 84-minute running time.
And, yes, speaking about actor George Raft - This greasy-looking creep was certainly no Humphrey Bogart. And at 45 I couldn't believe (for even a minute) that Gardner's character (regardless of her being a gold-digger, as well as being almost half Raft's age) could ever fall head-over-heels in love with such a sleazy, low-life loser as this slimy bugger.
Anyways - Had Whistle Stop, literally, not ground its unendurable, crappy "happy" ending into my face, then, yes, I probably would've rated this vintage piece of junk somewhat higher. But, as it stood (happy ending, and all), this 1946 picture was a Hollywood film-noir-wannabe at its absolute stinkiest and stupidest.
Nostalgia be damned!!
And, if it wasn't bad enough being happy - This cheery "Hi-Ya, Handsome" ending actually had the 2 love-birds (hand-in-hand) smiling at one another as they (get this!) walked off into the sunset together. (Sheesh! Spare me!)
And, hey, speaking about Ava Gardner - Yeah. OK. She may have been something of a real hot looker in her heyday, but, man, her apparent skills as a competent actress were pathetically one-dimensional, at best.
And another thing - With Gardner always wearing damn shoulder pads that would rival those worn by any professional football player - I swear that this woman must have changed her outfits at least umpteen times throughout the course of Whistle Stop's 84-minute running time.
And, yes, speaking about actor George Raft - This greasy-looking creep was certainly no Humphrey Bogart. And at 45 I couldn't believe (for even a minute) that Gardner's character (regardless of her being a gold-digger, as well as being almost half Raft's age) could ever fall head-over-heels in love with such a sleazy, low-life loser as this slimy bugger.
Anyways - Had Whistle Stop, literally, not ground its unendurable, crappy "happy" ending into my face, then, yes, I probably would've rated this vintage piece of junk somewhat higher. But, as it stood (happy ending, and all), this 1946 picture was a Hollywood film-noir-wannabe at its absolute stinkiest and stupidest.
Nostalgia be damned!!