Whistle Stop (1946)

Whistle Stop is a 1946 American film noir crime film directed by Léonide Moguy and starring George Raft, Ava Gardner, Victor McLaglen, and Tom Conway. The screenplay was written by Philip Yordan, based on a novel by Maritta M. Wolff.

Director – Leonide Moguy

Writers – Maritta M. Wolff (novel), Philip Yordan (screenplay)

Cast –
George Raft as Kenny Veech
Ava Gardner as Mary
Victor McLaglen as Gitlo
Tom Conway as Lew Lentz
Jorja Curtright as Fran
Jane Nigh as Josie Veech
Florence Bates as Molly Veech
Charles Drake as Ernie

Watch “Whistle Stop” (1946)

Plot

Away for two years, a woman named Mary (Ava Gardner) returns to her home in a small town (a ‘whistle stop’). She attempts to reconcile with Kenny Veech (George Raft), her former romantic interest, but he is jealous and bitter, particularly after she takes up with Veech’s mortal enemy, nightclub owner Lew Lentz (Tom Conway).

Gitlo (Victor McLaglen), a friend of Kenny’s who works for Lentz, talks Kenny into a scheme to rob and kill Lentz at a train station as he leaves for Detroit, then hide his corpse to make Mary believe he chose not to return. Mary manages to foil Veech’s plans, but she remains torn between the two men.

Seeking vengeance, Lentz tries to pin a murder on Veech and Gitlo, who barely make a getaway. Gitlo and Lentz end up killing one another, and Mary finds Veech recovering from a gunshot wound to the arm he had suffered while making his and Gitlo’s escape. The movie ends with them arm-in-arm, walking away to live happily ever after.