Whispering Footsteps (1943) - feat. Mary Gordon & William 'Billy' Benedict

Small town residents of Mrs. Murphy's boardinghouse in Medallion, Ohio, speculate about the murder of a young college woman, the second victim of a killer, dubbed the "Studious Strangler."
The boarders, including librarian Sally Lukens (Marie Blake), gas man Cy Walsh (Matt McHugh) and Mrs. Murphy's children, Rosie (Juanita Quigley) and Jerry (William 'Billy' Benedict, as Billy Benedict), question fellow resident Marcus Aurelius 'Mark' Borne (John Hubbard), a bank teller. He was near Cambridge at the time of the murder.
Bank president, Harry St. Clair Hammond (Charles Halton) takes a special interest in Helene LaSalle (Joan Blair), who is opening a new account. When he leaves for lunch, Marcus is followed by special investigator, Detective Brad Dolan (Cy Kendall). Dolan is interested in Marcus because of his resemblance to the composite sketch of the killer, but police chief Joe Charters (Dick Elliott) scoffs at Dolan's hunch that the mild-mannered Marcus is guilty.
The boardinghouse residents are in an uproar about Dolan questioning Marcus, and in order to escape their chatter, Marcus goes for a walk with Helene, who lives next door with her Aunt Jennie (Elizabeth Valentine).
As time passes, Helene and Hammond begin an affair, much to the dismay of Hammond's daughter Brooke (Rita Quigley), who wants to keep the information from her mother.
Another woman is strangled that night. Suspicion again falls on Marcus, who says he was home asleep. Marcus agrees to help Brooke by asking Helene to end her affair with Hammond. When he talks to Helene, however, she bitterly declares that she is sick of the gossiping townsfolk and intends to fight for what she wants.
Marcus discovers that a fourth woman has been murdered. Helene supplies Marcus with a phony alibi when Dolan questions her.
The next morning, Helene is found strangled. Brooke lies about what time she and Marcus returned home in order to clear him, but he is again under suspicion. Marcus begins to wonder if he could have killed without knowing it, but finally realizes that he is being convicted by his former friends solely on the basis of gossip and circumstantial evidence. Embittered by their small-mindedness, Marcus castigates Hammond and his housemates for their treatment of him, then prepares to leave town. As he is packing, Marcus hears a radio report that the real killer has been captured. Despite being cleared of all suspicion, Marcus decides to leave Medallion in search of a better life.
A 1943 American Black & White film-noir crime film directed by Howard Bretherton, produced by George Blair, screenplay by Dane Lussier and Gertrude Walker, story by Gertrude Walker, starring John Hubbard, Rita Quigley, Joan Blair, Charles Halton, Cy Kendall, Juanita Quigley, Mary Gordon, William Benedict, Matt McHugh, and Marie Blake.
William Franklin Sater Benedict (1917-1999) was an American actor, best known for playing "Whitey" in Monogram Pictures' The Bowery Boys series.
Mary Gordon (1882-1963), born Mary Gilmour, was a Scottish actress who mainly played housekeepers and mothers, most notably the landlady Mrs. Hudson in the Sherlock Holmes series of movies of the 1940s starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce. Her body of work included nearly 300 films between 1925 and 1950.
Former propman Howard Bretherton was one of the legion of unknown directors who made films, mostly westerns, that generations of kids trudged to see at the Saturday afternoon matinées. Bretherton's long career as an action/western director began in the late 1920s. He ground out scores of cowboy flicks, action/adventure yarns, and serials. He made films the way B-Movie producers wanted them made. Fast, with a minimum of fuss, and within budget. The fact that Bretherton was also an editor, a skill he passed on to his son, David Bretherton, who was an editor for more than 40 years, who could cut "in the camera" must have added to his desirability in the eyes of producers. Bretherton spent time at Warner Bros. cranking out many of that studio's gritty little action pictures. Unlike many of his fellow "B" directors who turned to series television toward the end of their careers, Bretherton stayed mostly in features until his retirement in 1952, with only the occasional venture into episodic TV. In example, he was one of the directors of the long-running "Hopalong Cassidy" series (NBC-TV 1949-1952).
In this little Republic Pictures programmer, a bank clerk's life becomes a nightmare because he fits the description of a maniac killer. A compelling crime thriller, which keeps you guessing until the end. Overall this underrated movie is entertaining, and with its small town gossip angle even manages to sneak in some social commentary. Perhaps destined to remain forgotten, due to the lack of star power and the slight nature of the plot, this isn't one to go out of your way for, but it's worth it for movie lovers who want to watch something, and only have a spare hour in their schedule.

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Thank you very much, Mr. Borchers, for posting this movie. Thank you also for your time and the quality of your insights about both the film and its cast. Yours is the BEST YT classic movie channel.

[@ChrisCarlin-is8wv]

The mayor of Mayberry when he was a cop.

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