Whispering Smith Hits London 4K Limited Edition (STFR) (1952)
de Francis Searle
Hammer Films - 15 décembre 2025
Titre Original :
Audio : English
Sous-titres : English, French, Italian, Spanish, German
Durée : 1h24
Format : DigiPack / Whispering Smith vs. Scotland Yard | Collector's Edition / 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray / Import UK
Zone : 4K Blu-ray: Region free
2K Blu-ray: Region B
Genre : Action, Aventure, Romance
Synopsis
Coming to England on a vacation Whispering Smith is immediately involved in a case of "apparent suicide." Starting the case as a lark, Smith quickly finds himself up to his ears in mayhem, lovely suspect Louise Balfour, pretty secretary Ann Carter, and a ring of blackmailers including a crooked lawyer and a puppet fancier. Scotland Yard had found a death to be a suicide, but Smith finds it was a murder and while dodging a similar fate himself he has time for light romance with Ann Carter.
Contenu et Bonus
This limited collector's edition comprises:
- Whispering Smith Hits London, its US version Whispering Smith vs. Scotland Yard and supporting material on two discs in a stylish digipak and rigid box: one UHD and one Blu-ray, with the content duplicated across both formats.
- English, French, Italian, Spanish and German subtitles on each version of the film.
The discs feature:
- New commentary with the bfi’s Curator of Fiction Jo Botting and podcaster Dave Thomas.
- New commentary with film historian Richard Holliss and author/screenwriter Gavin Collinson.
- He's Got a Gun!: Author, film-maker and Film Noir fan Chris Alexander casts an appreciative eye over a film that he believes is "a perfect example of Hammer doing what they did best at this period".
- Acting the Foreigner: Film historian Lucy Bolton, author Barry Forshaw and William Fowler and Vic Pratt, authors and creators/curators of the bi’s ongoing Flipside series cast an appreciative eye over acting legend Herbert Lom’s early career.
- Titillating Titles: When there is more than one version of a film, which is the definitive article? Vic Pratt and William Fowler examine the differences between the UK and US versions of Whispering Smith and discuss how versions of the same material can resonate in different ways for different audiences.
- Alfie Cox Interview: Interviewed in 1992 for the British Entertainment History Project, this extract from editor Alfie Cox’s career-long interview covers his time as editor at Hammer.
- The Village of Bray: Filmed in 1950 and released a year later, this short documentary travelogue made by Exclusive Films looks at the bucolic Thames-side village of Bray and its inhabitants.
- A gallery of stills and publicity material alongside tracks from Frank Spencer’s score.
The booklet features:
- New article by Hammer expert Wayne Kinsey examining the making of Whispering Smith Hits London.
- New article by Philip Kemp, who considers the many aspects of Whispering Smith in books and on films and television.
- New article by Nora Fiore, who appraises the Noir films of eternal femme fatale Greta Gynt.
- New article by Vincent Barnett, who investigates the many flavours of Hammer’s crimer output and how it informed their later work.
- New article by Sarah Morgan, who shines a light on Richard Carlson, once a prolific actor but now almost an enigma.
- New article by Wayne Kinsey, who examines how James Carreras’ wheeler-dealing gave Hammer an enviable advantage over their British competitors.