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Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Amazon Verified Purchase
I'm a huge fan of westerns, and Audie Murphy is one of my favorite cowboy of all time.
This forgotten series is one of the most action packed of all the western tv series I've seen and fans of the genre will not be disappointed. This series is actually a mixt of two genres: western and detective story, but leaning more heavily on the former. Sadly, it lasted only one season. I have read that the realistic violence (for the period) was the main thing going against it, not ratings or actual quality of the show.
Another thing that might have caused the serie's demise could have been the lack of a good supporting cast (or any really interesting guest stars) for Audie. There is no chemistry whatsoever with gruff-playing chief Sam Buffington (who comited suicide after the end of the series only season). Guy Mitchell tries hard and is a little bit better at being a likeable character. And that's it! These two are the only regular supporting cast Audie Murphy gets on his series.
THE GOOD: Audie Murphy! ('nuff said!), interesting stories, great action (some of the best I've seen on western tv). Forgotten tv western series finally being collected on dvd.
THE BAD: Poor technical quality of the dvd, especially the sound (had to crank up the volume of my tv so high that speakers start to screech). Lack of a good supporting cast for Audie, and no notable guest stars.
The worst thing for fans of the genre is that most of the great classic tv westerns are being collected on dvd by lazy, cheap, second rate companies that have no interest in investing on some restoration(I'm looking at you Timeless Media!). CBS seem to be the only company treating their old tv westerns with high quality reproduction/restoration ("Have Gun, Will Travel", "Gunsmoke", "Bonanza").
This forgotten series is one of the most action packed of all the western tv series I've seen and fans of the genre will not be disappointed. This series is actually a mixt of two genres: western and detective story, but leaning more heavily on the former. Sadly, it lasted only one season. I have read that the realistic violence (for the period) was the main thing going against it, not ratings or actual quality of the show.
Another thing that might have caused the serie's demise could have been the lack of a good supporting cast (or any really interesting guest stars) for Audie. There is no chemistry whatsoever with gruff-playing chief Sam Buffington (who comited suicide after the end of the series only season). Guy Mitchell tries hard and is a little bit better at being a likeable character. And that's it! These two are the only regular supporting cast Audie Murphy gets on his series.
THE GOOD: Audie Murphy! ('nuff said!), interesting stories, great action (some of the best I've seen on western tv). Forgotten tv western series finally being collected on dvd.
THE BAD: Poor technical quality of the dvd, especially the sound (had to crank up the volume of my tv so high that speakers start to screech). Lack of a good supporting cast for Audie, and no notable guest stars.
The worst thing for fans of the genre is that most of the great classic tv westerns are being collected on dvd by lazy, cheap, second rate companies that have no interest in investing on some restoration(I'm looking at you Timeless Media!). CBS seem to be the only company treating their old tv westerns with high quality reproduction/restoration ("Have Gun, Will Travel", "Gunsmoke", "Bonanza").
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.4 out of 5 stars
66 reviews
63 of 65 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Show That Waited Forever To Be Aired!
April 30 2010
By James M. Beer
- Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase
Yep, this was an obscure western series from 1959-60, but it waited until late in the 1960-61 season when it finally made its debut, because of one problem after another. First, Guy Mitchell, the singer-actor who played George Romack, broke his shoulder falling from a horse, therby halting production for several weeks, enabling Audie Murphy to do a movie. Sam Buffington, who played Smith and Romack's boss Capt. John Richards comitted suicide in May 1960, guess he wasn't happy doing the series. When Whispering Smith did make it to the air in May 1961, it was met with low ratings, critical dismissal, and lambasted by politicians in a Senate subcommittee on TV violence, so this show met its demise in September 1961, leaving five episodes unaired.
But now, its all here in this 3-DVD collection from TMG, the quality is quite good, similar their earlier releases of other classic shows like Riverbaot, The Tall Man, etc. under license from NBC Universal, and Audie Murphy excels in the title role as a Denver Police detective. Mitchell does a fine job as Romack, for their was good chemistry between these characters. It is not quite as violent as you would think, for there is way more violence in TV and movies today then there was then. So pick up a copy of this 'lost' video sagebrush saga, and see for yourself what this show was all about.
But now, its all here in this 3-DVD collection from TMG, the quality is quite good, similar their earlier releases of other classic shows like Riverbaot, The Tall Man, etc. under license from NBC Universal, and Audie Murphy excels in the title role as a Denver Police detective. Mitchell does a fine job as Romack, for their was good chemistry between these characters. It is not quite as violent as you would think, for there is way more violence in TV and movies today then there was then. So pick up a copy of this 'lost' video sagebrush saga, and see for yourself what this show was all about.
42 of 43 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Audie Murphy
April 25 2010
By C. Eckert
- Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase
I took a chance on purchasing this set. I love Audie Murphy movies. I do not remember this series, but was not disappointed. The stories & content are great. Some of the episodes did lack clarity for the picture. Overall pleased with the set and was glad of my purchase. If you truly like Audie Murphy you will like this series and Guy Mitchell as his side kick was a treat. You will also find a young Robert Redford & Richard Chamberlin just a couple of guest stars that made a big name for themselves in later years.
16 of 17 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
What a surprise!
Sep 13 2010
By Record Producer
- Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase
Although I'm a big Audie Murphy fan, this TV series caught me by complete surprise, as I was only aware of his movies. This was an intelligently-written show, and even the less-rewarding episodes are well-done, with Murphy showing both intelligence and bravery in his role. Those who dismiss Murphy as a real-life hero that managed to have a decent film career are missing the point. Murphy was a superb actor who was unfortunately quite pigeon-holed into playing the hero, but there are subtleties in his many performances that show he could hold his own with many of the more-famous stars of the day. And as one who personally know (or knew) many of Murphy's co-stars, I can state that all of them felt he was an excellent actor who seldom received the recognition he should have. "Whispering Smith" is different from many westerns of the era because the title character is a detective who uses his brains as much as his brawn, and it's very surprising that series had trouble due to its violence. Murphy only uses his fists or his gun as a last resort, and there are many instances when he doesn't get to that last resort. The supporting characters are solid, and many of the guest stars are movie favorites (Les Tremayne, Lori Nelson, Audrey Dalton) who add to the fun. My one disappointment is that the series did not go on for another few seasons, because it deserved to be a hit. I'm halfway through the season and not looking forward to finishing it, because there will be nothing more to look forward to. And it's too good to put it aside to stretch it out a bit. Even those who aren't Audie Murphy fans should get a lot of pleasure out of this fine, mostly-forgotten, television show.
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4.4 out of 5 stars
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