The Whisperers

The Whisperers
Directed by	Bryan Forbes
Produced by	Michael Laughlin Jack Rix Ronald Shedlo
Written by	Robert Nicolson Bryan Forbes
Starring	Edith Evans
Music by	John Barry
Cinematography	Gerry Turpin
Edited by	Anthony Harvey
Distributed by	Lopert Pictures Corporation
Release dates	24 August 1967
Running time	105 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

The Whisperers is a 1967 British drama film directed by Bryan Forbes, based on the 1961 novel by Robert Nicolson, and starring Edith Evans. Although the fictional setting of the film is not named, it was mainly shot on location in the Lancashire town of Oldham, a once-thriving textile centre near Manchester which by 1967 had fallen into decline.

Plot

Mrs. Ross, an impoverished elderly eccentric living in a ground floor flat in an unnamed town in the North and dependent on welfare, is visited by her criminal son, who hides a package containing a large sum of stolen money in an unused bedroom. Thinking the money is a windfall intended for her, Mrs. Ross makes elaborate plans which she casually confides to a stranger, who pretends to befriend her but actually kidnaps her to obtain the money. Rendered drunk and turned into the elements by her captors, Mrs. Ross contracts pneumonia and barely recovers in hospital. Her sympathetic agent at the welfare bureau finds her and reunites her with her ne'er-do-well husband who deserted her decades ago. Motivated by his own need for stability, he moves back in with her but soon turns to crime, which forces him to flee and desert her again. Having been on the verge of a return to decent living, Mrs. Ross resumes her decayed status as a reclusive derelict of society.

Cast

• Edith Evans – Mrs. Ross
• Eric Portman - Archie Ross
• Nanette Newman – The Girl Upstairs
• Harry Baird – The Man Upstairs
• Jack Austin – Police Sergeant
• Gerald Sim – Mr. Conrad
• Lionel Gamlin – Mr. Conrad's Colleague
• Glen Farmer – 1st Redeemer
• Oliver MacGreevy – 2nd Redeemer
• Ronald Fraser – Charlie Ross
• Kenneth Griffith – Mr. Weaver
• Avis Bunnage – Mrs. Noonan
• John Orchard – Grogan
• Peter Thompson – Publican
• Sarah Forbes – Mrs. Ross When Young
• Kaplan Kaye – Jimmie Noonan
• Penny Spencer – Mavis Noonan
• Robin Bailey - Psychiatrist
• Leonard Rossiter - Assistance Board Officer
• Margaret Tyzack - Hospital Almoner
• Frank Singuineau - Negro Doctor

Awards

Edith Evans was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress, and won the BAFTA Award, the Silver Bear for Best Actress award at the 17th Berlin International Film Festival, the National Board of Review award, the New York Film Critics Circle award, and the Golden Globe Award all for Best Actress.

External links

• The Whisperers (1967) at IMDB