The Whisperers
The Whisperers
| 31 July 1967 (USA)
The Whisperers Trailers

Margaret Ross is an impoverished old woman who lives alone in a seedy apartment and enjoys a rich fantasy life as an heiress. One day she discovers stolen money hidden by her son and believes her fantasy has come true.

Reviews
PiraBit if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.
KnotStronger This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.
Janae Milner Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.
Sarita Rafferty There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.
domdel39 First off, I want to say that I am drawn to movies that have, at their core, a genuine feeling of sadness for humanity. It's not so much that these films offer a pessimistic view of the world - although, I guess you can label it that way - as they just seem to have a clear understanding of the horribly awful things we often do to one another.Shot in black and white, in perpetually fogged out/drizzly England, this story of one older woman's loneliness and dementia tinged world is about 5 steps down into the dungeon of depressing. It offers a kind of sad relief - the kind that comes from knowing that, although things are terrible, they could be much, much worse.I've always been one to not quite understand the desire for a "feel good" movie. All movies, if they work as they should, will leave you feeling better for having seen them - whether silly or serious. This is one of those films.
maryszd The Whisperers is about a profoundly lonely and deluded old woman Mrs. Ross (Edith Evans), who lives in a shabby flat stuffed with old bottles and newspapers. She's paranoid and imagines she hears voices and is obsessed with the sounds that come from the flat of the interracial couple that live upstairs. She has a rich fantasy life where she imagines she is a bishop's daughter waiting for her father's inheritance. Her sleazy son Charlie comes by and hides some stolen loot in her apartment. She finds the money and is thunderstruck, convinced that the money is indeed her long lost inheritance. Unfortunately, she boasts about it to the wrong person and is robbed and left for dead. After a slow recovery, Social Services manages to contact her husband Archie and reunite them. Her husband is grifter, forced for once in his life to be responsible. She returns to her tidied-up flat. She's looked after, but she's robbed of the paranoia and fantasies that she used to dignify her impoverished life. Archie steals money from her handbag and gaslights her into thinking she lost it. Archie doesn't stick around for long, so in the end she's back to her usual solitary life of fantasizing and hoarding, but it's more nourishing than her depressing life with Archie. And she does have a social safety net that is more than most older Americans have today. A kindly clerk at the welfare office, Mr. Conrad (Douglas Sim) cares about her personally and is, in a way, the son she never had. As the other reviewers have pointed out, the film is filled with melodramatic cops and robbers plot elements that detract from the engrossing story of this aging woman. Edith Evan's acting is extraordinary. Highly recommended.
sol- There are many good qualities in this study of paranoia, loneliness, ageing and exploitation, among other themes, with its virtues ranging from a great mood setting score by John Barry, to excellent camera angles and aptly stark sets, all of which fit in with the general atmosphere of the film. In an Oscar nominated role, Edith Evans also gives off a fine performance, and there is some good work with extended dissolves to edit between different shots. It is not an easy film to like and admire in spite of its virtues though. There are excesses of melodrama thrown in, such as cops and robbers, and these subplots serve to distract from the protagonist. The lack of dialogue at times is distracting in itself too, and there are also odd characters in small segments thrown in here and there that do nothing at all. The dual spoken narration is also rather awkward. Yes, there are some things that can be complained about here - one could also complain that the nastiness is excessive. There is still a lot that makes this a good film however, and these virtues definitely show through. It is an excellent film, but it may not satisfy all tastes. Bryan Forbes is a great director, and almost all his films are worth a look if one is interested in good directing regardless of the plot or characters.
jamesabutler44 "The Whisperers" is the kind of movie you curl up with on a rainy day. I had the fortune of catching it on Turner Classic Movies once and I was mesmerized. Edith Evans gives a completely convincing performance as a lonely old woman living in a run down apartment (or flat) in London. Clearly, she is bordering on senility or dementia as she imagines voices coming from faucets, her radio, and suspects her neighbors are spying on her. She imagines herself an heiress (as she frequently reminds her social worker at the Public Assistance Board) waiting for her inheritance to come through. It is sad to see her begging for a new pair of shoes or a pound to get food. Before the film ends, you will find yourself concerned for her well being as though she is a real person. Perhaps it is the realization that many old people the world over live this very existence. I had the good fortune to find this movie available on video through Movies Unlimited. Act fast as it is out of print. Perhaps it will be available on DVD in the future.