Whispering Smith is an American Western series that aired on NBC.
Based on a 1948 movie, the series stars Audie Murphy as Tom "Whispering" Smith,
a police detective in Denver, Colorado. Filming of the series began in 1959,
but the program did not air until May 8, 1961, because of unexpected production problems.
Whispering Smith combines elements of CBS's Have Gun - Will Travel
starring Richard Boone, NBC's Tales of Wells Fargo starring Dale Robertson,
the syndicated Shotgun Slade with Scott Brady, and ABC's The Man From Blackhawk,
a Stirling Silliphant production starring Robert Rockwell.
While the setting of the series is unique,
it is otherwise a standard detective program.
It goes without saying what Audie Murphy achieved,
and his profile is featured here
Screen Legends- Audie Murphy
Audie Murphy whist successful in his movies,
wanted this series to work, alas it didn't.
Guy 'Singing The Blues' Mitchell was his co-star,
but his movie career never really took off,
and he made the wise decision to continue singing.
User Review
Audie takes on the small screen .......
24 May 2006 | by revdrcac (United States)
QuoteAudie Murphy appeared in a number of enjoyable westerns in the 1950's before trying his luck in TV with this role as a cowboy detective. The acting and casting in this series were well-executed. However, the writing and erratic story lines were problematic in this series.
Audie Murphy was perfect for this role, which had been originated in a movie of the same name. Murphy made the role his own, and seemed to be very serious about seeing this series succeed. Eventually, he returned to the silver screen, seemingly disillusioned by his TV experience.
This series is worth a look, but does not compare with his superior films of the 1950's.