Whispering Smith (TV series)

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Whistering Smith is an American Western TV series that aired on NBC in 1961. It’s based on the same source as the 1948 film Whispering Smith, but the TV version changes several details. The show stars Audie Murphy as Tom "Whispering" Smith, a 19th‑century police detective in Denver, Colorado. The police force in the series is just forming, set sometime after 1874 when Denver’s town marshal’s office became a city police department.

The series was filmed starting in 1959, but it did not air until May 8, 1961, and ran through October 30, 1961. It was a half‑hour drama produced by Whispering Co. Productions and Revue Studios, with a budget of about $45,000 per episode. The music was by Richard Shores, and the show was created by Lawrence Menkin and Tom Seller.

Whispering Smith mixed western adventure with crime stories and drew some comparisons to other contemporary shows like Have Gun – Will Travel and Tales of Wells Fargo. The cast also included Guy Mitchell as detective George Romack and Sam Buffington as Police Chief John Richards.

The production ran into problems. Mitchell broke his shoulder after seven episodes, delaying filming while Murphy moved on to another movie project. Co‑star Sam Buffington later died by suicide, and his character was not replaced. After a controversial first season episode, The Grudge, the U.S. Senate discussed the show for violence on television. The committee’s appearance helped push Murphy to lose interest in the series, and NBC stopped broadcasting the remaining episodes.

Although 26 episodes were produced, only about 20 were ever shown in 1961, with the last six never aired. The show aired Monday nights in a time slot opposite popular programs on CBS and ABC.

In the years since, a number of Whispering Smith episodes have been released on home video. Timeless Media Group issued a 3‑disc set in 2010 featuring 25 episodes and a bonus feature about Audie Murphy. In 2011, the missing episode The Interpreter was found and added to a re‑release.