US Release date: 28 November 1949
First Melbourne Saturday Suburban: 14 October 1950
Genre: Crime
Country: USA.
Running time: 98 minutes.
Director: Otto Preminger
Cast: Gene Tierney, Richard Conte & José Ferrer
Australian Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Melbourne Premiere Venue: Hoyts Esquire for two weeks from 15 September 1950 supported by Barbary Pirate
Suburban Release Type: Hoyts 10-W-1
Rankings
| Rank | ||
| EF Points | 174 | 133 |
| EF PPE | 3.87 | 141 |
| Metres Travelled | 432,088 | 211 |
| Average MT | 9,602 | 303 |
| Engagements | 45 | 177 |
| Slots | 47 | 227 |
| Weeks | 2 | 238 |
| Weeks as % of engagements | 4.44% | 272 |
| Saturdays | 9 | 231 |
| Sats as % of engagements | 20.00% | 281 |
| Tuesdays | 34 | 9 |
| Tues as % of engagements | 75.56% | 17 |
| First billed | 45 | 74 |
| Second billed | 0 | 293* |
| Feature only | 0 | 34* |
Hoyts ratios
| Engagements weeks 1-10 | 45 |
| Ratio | 100.00% |
| Difference to chain ratio | 7.64% |
| Eng weeks 11-26 | 0 |
| Ratio | 0.00% |
| Difference to chain ratio | -5.39% |
| Eng weeks 27-52 | 0 |
| Ratio | 0.00% |
| Difference to chain ratio | -2.24% |
| Hoyts eng | 30 |
| Ratio | 66.67% |
| Difference to chain ratio | 0.89% |
| Independent eng | 3 |
| Ratio | 6.67% |
| Difference to chain ratio | -4.83% |
| Suburban eng | 12 |
| Ratio | 26.67% |
| Difference to chain ratio | 3.95% |
NOTES: Excellent Preminger film noir that Hoyts reserved for Tuesday night entertainment, with most common supports being Mark of the Gorilla (twenty-eight occasions) and The Threat (nine occasions). With its 34 Tuesday engagements it ranked ninth in that category for the year but intriguingly the lowly ranking for its metres travelled per engagement showed that Whirlpool rarely strayed from the inner suburbs (the delivery bloke driving no further than Oakleigh).
Whirlpool engagements
| SUBURB | VENUE | CHAIN | DATE | W | D | B | CO-FEATURE |
| Collingwood | Austral | Suburban | 14/10/50 | 1 | S | 1 | The Threat |
| Prahran | Empress | Hoyts | 14/10/50 | 1 | S | 1 | Mark of the Gorilla |
| Caulfield | Crystal Palace | Suburban | 14/10/50 | 1 | T | 1 | The Threat |
| Albert Park | Park | Hoyts | 14/10/50 | 1 | T | 1 | Mark of the Gorilla |
| Fitzroy | Regent | Hoyts | 14/10/50 | 1 | T | 1 | Mark of the Gorilla |
| Malvern | New | Hoyts | 14/10/50 | 1 | T | 1 | The Threat |
| North Fitzroy | Merri | Hoyts | 14/10/50 | 1 | T | 1 | Mark of the Gorilla |
| Port Melbourne | Eclipse | Hoyts | 14/10/50 | 1 | T | 1 | Mark of the Gorilla |
| Richmond | Cinema | Hoyts | 14/10/50 | 1 | T | 1 | The Threat |
| St. Kilda | Palais | Suburban | 14/10/50 | 1 | W | 1 | My Friend Irma Goes West |
| Newmarket | Newmarket | Suburban | 21/10/50 | 2 | S | 1 | The Threat |
| Richmond | Globe | Suburban | 21/10/50 | 2 | S | 1 | Mark of the Gorilla |
| Brunswick | Alhambra | Hoyts | 21/10/50 | 2 | S | 1 | Mark of the Gorilla |
| Coburg | Town Hall | Hoyts | 21/10/50 | 2 | S | 1 | Mark of the Gorilla |
| Essendon | Plaza | Hoyts | 21/10/50 | 2 | S | 1 | Mark of the Gorilla |
| Ascot Vale | Ascot | Suburban | 21/10/50 | 2 | T | 1 | Mark of the Gorilla |
| Northcote | Northcote | Suburban | 21/10/50 | 2 | T | 1 | Mark of the Gorilla |
| Ascot Vale | Waratah | Hoyts | 21/10/50 | 2 | T | 1 | Mark of the Gorilla |
| Brighton | Centre | Hoyts | 21/10/50 | 2 | T | 1 | Calamity Jane and Sam Bass |
| Elsternwick | Renown | Hoyts | 21/10/50 | 2 | T | 1 | Fighting Man of the Plains |
| Essendon | Circle | Hoyts | 21/10/50 | 2 | T | 1 | Mark of the Gorilla |
| Thornbury | Regent | Hoyts | 21/10/50 | 2 | T | 1 | Mark of the Gorilla |
| Footscray | Barkly | Hoyts | 28/10/50 | 3 | S | 1 | Mark of the Gorilla |
| Balwyn | Time | Hoyts | 28/10/50 | 3 | T | 1 | Mark of the Gorilla |
| Bentleigh | Bentleigh | Hoyts | 28/10/50 | 3 | T | 1 | The Threat |
| Camberwell | Broadway | Hoyts | 28/10/50 | 3 | T | 1 | Red Menace |
| Carnegie | Carnegie | Hoyts | 28/10/50 | 3 | T | 1 | Mark of the Gorilla |
| Gardiner | Regent | Hoyts | 28/10/50 | 3 | T | 1 | Red Menace |
| Glenferrie | Palace | Hoyts | 28/10/50 | 3 | T | 1 | Mark of the Gorilla |
| Hampton | Southern | Hoyts | 28/10/50 | 3 | T | 1 | The Threat |
| Kew | Rialto | Hoyts | 28/10/50 | 3 | T | 1 | Mark of the Gorilla |
| Preston | Circle | Hoyts | 28/10/50 | 3 | T | 1 | The Threat |
| Fairfield | Fairfield | Suburban | 4/11/50 | 4 | S | 1 | The Threat |
| Hartwell | Regal | Suburban | 4/11/50 | 4 | T | 1 | It’s Hard to be Good |
| North Fitzroy | Palace | Suburban | 4/11/50 | 4 | T | 1 | Mark of the Gorilla |
| Brunswick | Lygon | Hoyts | 4/11/50 | 4 | T | 1 | Mark of the Gorilla |
| Canterbury | Maling | Hoyts | 4/11/50 | 4 | T | 1 | Mark of the Gorilla |
| Ivanhoe | Ivanhoe | Hoyts | 4/11/50 | 4 | T | 1 | Mark of the Gorilla |
| Malvern | Victory | Hoyts | 4/11/50 | 4 | T | 1 | Mark of the Gorilla |
| North Melbourne | Loco | Independent | 11/11/50 | 5 | T | 1 | Jamboree |
| Yarraville | St. George | Suburban | 11/11/50 | 5 | T | 1 | Mark of the Gorilla |
| Williamstown | Shore | Hoyts | 11/11/50 | 5 | T | 1 | Mark of the Gorilla |
| Oakleigh | Paramount | Independent | 18/11/50 | 6 | T | 1 | Mark of the Gorilla |
| Clifton Hill | Clifton | Suburban | 18/11/50 | 6 | W | 1 | Fighting Man of the Plains |
| West Preston | Rivoli | Independent | 16/12/50 | 10 | T | 1 | Mark of the Gorilla |
The 1950 Project 