Following this he made a thriller at RKO for director Edwin Marin, "Johnny Angel" (1945), which was an unexpected hit as well, making a profit of over a million dollars. Also popular was "Whistle Stop" (1946), a melodrama for United Artists, which gave an early good role to Ava Gardner. "Mr. Ace" (1946), with Sylvia Sidney and director Marin for producer Benedict Bogeaus, was a flop. However it did lead to a radio series starring Raft, "The Cases of Mr. Ace" (1947).