The Web (1947)

Leopold Kroner, formerly of Colby Enterprises, is released after five years in prison for embezzlement. Andrew Colby, claiming that Kroner has threatened him, hires lawyer Bob Regan as a ... See full summary »

Director:

Michael Gordon

Writers:

William Bowers (screenplay), Bertram Millhauser (screenplay),

Stars:

Ella Raines, Edmond O'Brien, William Bendix

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Ella Raines	...	Noel Faraday
Edmond O'Brien	...	Bob Regan
William Bendix	...	Lt. Damico
Vincent Price	...	Andrew Colby
Maria Palmer	...	Martha Kroner
John Abbott	...	Charles Murdock
Fritz Leiber	...	Leopold Kroner
Howland Chamberlain	...	James Timothy Nolan (as Howard Chamberlin)
Tito Vuolo	...	Emilio Canepa
Wilton Graff	...	District Attorney
Robin Raymond	...	Newspaper Librarian
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Fritz Leiber Jr.	...	Leopold Kroner (as Fritz Leiber)

Storyline

Leopold Kroner, formerly of Colby Enterprises, is released after five years in prison for embezzlement. Andrew Colby, claiming that Kroner has threatened him, hires lawyer Bob Regan as a secret bodyguard. Sure enough, Kroner turns up in Colby's room with a gun, and Regan kills him. Then Regan, who sticks around to romance Colby's secretary Noel, begins to suspect he's been used.

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Plot Keywords:

bodyguard | lawyer | secretary | ex convict | police

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Genres:

Film-Noir | Thriller | Drama

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 May 1947 (USA)

Also Known As:

Black Velvet

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal International Pictures (UI)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Adapted for radio as part of the "Lux Radio Theater" on Sept. 29, 1947, with Raines, Price, and O'Brien reprising their roles.

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Quotes

Bob Regan: When I'm worth forty million dollars, I'm going to have a secretary looks exactly like you.
Noel Faraday: Oh, my tastes are fairly simple. Twenty million would be quite enough.

User Reviews

Elegant Escapism

The Web is one of dozens of forties thrillers featuring private detectives and the rich men who hire them, the beautiful women who love them, and the police, who invariably hamper their efforts to unravel the clues to intricate mysteries, the details of which are explained with astonishing clarity in the end, despite the fact that most viewers can scarcely be expected to keep track of all the evidence. This one is more elegant than most, with plush settings and striking photography. There's a touch of Laura here, thanks to the casting of Vincent Price and the character he plays, as well as a bit of the Chandler private eye cycle in the character of Edmond O'Brien's detective. Ella Raines makes a beautiful heroine, and Bill Bendix is on hand as the no-nonsense cop. Michael Gordon directs smoothly, and everything comes together in the end. There's nothing remarkable in The Web, which is just a cut above the generic, but it works like a Swiss watch.