Black Widow (1954)

Director:

Nunnally Johnson

Writers:

Nunnally Johnson (screen play)
Hugh Wheeler (novel) ...
(more)

Release Date:

4 March 1955 (Belgium)

Genre:

Drama | Mystery

Tagline:

An electrifying drama about a predatory female!

Plot:

A young writer insinuates herself into the life of a Broadway producer.

Plot Keywords:

Broadway Producer | Kept Husband | Stage Actress | Death Of Pregnant Woman | Apparent Suicide

Cast

Ginger Rogers	...	Carlotta 'Lottie' Marin
Van Heflin	...	Peter Denver
Gene Tierney	...	Iris Denver
George Raft	...	Detective Lt. C.A. Bruce
Peggy Ann Garner	...	Nancy 'Nanny' Ordway
Reginald Gardiner	...	Brian Mullen
Virginia Leith	...	Claire Amberly
Otto Kruger	...	Gordon Ling
Cathleen Nesbitt	...	Lucia Colletti
Skip Homeier	...	John Amberly
Hilda Simms	...	Anne
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Tony De Mario	...	Tony, Bartender
James Stone	...	Fritz, Stage Door Attendant
Mabel Albertson	...	Sylvia (uncredited)
Bea Benaderet	...	Mrs. Franklin Walsh (uncredited)
Nesdon Booth	...	Police A.P.B. Man (uncredited)
Ralph Brooks	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Harry Carter	...	Police Sergeant Welch (uncredited)
Richard H. Cutting	...	Police Sergeant Owens (uncredited)
Frances Driver	...	Maid (uncredited)
Franklyn Farnum	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Kenner G. Kemp	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Virginia Maples	...	Model (uncredited)
Harold Miller	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Forbes Murray	...	Man in Hallway (uncredited)
Aaron Spelling	...	Mr. Oliver (uncredited)
Bert Stevens	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Arthur Tovey	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Michael Vallon	...	Coal Dealer (uncredited)
Geraldine Wall	...	Gwen Mills (uncredited)
Frank Wilcox	...	Zachary Paige (uncredited)
Wilson Wood	...	Costume Designer (uncredited)

Directed by
Nunnally Johnson

Writing credits
Nunnally Johnson		(screen play)
Hugh Wheeler		(novel 'Fatal Woman') (as Patrick Quentin)
Hugh Wheeler		(story) (as Patrick Quentin)

Produced by
Nunnally Johnson	....	producer

Original Music by
Leigh Harline

Cinematography by
Charles G. Clarke

Film Editing by
Dorothy Spencer

Art Direction by
Maurice Ransford
Lyle R. Wheeler		(as Lyle Wheeler)

Set Decoration by
Dorcy Howard
Walter M. Scott

Costume Design by
Travilla

Makeup Department
Ben Nye	....	makeup artist
Helen Turpin	....	hair stylist

Production Management
A.F. Erickson	....	unit manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
A.F. Erickson	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Eugene Grossman	....	sound recordist
Roger Heman Sr.	....	sound recordist (as Roger Heman)
Ralph Hickey	....	sound editor (uncredited)
Kenneth Honnold	....	sound editor (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Ray Kellogg	....	special photographic effects

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Charles Le Maire	....	wardrobe director
Joan Joseff	....	costume jeweller (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Leonard Doss	....	color consultant

Music Department
Lionel Newman	....	conductor
Edward B. Powell	....	orchestrator
Richard Strauss	....	music courtesy of
Bernard Mayers	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Distributors

• Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation (1954) (USA) (theatrical)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1964) (USA) (TV) (original airing) (pan/scan)
• R&B Video (2005) (USA) (VHS)
• R&B Video (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• 20th Century Fox (1955) (France) (theatrical)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1955) (Austria) (theatrical)
• Odeon Entertainment (2013) (UK) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.55 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | USA:Approved (PCA #17093, Adult Audience) | Sweden:15 | UK:A | West Germany:16 | UK:12

Filming Locations:

20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Second of two consecutive years (first was in 1953's Forever Female) in which Ginger Rogers played an aging Broadway diva.

Goofs:

Continuity: Early in the movie, at Lottie's party the waiter first pauses with a full tray of assorted drinks--then passes uninterrupted through the crowd to offer the single remaining drink to Peter Denver.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Peter Denver:I hope you find your mother better, honey.

Movie Connections:

References "Dragnet" (1951)

Soundtrack:

Serenade in Blue

Well-acted, well-upholstered soap opera/murder mystery...

Van Heflin gives a striking, forceful performance as a theatrical producer in New York City who befriends a lonely 20-year-old girl at a party; she's a would-be writer hoping for success, he takes a shine to her and offers a helping hand...but then she turns up dead! Curiously mistitled drama really doesn't involve "a predatory female". Peggy Ann Garner is intriguing as the youngster who, in flashbacks, is revealed to be scheming and ambitious, somewhat ruthless, but not a black widow. Gene Tierney has a thankless role as Heflin's wife (she looks grim throughout), but Ginger Rogers is fun as a colorful, gossiping actress. The film has some ridiculous passages, red herrings and side-plots (one involving another young woman who appears to be fabricating a wild story just to frame Heflin is never explored), and a slightly anti-climactic finish. The film looks good and has some funny/catty lines in the beginning, but in the end it all seems a bit silly. **1/2 from ****