The Golden Spiders: A Nero Wolfe Mystery (2000) (TV)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Bill Duke

Writers (WGA):

Rex Stout (novel)
Paul Monash (teleplay)

Release Date:

5 March 2000 (USA)

Tagline:

Three Perfect Murders. One Perfect Detective.

Plot Keywords:

Based On Novel

Cast

Maury Chaykin	...	Nero Wolfe
Timothy Hutton	...	Archie Goodwin
Bill Smitrovich	...	Inspector Cramer
Mimi Kuzyk	...	Laura Fromm
Colin Fox	...	Fritz
Saul Rubinek	...	Saul Panzer
Larissa Laskin	...	Jean Estey
Gary Reineke	...	Denis Horan
Beau Starr	...	Lips Egan
Elizabeth Saunders	...	Mrs. Horan (as Elizabeth Brown)
Fulvio Cecere	...	Fred Durkin
Nancy Beatty	...	Mrs. Drossos
R.D. Reid	...	Sergeant Purley Stebbins
Philip Craig	...	James Maddox
Gerry Quigley	...	Lon Cohen

Runtime:

94 min | Italy:90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Filming Locations:

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Company:

A&E Television Networks

Movie Connections:

Followed by "A Nero Wolfe Mystery" (2001)

Wouldn't ORSON WELLES have been great in the title role?

This is a reasonably faithful (to Rex Stout) movie and it has very good period piece settings. My major difficulty is with Maury Chaykin as Wolfe. Yes, he's a significant improvement over William Conrad--but a bit too distant and peevish and his shouting rants are not quite the bellowing that one associates with Wolfe. I find it difficult to relate Chaykin's acting and persona to the fictional character. Moreover, one feels mostly unsympathetic with his portrayal of Wolfe--nor does he have the mass,size or presence of the fictional Wolfe (what I would have given to see the great ORSON WELLES play this part in his day--he would have been perfect in size, bombast, wit, love of fine food and wine etc.; Raymond Burr would have made another fine Wolfe, in my opinion). Perhaps John Goodman--who certainly has the size and acting skill--would have been a better choice as Wolfe. In the books, Wolfe had the ability to silence people with one glance; he took in bushels of air in each breath. In short, he was a giant in size and intellect among men. Chaykin simply isn't and cannot convey this important side of Wolfe.

Timothy Hutton is much better as Archie Goodwin, Wolfe's "legs and eyes" and banter between them is faithful to the books. However, the third person in the Wolfe household--Fritz--is also not quite right in his role. Here he has a Frenchish accent while in the Stout books Fritz, as befits his name, is Central European, as I recall, with a Germanic accent. Otherwise, Colin Fox looks and acts his part well. Others have commented about the orchid/planting room as not being large enough and having enough plants. I think a worse problem is that Wolfe is shown in this movie as if he is still in the office; Wolfe really worked with plants and got himself dirty--he didn't just peer at plants through a magnifying glass.

Still, overall, this is an enjoyable period piece and a must for lovers of the great detective created by Rex Stout. To the person from Canada who wrote in, you must read the books to understand the Wolfe-Goodwin-Fritz dynamics which in a sense are the real "action" in the series. The Stout-Wolfe books are one of the great achievements of detective fiction and if I am griping a bit here, it is only because they set such a high mark.