Black Widow (1954)

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

Director:

Nunnally Johnson

Writers:

Nunnally Johnson (screen play), Hugh Wheeler (story) (as Patrick Quentin)

Stars:

Ginger Rogers, Van Heflin, Gene Tierney

Cast

Complete credited 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

Storyline

A married Broadway producer is taken with an innocent young woman who wants to be a writer and make it on Broadway. He decides to take her under his wing, but it's not long before the young lady is found dead in his apartment. At first thought to be a suicide, it is later discovered that she has been murdered, and suspicion immediately falls on the producer. He begins his own investigation in order to clear his name, and one of the first things he finds out is that the young woman wasn't quite as naive and innocent as she appeared to be.

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Plot Keywords:

broadway producer | greenwich village manhattan new york city | suspicious wife | stage actress | reference to truman capote | 

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Taglines:

The First Crime-Of-Passion Story in CinemaScope

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Genres:

Drama | Film-Noir | Mystery

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 March 1955 (Belgium)

Also Known As:

A Viúva Negra

Filming Locations:

West 24th Street between 9th and 10th Avenues, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,095,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Color (Color by Deluxe)

Aspect Ratio:

2.55 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Nunnally Johnson originally offered the role played by Ginger Rogers to Tallulah Bankhead, who called the writer-producer and, in a 25-minute phone conversation, gave him her reasons for rejecting the role. Rogers turned the part down as well, but had a change of heart after Johnson sent her a letter asking her to reconsider, on the proviso that she could take the relatively minor role and make it into a star-turn.

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Goofs

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.

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Quotes

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

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Connections

Referenced in Taxi Brooklyn: Black Widow (2014)

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Soundtracks

I Know Why (and So Do You)
(uncredited)
Music by Harry Warren
Played when Peter arrives at Lottie's party

User Reviews

Good who done it of it's time.

This is the 1954 movie, not the latter one with Debra Winger in it. It's rare to see this film although it's shown on Fox Movie Channel once in a while. Directed by Nunnally Johnson who also adapted it from a story by Hugh Wheeler, it tells the tale of a young girl, excellently played by the famous child star, Peggy Ann Garner, all grown up, who attempts to make it big in NYC. Along the way we meet many characters who she uses to get where she wants to go. Among them are Ginger Rogers, in an overacted yet delightful performance as a famous actress who demands to be the center of attention; Van Heflin as an underplayed playwright, becoming one of the victims; Gene Tierney, wasted in a thankless role as the supporting wife to Van, going around looking pretty but nothing much else given to her to do; Reginald Gardner, a distinguished veteran in films, playing hen pecked hubby to Ginger; George Raft, in his usual dead pan performance as the detective investigating the case (he must have taken classes under Buster Keaton's tutelage); another veteran character actor, Otto Kruger makes an impressive appearance as does Cathleen Nesbitt, the distinguished English actress I've had the pleasure to have worked with, in a surprisingly small and thankless role as an American housekeeper; Virginia Leith, young 20th Fox starlet as Garner's roommate and another child actor grown up, Skip Homeier (remember him in TOMORROW THE WORLD?) as Garner's boy friend.

Put all the stars together and you have a strong cast of players. Add Technicolor and cinemascope and you have good entertainment of it's time.