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:

film noir in color | broadway producer | greenwich village manhattan new york city | suspicious wife | stage actress | 

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Taglines:

Someone Will Kill This Girl Tonight!

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Genres:

Drama | Film-Noir | Mystery

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

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

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Goofs

The apartment of Lottie and Brian is frequently mentioned as "above" the apartment of Peter and Iris. At one point they even tell the police that they are "identical" except that Lottie's apartment has a terrace. The apartments do indeed look alike, but it doesn't seem likely that a terrace that large would be cantilevered out over the floors below. It would make sense the other way around.

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Quotes

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

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Crazy Credits

Opening credits are shown over the background of a spider web made by a black widow.

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Connections

Referenced in Spider Baby or, the Maddest Story Ever Told (1967)

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Soundtracks

Dance of the Seven Veils
Theme
from "Salome"
by Richard Strauss
Played occasionally throughout the picture

User Reviews

Ginger Rogers and Peggy Ann Garner Star

Very impressive cast in a better than OK murder mystery. With touches of All About Eve and Sunset Boulevard, this film moves along at a good clip with only a few draggy scenes.

Ginger Rogers plays a bitchy stage diva who is married to a mousy man (Reginald Gardiner) and lives in the same apartment building as her producer (Van Heflin) who is also married to an actress (Gene Tierney). While Tierney is away, Heflin attends one of Rogers' big parties and meets a quiet young woman (Peggy Ann Garner) who actually has no real interest in acting or theatre. She is a writer. He invites her out for a real meal and she insinuates herself into his life.

The party scene is pretty funny with Ginger ripping off several "Margo Channing" ripostes at the expense of Bea Benaderet. Heflin is infatuated with the serious young Garner whose only link to the stage is her uncle (Otto Kruger) who is an actor. She also befriends a young brother and sister from Boston (Virginia Leith & Skip Homeier) who are doing the Greenwicj Village beatnik thing.

Well there is an apparent suicide and that brings in a detective (George Raft) who hounds everyone. When the suicide is discovered to be a murder, things get really dicey for all involved.

For the most part the acting is solid. I never liked Heflin but he's OK in this film. Rogers plays the diva well and looks great. Tierney gets a few good scenes. Raft is solid as the detective. Gardiner is especially good, but Peggy Ann Garner, a top child star of the 40s is quite excellent as the moody and strange young writer. Oddly, she didn't make a film after this one for another 12 years. She reminds me here of Barbara Bel Geddes. Bea Benaderet as the party guest, Otto Kruger as the uncle, and Leith and Homeier as the beatniks are all good.

Also in this film are Cathleen Nesbitt oddly cast as a cleaning lady, Mabel Albertson is the bar owner, Hilda Simms plays the sympathetic waitress, and believe it or not, the gangly witness from the movie theater is Aaron Spelling, who would have a major career as a TV producer.

Worth a watch.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 March 1955 (Belgium)

Also Known As:

Black Widow

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

Aspect Ratio:

2.55 : 1