''Black Widow'' is a 1954 American
DeLuxe Color
DeLuxe Color or Deluxe color or Color by DeLuxe is Deluxe Laboratories brand of color process for motion pictures. DeLuxe Color is Eastmancolor-based, with certain adaptations for improved compositing for printing (similar to Technicolor's "sel ...
mystery film
A mystery film is a genre of film that revolves around the solution of a problem or a crime. It focuses on the efforts of the detective, private investigator or amateur Detective, sleuth to solve the mysterious circumstances of an issue by means ...
in
CinemaScope
CinemaScope is an anamorphic lens series used, from 1953 to 1967, and less often later, for shooting widescreen films that, crucially, could be screened in theatres using existing equipment, albeit with a lens adapter. Its creation in 1953 by ...
, with elements of
film noir
Film noir (; ) is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of American ' ...
, written, produced, and directed by
Nunnally Johnson
Nunnally Hunter Johnson (December 5, 1897 – March 25, 1977) was an American screenwriter, film director, producer, and playwright. As a filmmaker, he wrote the screenplays to more than fifty films in a career that spanned from 1927 to 1967. He ...
, based on the 1952 novel of the same name by
Patrick Quentin
Patrick Quentin, Q. Patrick and Jonathan Stagge were pen names under which Hugh Callingham Wheeler (19 March 1912 – 26 July 1987), Richard Wilson Webb (August 1901 – December 1966), Martha Mott Kelley (30 April 1906 – 2005) and Mary Louise ...
. The film stars
Ginger Rogers
Ginger Rogers (born Virginia Katherine McMath; July 16, 1911 – April 25, 1995) was an American actress, dancer and singer during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood. She won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her starri ...
,
Van Heflin
Emmett Evan "Van" Heflin Jr. (December 13, 1908 – July 23, 1971) was an American theatre, radio and film actor. He played mostly character parts over the course of his film career, but during the 1940s had a string of roles as a leading man. H ...
,
Gene Tierney
Gene Eliza Tierney (November 19, 1920 – November 6, 1991) was an American film and stage actress. Acclaimed for her great beauty, she became established as a leading lady. Tierney was best known for her portrayal of the title character in the ...
, and
George Raft
George Raft (born George Ranft; September 26, 1901 – November 24, 1980) was an American film actor and dancer identified with portrayals of gangsters in crime melodramas of the 1930s and 1940s. A stylish leading man in dozens of movies, Raft is ...
.
Plot
Peter Denver, a renowned
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
producer, is attending a cocktail party hosted by the viciously haughty and celebrated actress Carlotta "Lottie" Marin and her quiet husband Brian Mullen when he meets Nancy "Nanny" Ordway.
The seemingly naïve Nanny, a 20-year-old aspiring writer, says she hopes to make it big in New York. She convinces a reluctant Peter to persuade his wife, Iris—another famous actress, who is temporarily out of town—to agree to Nanny's use of the couple's apartment to write in during the day. After the Denvers return from the airport and find Nanny
hanging
Hanging is the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature around the neck.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Hanging as method of execution is unknown, as method of suicide from 1325. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' states that hanging i ...
dead in their bathroom, a variety of people Nanny has recently met in New York begin to reveal deeper and darker connections with her. Lt. Bruce, the detective assigned to the case, soon discovers that this apparent suicide was in fact a
homicide
Homicide occurs when a person kills another person. A homicide requires only a volitional act or omission that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from accidental, reckless, or negligent acts even if there is no inten ...
.
Further, he believes that Peter, who is suspected of having had an affair with Nanny, is the murderer. Peter evades arrest and seeks clues to discover the real murderer. The case becomes further complicated when he and Lt. Bruce independently realize that Nanny's dealings in New York belie her apparent innocence.
Nanny had recently stayed for a time with her uncle and then moved in with a woman roommate, whose brother she evidently had agreed to marry, as well as staying for some time with her uncle. A series of
flashbacks reveal that Nanny was craftily piecing together a scheme that would help her both to climb the social ladder and to later conceal the identity of her secret lover by falsely implicating Peter. This mysterious romance is confirmed by an
autopsy
An autopsy (post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of death or to evaluate any di ...
, which reveals that Nanny was pregnant at the time of her death.
Everyone Nanny knows is suddenly a suspect in the murder case, including Lottie and Brian, who live in the same apartment building as the Denvers. In the end, Brian can no longer keep silent and reveals to his friend Peter that he was Nanny's secret lover, but swears that he did not kill her. Having bugged Brian's apartment, Lt. Bruce barges in and charges Brian with the homicide. Lottie finally admits that she murdered Nanny for having had the affair with her husband, whom she later intended to blackmail. Lottie staged the death as a suicide.
Cast
Production
Development
20th Century Fox
20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...
bought the film rights to
Patrick Quentin
Patrick Quentin, Q. Patrick and Jonathan Stagge were pen names under which Hugh Callingham Wheeler (19 March 1912 – 26 July 1987), Richard Wilson Webb (August 1901 – December 1966), Martha Mott Kelley (30 April 1906 – 2005) and Mary Louise ...
's 1952 novel ''Black Widow''. Studio head Darryl Zanuck assigned the project to
Nunnally Johnson
Nunnally Hunter Johnson (December 5, 1897 – March 25, 1977) was an American screenwriter, film director, producer, and playwright. As a filmmaker, he wrote the screenplays to more than fifty films in a career that spanned from 1927 to 1967. He ...
, who worked on it after writing the script for ''
How to Marry a Millionaire
''How to Marry a Millionaire'' is a 1953 American screwball comedy film directed by Jean Negulesco and written and produced by Nunnally Johnson. The screenplay was based on the plays ''The Greeks Had a Word for It'' (1930) by Zoe Akins and ''Loc ...
'' (1953). Johnson then made his debut as director on ''
Night People'' (1954) starring
Gregory Peck
Eldred Gregory Peck (April 5, 1916 – June 12, 2003) was an American actor and one of the most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1970s. In 1999, the American Film Institute named Peck the 12th-greatest male star of Classic Hollywood ...
, and Peck was announced as the ''Black Widow'' male lead, which was, however, eventually played—after being passed on by
William Holden
William Holden (born William Franklin Beedle Jr.; April 17, 1918 – November 12, 1981) was an American actor, and one of the biggest box-office draws of the 1950s. Holden won the Academy Award for Best Actor for the film ''Stalag 17'' (1953) ...
—by Van Helflin. Johnson said the film would be the "''
All About Eve
''All About Eve'' is a 1950 American Drama (film and television), drama film written and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, and produced by Darryl F. Zanuck. It is based on the 1946 short story "The Wisdom of Eve" by Mary Orr, although Orr does ...
'' of suspense pictures." He later said it "was just a thriller, wasn't any great harm done in the thing, a thriller that I liked, because I like thrillers."
Johnson had offered the role of flamboyant stage actress Carlotta Marin to stage actress
Tallulah Bankhead
Tallulah Brockman Bankhead (January 31, 1902 – December 12, 1968) was an American actress. Primarily an actress of the stage, Bankhead also appeared in several prominent films including an award-winning performance in Alfred Hitchcock's ''Lif ...
, Johnson's first choice for the role, then to
Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur; March 23, ncertain year from 1904 to 1908was an American actress. She started her career as a dancer in traveling theatrical companies before debuting on Broadway. Crawford was signed to a motion pict ...
, who was not interested. Bankhead had declined the role as too small; it was successfully offered to
Ginger Rogers
Ginger Rogers (born Virginia Katherine McMath; July 16, 1911 – April 25, 1995) was an American actress, dancer and singer during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood. She won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her starri ...
(whose role in Johnson's 1952 production ''
We're Not Married!
''We're Not Married!'' is a 1952 American anthology romantic comedy film directed by Edmund Goulding. It was released by 20th Century Fox.
The screenplay was written by Nunnally Johnson
Nunnally Hunter Johnson (December 5, 1897 – March 25 ...
'' had also been declined by Bankhead). Rogers was accorded top billing in ''Black Widow''.
Johnson's first choice for the role of Nanny Ordway, 20th-Century-Fox-contractee
Maggie McNamara
Marguerite "Maggie" McNamara (June 18, 1928 – February 18, 1978) was a stage, film, and television actress and model from the United States.Obituary ''Variety'', March 22, 1978, page 46. McNamara began her career as a teenage fashion model. Sh ...
, was cast in the role but soon sidelined by illness, with her ''
Three Coins in the Fountain'' co-star
Jean Peters
Elizabeth Jean Peters (October 15, 1926 – October 13, 2000) was an American film actress. She is known as a star of 20th Century Fox in the late 1940s and early 1950s, and as the second wife of Howard Hughes. Although possibly best remembered f ...
being expected to replace her. However, the role of Nanny Ordway would ultimately afford a brief cinematic comeback to former child star (at 20th Century Fox)
Peggy Ann Garner
Peggy Ann Garner (February 3, 1932 – October 16, 1984) was an American child actress.
As a child actress, Garner had her first film role in 1938. At the 18th Academy Awards, Garner won the Academy Juvenile Award, recognizing her body of c ...
. Johnson had tested Garner for ''Black Widow'' on the recommendation of cinematographer
Charles G. Clarke
Charles G. Clarke ASC (March 10, 1899 – July 1, 1983) was an American cinematographer who worked in Hollywood for over 40 years and was treasurer and president (twice: 1948–50 and 1951–53) of the American Society of Cinematographers. ...
who, while overseeing location footage for ''Black Widow'' in New York City, had happened to cross paths with Garner, with whom he had worked on ''
Junior Miss
''Junior Miss'' is a collection of semi-autobiographical stories by Sally Benson first published in ''The New Yorker''. Between 1929 and the end of 1941, the prolific Benson published 99 stories in ''The New Yorker'', some under her pseudonym of ...
'' nine years earlier. Johnson said he took Garner "much to my regret... she was a tiresome little girl. Tiresome woman."
Johnson did successfully recruit
George Raft
George Raft (born George Ranft; September 26, 1901 – November 24, 1980) was an American film actor and dancer identified with portrayals of gangsters in crime melodramas of the 1930s and 1940s. A stylish leading man in dozens of movies, Raft is ...
, known for his gangster roles, to
play against type as an investigating police officer.
Shooting
According to Johnson, Raft would show up on set word-perfect and looking no older at age fifty-four than he had at age thirty-nine. Johnson said Raft "learns his lines very well... he's not an actor in particular. He was a personality that was very well fitted for that period. If you'll remember, he felt very pleased with himself this time because he played a cop. He was on the law side. He's a nice guy to be with."
Reception
When the film was released, ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' film critic
Bosley Crowther
Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though his ...
panned the screenplay and the actors, writing that "''Black Widow'', which was discovered at the Roxy yesterday, bears little or no resemblance to the recent local spider scourge, except that it is moderately intriguing and considerably overplayed. It is merely an average whodunit, stretched out on the
CinemaScope
CinemaScope is an anamorphic lens series used, from 1953 to 1967, and less often later, for shooting widescreen films that, crucially, could be screened in theatres using existing equipment, albeit with a lens adapter. Its creation in 1953 by ...
screen and performed by a fancy cast of actors so that it looks more important than it is ... The major fly in the ointment—or, should we say, in the web—is Peggy Ann Garner, playing the little Southern girl. Miss Garner's endeavors to give out with a rush of peach-blossom charm are beclouded with affectation. And the idea that she could be the greedy and ruthless little vixen that is finally revealed is hard to believe ... And, finally, the shrill and shoddy character that Ginger Rogers plays—a poison-tongued Broadway actress—is indifferently written and performed. It is asking a lot of an audience to believe that she could display anything but clothes. George Raft as a poker-faced detective acts with flat-toned indifference, too, and Gene Tierney and Reginald Gardiner barely manage to live through their roles."
Film critic Dennis Schwartz panned the film in 2008, opining, "It's a flimsy story that is apathetically written, poorly paced and overacted with shrill performances by both Ginger Rogers and Peggy Ann Garner. The B-film crime drama might have been better served as a cheapie production, with some of its filler scenes lopped off."
Craig Butler, however, reviewing it for
AllMovie
AllMovie (previously All Movie Guide) is an online database with information about films, television programs, and screen actors. , AllMovie.com and the AllMovie consumer brand are owned by RhythmOne.
History
AllMovie was founded by popular-cult ...
, called the film "entertaining" and noted that the "cinematography is frequently stunning". He refers to some "marvelous dialogue", noting "the film moves along at a nice, steady clip" and stating that "it's enough fun that most viewers will overlook …
heflaws". He praised Garner and Rogers, noting the latter's "standout performance".
References
Bibliography
*
External links
*
*
*
*
''Black Widow''at DVD Beaver (includes images)
* (the crime scene)
Review of filmat Variety
{{DEFAULTSORT:Black Widow
1954 films
1954 crime drama films
1950s American films
1950s English-language films
1950s mystery drama films
20th Century Fox films
American crime drama films
American mystery drama films
CinemaScope films
Color film noir
Films based on American novels
Films based on mystery novels
Films directed by Nunnally Johnson
Films scored by Leigh Harline
Films set in New York City
Films with screenplays by Nunnally Johnson
Murder mystery films