''The Black Spider'' is a 1920 British silent

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 ...

directed by William Humphrey and starring

Mary Clare Mary Clare Absalom (17 July 1892 – 29 August 1970) was a British actress of stage, film and television. Biography Daughter of George Alfred Absalom, Clare was educated at Wood Green secondary school, first worked in an office but a loan ...

Bertram Burleigh Bertram Burleigh (1890 – 1961) was a British actor of the silent era. Selected filmography * ''John Halifax, Gentleman'' (1915) * ''The Mother of Dartmoor'' (1916) * '' Trapped by the London Sharks'' (1916) * ''Mrs. Thompson'' (1919) * '' ...

, and

Ronald Colman Ronald Charles Colman (9 February 1891 – 19 May 1958) was an English-born actor, starting his career in theatre and silent film in his native country, then immigrating to the United States and having a successful Hollywood film career. He wa ...

.Smith, R. Dixon. ''Ronald Colman, Gentleman of the Cinema: A Biography and Filmography''. McFarland, 1991. p. 16. . It is an adaptation of the 1911 novel of the same name by Carlton Dawe. The film was partly shot on location in

Monte Carlo Monte Carlo (; ; french: Monte-Carlo , or colloquially ''Monte-Carl'' ; lij, Munte Carlu ; ) is officially an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco, specifically the ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is ...

Plot

A series of robberies have been committed against wealthy inhabitants of

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...

by a thief known as 'The Black Spider'. A young woman steals her aunt's jewels as a joke, pretending to be the Black Spider, but a detective is soon on her trail.

Cast

as Angela Brentwood *

Lydia Kyasht Lydia Georgievna Kyasht (25 March 1885 — 11 January 1959) was a Russian British ballerina and dance teacher. She was described by one critic as "the World's Most Beautiful Dancer" in 1914. Early life Lydia Georgievna Kyasht was born in St. Pe ...

as Angela Carfour *

as Archie Lowndes *

Sam Livesey Samuel Livesey (14 October 1873 – 7 November 1936) was a Welsh stage and film actor. Life Livesey's father, Thomas, had been a railway engineer before leaving the industry to establish a travelling theatre with his wife Mary. The two had six ...

as Reggie Cosway *Robert Corbins as Archie Lowndes *

as Vicomte de Beaurais * Betty Hall as Irene Carfour *

Hayden Coffin Charles Hayden Coffin (22 April 1862 – 8 December 1935) was an English actor and singer known for his performances in many famous Edwardian musical comedies, particularly those produced by George Edwardes. Hayden achieved fame as Harry Sh ...

as Lord Carfour *

Adeline Hayden Coffin Adeline Maria Elisabeth Hayden Coffin (née de Leuw; 20 June 1862 – 31 March 1939) was a German-born British actress. In an advertisement for her professional availability in 1921 she described herself, or was described by her agent, as suita ...

as Lady Carfour *Dorothy Cecil as Marjorie West

Bibliography

*Low, Rachael. ''The History of British Film, Volume 4 1918-1929''.

Routledge Routledge () is a British multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanities, behavioural science, education, law, and ...

, 1997.

References

External links

* British silent feature films Films directed by William J. Humphrey 1920 mystery films British mystery films Films set in Monaco British black-and-white films 1920s British films Silent mystery films {{1920s-UK-film-stub