''The Black Widow'' is a 1951 British

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre ...

directed by

Vernon Sewell Vernon Campbell Sewell (4 July 1903 – 21 June 2001) was a British film director, writer, producer and, briefly, an actor. Sewell was born in London, England, and was educated at Marlborough College. He directed more than 30 films during his ...

and starring

Christine Norden Christine Norden (born Mary Lydia Thornton; 28 December 1924 – 21 September 1988) was a British actress. Early life Norden was born in Mowbray Terrace, Sunderland. She was the daughter of a bus driver. Her childhood home was in Chester Ro ...

and Robert Ayres. The film was a B-movie production by

Hammer Film Productions Hammer Film Productions Ltd. is a British film production company based in London. Founded in 1934, the company is best known for a series of Gothic horror and fantasy films made from the mid-1950s until the 1970s. Many of these involve class ...

and was based on a radio serial entitled ''Return from Darkness''.

Plot

Mark Sherwin (Ayres) is driving in the country when he notices a man lying at the side of the road. Assuming the man is the victim of a hit-and-run, he stops to offer assistance, only to be coshed and left stunned while his wallet and car are stolen. On recovering his senses, he staggers towards a nearby farmhouse where he collapses. He is found by the farm owner, who summons a doctor. Meanwhile, the car thief comes to grief while speeding round a corner on a clifftop road, the car plunges over the edge and explodes in flames. Sherwin regains consciousness, but is suffering from complete amnesia with no idea of his own identity or how he came to be found in such a remote location. The farm owner and his daughter agree to look after Sherwin while he recuperates. The police investigate missing persons reports but find no case to match Sherwin's age and physical description. Some days later Sherwin is on the mend, and happens to find in his overcoat pocket a ticket stub from a theatre in a town some 50 miles away. Hoping to find some clue as to his identity, he takes a train to the town and walks the streets to see whether anything will jog his memory. He comes across a house which he seems to recognise and walks in through the unlocked door. Inside he finds a flower-covered coffin in the front room. A woman (Norden) enters and on seeing Sherwin, screams and faints. This jolts Sherwin's memory back into gear and he recognises the woman as his wife Christine, who has believed him dead since there was no reason for anybody to consider that the body found in the burned-out car was not his. Sherwin is bothered by his wife's odd demeanour, particularly her excessive concern about whether or not anybody could have seen him in the street or arriving at the house. His suspicions aroused, he decides to continue to play the amnesiac. Saying he is going upstairs to rest, he eavesdrops on her telephone calls and soon realises that she is speaking to a lover of some time standing, the gist of the conversation being the need to dispose of Sherwin quickly before anyone else finds out that he was not the crash victim. Gradually, he finds out that Christine and her lover (

Anthony Forwood Ernest Lytton Leslie Forwood (3 October 1915 – 18 May 1988), known professionally as Anthony Forwood, was an English actor. Early life Ernest Lytton Leslie Forwood was born on 3 October 1915 in Weymouth, England. The Forwood family were lande ...

) had been intending to sell the house and cash all his assets, and his inconvenient reappearance has derailed their plans. Aware now of Christine's true colours, he decides to play along with her schemes until he can engineer a suitable come-uppance for the pair.

Cast

as Christine Sherwin * Robert Ayres as Mark Sherwin *

Jennifer Jayne Jennifer Jayne (14 November 1931 – 23 April 2006) was an English film and television actress born in Yorkshire to theatrical parents. Born Jennifer Jayne Jones, she adopted her stage name of Jennifer Jayne to avoid confusion with the Holly ...

as Sheila Kemp *

as Paul Kenton *

John Longden John Longden (11 November 1900 – 26 May 1971) was an English film actor. He appeared in more than 80 films between 1926 and 1964, including five films directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Biography Longden was born in the West Indies, the son o ...

as Mr. Kemp *

John Harvey John Harvey may refer to: People Academics * John Harvey (astrologer) (1564–1592), English astrologer and physician * John Harvey (architectural historian) (1911–1997), British architectural historian, who wrote on English Gothic architecture ...

as Dr. Wallace * Reginald Dyson as Police Sergeant * Joan Carol as Hotel Desk Clerk *

Madoline Thomas Madoline Thomas (born Madoline Mary Price; 2 January 1890 – 30 December 1989) was a Welsh character actress whose career, beginning in midlife, encompassed stage, film and television roles. Early life Madoline Mary Price was born in Abergave ...

as Housekeeper * Jill Hulbert as Helen

Critical reception

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news. The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine LLC, in 2008. Corpora ...

'' noted the film as having "some exciting moments."

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Black Widow (1951 film), The 1951 films 1950s thriller films British thriller films Hammer Film Productions films British black-and-white films Films directed by Vernon Sewell Films based on radio series Films about amnesia Adultery in films 1950s English-language films 1950s British films