Dorathen Better Late Then Never

Ogosmith Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

Neive Bellamy Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

Ava-Grace Willis Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

biorngm Review - Black Widow, released 1954 Opening scene is Gene Tierney and Van Heflin kissing, before Gene's character boards a plane and Van's character promises to attend a party given by their neighbors, living directly above them. The party is packed with people, cocktails with a piano player, theater folk mostly. A conversation begins on the terrace between successful Broadway producer, Peter Denver, and an apparent writer, a young woman named Nancy Ordway, calling herself Nanny to all those she comes in contact. The story traces the initial manipulations of the young lady through an uncle, an artist and her student brother. There are more people the woman touches through her pursuit of status and money to support the position climbing. The money is later proposed coming from a lawyer based on an extortion scheme, as the Miss Ordway got herself pregnant in her endeavor. She claims Peter Denver was her lover, and later, her lover is found to be Pete's friend and neighbor, Brian Mullen. Brian admits to the police he was too much a coward to confront Nanny, and get rid of her, but that did not stop his wife from killing out of spite. It was sad enough Nanny took Brian's wife Lottie away for her selfish purposes, but things were never to be the same with her pregnancy coupled with the plans she had to exhort money through an attorney. Closing scene has George Raft, Gene Tierney and Van Heflin as Heflin's character speculates the courtroom drama should be award winning with the acting expected from the guilty party. The ninety minutes of film is set primarily in the two apartments of the main characters, they live directly above one another, with the top unit having a terrace. When the Broadway producer and his actress wife return home to find Nanny hanging from the shower rail, an apparent suicide. Accused of murdering the young lady, the producer sets out to exonerate himself, while avoiding the police. Through a series of contacts with friends, relatives and Nanny's co-worker, the producer deduces who the lover might be and just what kind of game Nanny was hatching. Initially questioned by the police of his whereabouts the afternoon of the murder, the producer claims he was in a movie theater for about two hours watching a film by himself. Much later in the movie, the story is validated by someone working in the same movie house, hoping to see the man about a part in an upcoming play of his. The producer suspects his friend and neighbor, but hears that neighbor was much too weak to make a final confrontation. The detective offers the concluding analysis, pinpointing the real killer, after carefully sorting through the facts of the case. This was an above average film based on the well-acted story and manner the same story was told. Hardly film-noir, cinemascope and color prevent it from being so, plus there needs to be more intrigue, cloak-and-dagger effects were lacking. It was certainly star-studded with the four people appearing before the title at the start of the movie. Each celebrity played their part perfectly, making the film worth watching all the way through. Enjoy.

Leofwine_draca BLACK WIDOW is an all-star Hollywood film noir shot in vibrant colour and featuring a starring role for ageing starlet Ginger Rogers. The story is about a pretty young woman who falls for a big-shot theatre producer, causing the finger of suspicion to fall on him when she's found murdered. The cast are decent here and Van Heflin does fine with his 'wronged man' material, but the main problem is with the sluggish pace. There are too many peripheral characters and sub-plots that merely murky the waters, and for a murder mystery there's absolutely no suspense. Still, at least it looks good.

vincentlynch-moonoi Once I got past some of the gaudiest color I've ever seen in a motion picture, I enjoyed this film.First off, it's a very strong cast. Van Heflin plays a Broadway producer; this is one of the few performances of Heflin's that I actually like; he's quite excellent here. Heflin mistakenly befriends a 20 year old writer new to the city, and let's her use his apartment for her writing in the daytime when his wife is away. It's foolish, but nothing untoward in this case. Peggy Garner plays the young writer, and she is "okay"; her character apparently kills herself (thouhgh it turns out to be murder) by hanging in Heflin's apartment. Heflin's wife is played by Gene Tierney, in quite a good performance by her. Ginger Rogers is an actress that is about as snotty as you can get; not a pleasant role for her at all, and frankly I think she overacted a bit here; this may have been her worst screen performance. George Raft plays the detective investigating the case,, and he's very good in the role. Reginald Gardiner plays a friend and associate of Heflin's; I'm usually not very impressed as with Gardiner, but he does nicely here. Skip Homeier is along; not a very impressive actor, and one I had pretty much forgotten. Mabel Albertson has a supporting role. Another excellent actor who has a role here is Otto Kruger; who plays the uncle of the girl who is killed.The title tends to give away the ending, so you probably won't be very surprised when you learn who the murderer is. But it's still fun getting there. Recommended.

LeonLouisRicci Here we have a Movie that is Mistitled and Mislabeled. There isn't a Widow in this Film, let alone a Black Widow and this is often called Film Noir (even released on DVD in a Noir Series). Please can we have just a little bit of clarity in Marketing. Oh well.Very typical of the 1950's this is quite the representation of one of those Hollywood attempts at luring Adults to the Movie Theatre by offering something, anything, that they couldn't get for Free from the "One Eyed Monster". Like a Star Studded Cast, Technicolor, Cinemascope, and some Daring Themes (here read, Out of Wedlock Pregnancy).This is basically a "Who Done It?" that plods right along, although it is held back frequently so Audiences can gawk at the impressive Wide Screen where the Actors stand on extreme right and extreme left and Talk to one another while the Colors drip from the Screen and delightfully decorated Backgrounds sit there dutifully. An observation emerges, this could be the Theatre, not the Movie Theatre, but the Theatre Theatre.The Aging Cast all seem so Professional, in a Non-Stanislovsky kinda way, taking their Style from the Studio System. There are some Cynical lines and the Murder Mystery has a sense of a Writer who Loves His Craft. It is all a package with some Entertainment Value, and as an Historical Icon that is like a Motion Picture Postcard from 1954.