Introduction
Welcome to my corner! This week, I'm sharing my thoughts on the film Black Widow. The TCM television channel played Black Widow as part of their 'Creepy Cinema: Gene Tierney's Terror' lineup on October 17. As I said before, TCM's Creepy Cinema with Ben Mankiewicz and Mario Cantone is one of my favorite things about October. Enjoy!
Black Widow
Black Widow is a 1954 American DeLuxe Color mystery film in CinemaScope, with elements of film noir, written, produced, and directed by Nunnally Johnson, based on the 1952 novel of the same name by Patrick Quentin. The film stars Ginger Rogers, Van Helflin, Gene Tierney and George Raft.
Plot: At a party, Broadway producer Peter Denver (Van Heflin) meets Nancy Ordway (Peggy Ann Garner), a young writer struggling to make it in New York City. Taking pity on her, Denver offers Nancy his apartment as a place to write while his wife, Iris (Gene Tierney), is away. Shortly after, Nancy is found dead in his bathroom, apparently murdered, and Denver is, of course, the main suspect. As rumors swirl about his involvement with Nancy, Denver decides to search for her killer himself.
Acting: Ginger Rogers played Carlotta "Lottie" Marin. Her performance doesn't stick in my memory. Her four most notable titles are Kitty Foyle, The Major and the Minor, The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle and The Gay Divorcee. I haven't seen her other work yet.
Van Helflin played Peter Denver. He looks like Bob Hope to me. His four most notable titles are Shane, Presenting Lily Mars, The Strange Love of Marsha Ivers and Possessed. The only other titles I've seen of his is The Strange Love of Martha Ivers. It was a good movie.
Gene Tierney played Iris Denver. She's very pretty. She didn't play a very big role in the movie, but she is one of the suspects. Her four most notable titles are Laura, Leave Her to Heaven, Heaven Can Wait and Dragonwyck. I haven't seen any of her other work.
Peggy Ann Garner played Nancy "Nanny" Ordway. When I see her, evil black widow of a woman isn't what I picture. She looks too cute and innocent. I didn't buy her being the bad woman who everyone wanted to kill. I feel like they didn't cast this part as well as they could've. Her four most notable titles are A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Junior Miss, Jane Eyre and Home, Sweet Homicide. I haven't seen her other work.
Reginald Gardiner played Brian Mullen. His character didn't stand out much, but I think that was intentional to the story and Brian's character. His four most notable titles are The Great Dictator, Christmas in Connecticut, The Man Who Came to Dinner and A Damsel in Distress. My favorite is The Man Who Came to Dinner.
Technical Aspects: 20th Century Fox bought the film rights to Patrick Quentin's 1952 novel Black Widow. Studio head Darryl Zanuck assigned the project to Nunnally Johnson, so worked on it after writing the script for How to Mary a Millionaire (1953). Johnson then made his debut as director on Night People (1954) starring Gregory Peck, and Peck was announced as the Black Widow male lead, which was, however, eventually played—after being passed on by William Holden—by Van Heflin. Johnson said the film would be the "All About Eve 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, Johnson's first choice for the role, then to Joan Crawford, who was not interested. Bankhead had declined the role as too small; it was successfully offered to Ginger Rogers (whose role in Johnson's 1952 production We're Not Married! 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, was cast in the role but soon sidelined by illness, with her Three Coins in the Fountain co-star Jean Peters 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. Johnson had tested Garner for Black Widow on the recommendation of cinematographer Charles G. Clarke 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 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, known for his gangster roles, to play against type as an investigating police officer.
Final Thoughts: Black Widow (1954) weaves an interesting tale of love, scandal and murder. Telling the tale through present investigation and flashbacks. I won't lie, I was confused through most of this movie as to what was going on, mostly because I didn't realize the flashbacks were flashbacks right away. There was no indicator that a flashback was starting, like a flash or color change, or any effect over the scene, nothing.
I had my suspicions about whodunit, but won't share my thoughts and whether or not I was right. The movie casts shadows of doubt on each of the suspects, most heavily on Peter. At one point, I thought it was rather obvious whodunit, but that turned out to be a farce.
I challenge you to watch this movie and see if you can figure out whodunit.
Where to watch it: According to Google, Black Widow is currently available to watch on Tubi. You can also purchase or rent a digital copy for a few dollars. I've also donated a DVD copy of the film to the Emil M. Larson Public Library in Clark for you all to enjoy if you choose to.
That's it for this week! What were your thoughts? Feel free to share them with us! You can call us, email us, visit us at the office, leave us a comment or message on Facebook, or even mail us something. Keep the comments, suggestions, questions, submissions, etc. coming our way! We'd love to hear from you!
