IMDb RATING
6.7/10
3.3K
YOUR RATING
A young writer insinuates herself into the life of a Broadway producer.A young writer insinuates herself into the life of a Broadway producer.A young writer insinuates herself into the life of a Broadway producer.
Mabel Albertson
- Sylvia
- (uncredited)
Bea Benaderet
- Mrs. Franklin Walsh
- (uncredited)
Mary Benoit
- Party Guest
- (uncredited)
Nesdon Booth
- Police A.P.B. Man
- (uncredited)
Paul Bradley
- Party Guest
- (uncredited)
Steve Carruthers
- Party Guest
- (uncredited)
Harry Carter
- Police Sgt. Welch
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaNunnally Johnson originally offered the role played by Ginger Rogers to Tallulah Bankhead, who called the writer-producer and, in a 25-minute phone conversation, gave him her reasons for rejecting the role. Rogers turned the part down as well, but had a change of heart after Johnson sent her a letter asking her to reconsider, on the proviso that she could take the relatively minor role and make it into a star-turn.
- GoofsIf you listen carefully for changes in presence, it appears that some of Van Heflin's dialogue was looped in post production.
- Quotes
[opening narration]
Peter Denver: The Black Widow, deadliest of all spiders, earned its dark title through its deplorable practice of devouring its mate.
- Crazy creditsOpening credits are shown over the background of a spider web made by a black widow.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Ginger Rogers at Twentieth Century Fox (2007)
- SoundtracksDance of the Seven Veils
Theme
from "Salome"
by Richard Strauss
Played occasionally throughout the picture
Featured review
The Drawingroom Gets a Face-lift
Five years earlier, this drawingroom drama would have been filmed in small screen b&w. But the year is 1954 and film audiences are staying home with their new-fangled little black boxes. So a big budget studio like TCF takes what amounts to an "Ellery Queen in Manhattan" plot, gussies it up in lavish color, stretches the screen to Cinemascope length, loads up the marquee with big names, and sends the result out to compete with Lucille Ball and Milton Berle. I don't know how well the strategy succeeded commercially, but I enjoyed the movie then and still do.
As a whodunit, the mystery's only partially successful—not enough suspects and too convoluted to follow. At the same time, the pacing sometimes sags in ways that undercut the suspense. Still, the 95 minutes does add up to a gorgeous tapestry, thanks to expert art direction, set decoration, and a well-upholstered cast. And who could hold together a sometimes-confusing storyline better than the always-reliable Van Heflin. Also, I expect urbane writer-director Nunnally Johnson fit comfortably with the sophisticated Manhattan setting and show-biz personalities. So, it's not surprising that he gets off some insider innuendo. Catch the cocktail party shot at gossip columnist Hedda Hopper, known for her bizarre headgear; I expect Johnson was settling an old score there. Then too, having the ingénue (Garner) turn up mysteriously pregnant is rather daring for the straitjacketed Production Code period. Also, watch for the skinny young actor (Oliver) interviewed by Heflin near film's end. That's future TV mogul Aaron Spelling getting a proverbial foot in the door.
Anyway, the film provides an entertaining glimpse of drawingroom drama getting a face-lift during the early years of the television challenge.
As a whodunit, the mystery's only partially successful—not enough suspects and too convoluted to follow. At the same time, the pacing sometimes sags in ways that undercut the suspense. Still, the 95 minutes does add up to a gorgeous tapestry, thanks to expert art direction, set decoration, and a well-upholstered cast. And who could hold together a sometimes-confusing storyline better than the always-reliable Van Heflin. Also, I expect urbane writer-director Nunnally Johnson fit comfortably with the sophisticated Manhattan setting and show-biz personalities. So, it's not surprising that he gets off some insider innuendo. Catch the cocktail party shot at gossip columnist Hedda Hopper, known for her bizarre headgear; I expect Johnson was settling an old score there. Then too, having the ingénue (Garner) turn up mysteriously pregnant is rather daring for the straitjacketed Production Code period. Also, watch for the skinny young actor (Oliver) interviewed by Heflin near film's end. That's future TV mogul Aaron Spelling getting a proverbial foot in the door.
Anyway, the film provides an entertaining glimpse of drawingroom drama getting a face-lift during the early years of the television challenge.
helpful•262
- dougdoepke
- Aug 14, 2009
- How long is Black Widow?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Crna udovica
- Filming locations
- West 24th Street between 9th and 10th Avenues, New York City, New York, USA(Establishing shot for artists studio)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $1,095,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 35 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 2.55 : 1
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