Universal Pictures, 87m 21s
The
indispensable Edmond O'Brien was a film
noir powerhouse whenever so deployed, tailor-made for a variety of genre
characters and settings. With his everyman looks and headstrong attitude, his
leading men are sufficiently self-assured to go after what they want, but smart
enough to question everything along the way. He could be the sympathetic noir protagonist (D.O.A. [1950], THE
HITCH-HIKER [1953]), the less likable lead (711 OCEAN DRIVE [1950]) as well as the outright noir heel (SHIELD FOR MURDER [1954]). In director Michael Gordon's unheralded
but supremely competent noir thriller
THE WEB, a Universal International
Pictures production, O'Brien offers a terrific turn as Bob Regan, the basically
good man with a public school education who takes a high-dive plunge into
choppy noir waters.
As
the opening credits unspool over city streets that lead to Grand Central
Station, it is apparent this noir
film will be of the urban variety. As Leopold Kroner (Fritz Leiber) returns to
New York City after serving a five-year prison stretch for embezzlement, the
story begins properly at Andrew Colby Enterprises, where the doggedly
determined attorney Regan impresses the international industrialist Colby
(Vincent Price at his most threateningly soft-spoken and effeminate) with his unbridled
gumption. Not focused on business alone, Regan displays an everlasting supply
of self-confidence in his gravitation toward Noel Faraday (Ella Raines,
top-billed), Colby's personal secretary of six years. As the "brash"
Regan seeks the favor of Faraday, sexual suggestion is sky high.
Regan's
earnest professional efforts get him an invitation to Colby's home, where the
lawyer is offered $5,000 to serve as Colby's bodyguard for a few weeks. Colby
has his concerns about the return of Kroner, his one-time business associate
who allegedly sold counterfeit bonds for the sum of $1 million. Though he is hesitant
at first to accept the offer, the top-paying temp job allows Regan to be in the
presence of Faraday frequently, an obvious plus for any man with a pulse. His
attraction to her immediately looks like a serious problem in the making; from
the moment he lays eyes on the fair-skinned brunette he makes it perfectly clear
he would do just about anything to get her out of her clothes.
Soon
enough, Regan must earn that big $5K salary when he guns down Kroner, who
inexplicably materializes in Colby's home brandishing a gun. Naturally there is
more to the shooting than it at first would seem; Regan suddenly comes to terms
with that notion when he is greeted unexpectedly by Kroner's upset daughter
Martha (Maria Palmer). Now the noir
protagonist epitomized, Regan must ascertain the truth about the shooting with
nothing evidentiary to support his position. Considering the amount of money
that traded hands around the time of Kroner's death, Lieutenant Damico (William
Bendix) will be a tough man to convince that Regan was not a willing hit man.
With
an unambiguous title treatment like THE
WEB, the viewer should expect to encounter plenty of film noir signifiers and director Michael Gordon does not
disappoint. The most noir elements of
the film would be the inner workings of Andrew Colby, who shows zero loyalty
for the man who did five years for him. Ultimately Colby's feelings for Charles
Murdock (John Abbott), another employee, are identical. The murder of Murdock
is a wicked noir moment, a man in the
wrong place at the worst possible time. With the abrupt expiration of Murdock
comes one of the genre's great jump cuts to a construction sign that reads
"DANGER: MEN AT WORK." Indeed
the darkest dealings in the noir
universe tend to revolve around distinctly masculine concerns. Noel Faraday
exudes certain femme fatale traits, mostly in terms of her appearance and
employment, and Universal's marketing department played her up as a heartless
spider woman. Although not the betrayer the noir
viewer is trained to suspect, she delivers a deliciously vampish quote,
"...my dangerous beauty depends upon eight hours of sleep." Ella
Raines possessed the rare ability to appear both deadly and delicate. A
peripheral character who seems well suited to the noir film is James Timothy Nolan (Howland Chamberlain), the
obviously gay author and erstwhile contributor to the New York Star who makes a
pass at Regan. For that sequence to have evaded censorship is a credit to the
subtlety of the studio system, which injected numerous gay characters into noir films from THE MALTESE FALCON
(1941) to THE BIG COMBO (1955). Gun control advocates will note Lieutenant
Damico is skeptical from the get go that Regan wants a permit to carry a
firearm. Those suspicions are confirmed when Regan kills someone with that gun
within a mere 24 hours. The film concludes on an upbeat note with Regan and
Faraday as the happy couple with their lives in front of them, but one wonders
if there is a dark story embedded in that noir
fabric, with Regan unable to cope with his complicity in the planned death of
Leopold Kroner.
Director
Michael Gordon also helmed AN ACT OF
MURDER (1948), THE LADY GAMBLES
(1949) and WOMAN IN HIDING (1950),
all film noirs of merit.
Co-screenwriter William Bowers made uncredited contributions to two of my
favorite film noirs: PITFALL
(1948) and CRISS CROSS (1949). He
also wrote the screenplays for CRY
DANGER (1951) and THE MOB
(1951). Co-screenwriter Bertram Millhauser was the screenwriter behind THE SUSPECT (1944) and received story
credit for WALK A CROOKED MILE
(1948). THE WEB was Irving
Glassberg's first credit as director of photography. His career was noted
mostly for Westerns cranked out at Universal Pictures, though he did handle the
camera for a couple of other noir
products: UNDERTOW (1949) and THE
PRICE OF FEAR (1956). His work in THE
WEB is in step with a genre that comprises low camera angles, wet streets,
shadows and staircases.
Brand
new to domestic home video is this dual-layered Blu-ray disc from Kino Lorber
Studio Classics. For film noir fans
like me who always wanted to own a copy, this release comes as a pleasant
surprise. Though the source material is somewhat bespeckled, the contrast level
and film grain both strike acceptable notes. Framed at 1.37:1, the presentation
looks quite nice in motion, which is always what counts.
The
significant extra is a new audio commentary track courtesy of Dr. Jason A. Ney,
Director of the Writing Center and Assistant Professor of English at Colorado
Christian University, as well as a staff writer for the Film Noir Foundation's
NOIR CITY e-magazine. Ney extensively reviews the careers of Ella Raines,
Edmond O'Brien, William Bendix and Vincent Price, all of whom appeared in at
least one genuine film noir classic
and many other well-regarded noir
features. In fact O'Brien alone was cast in 17 noir vehicles if one includes WHITE
HEAT (1949), which straddles genre boundaries of the film noir and the gangster film. Ney clarifies Raines was not
exactly discovered by filmmaker Howard Hawks as legend has it; producer Charles
K. Feldman saw Raines on Broadway and brought her to the attention of Hawks.
Given her movie star looks, it is hard to believe she endured severe burns to
her face and scalp before her acting career was set in motion. Ney credits
cinematographer Irving Glassberg for his masterful use of lighting to reflect
the tone of conversations. Glassberg also effectively locates his camera to
accent shifts in character power. One of Ney's most insightful observations
involves the film's transcendence of Italian American stereotypes. The
policeman portrayed by Bendix is elevated to hero, the immigrant's American
dream realized.
The only other supplemental material arrives in the form of an 8-film trailer collection of Kino Lorber titles, including a theatrical trailer for THE WEB (2m 17s).
