THE WEB (1947)

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).