The Black Widow (1947)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Directors:

Spencer Gordon Bennet
Fred C. Brannon

Writers:

Franklin Adreon (original screenplay) and
Basil Dickey (original screenplay) ...

Release Date:

1 November 1947 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Crime | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Lightning-quick reporter attempts to overcome thieves...risking his life at the hands of the deadly Black Widow! (original poster)

Plot:

The Daily Clarion hires detective story writer Steve Colt to investigate the deaths of a group of scientists...

Plot Keywords:

Alley | Death | Animal In Title | Investigator | Rocket Engine

Cast

Bruce Edwards	...	Steve Colt
Virginia Lee	...	Joyce Winters (as Virginia Lindley)
Carol Forman	...	Sombra, The Black Widow
Anthony Warde	...	Nick Ward
Ramsay Ames	...	Ruth Dayton
I. Stanford Jolley	...	Dr. Z.V. Jaffa
Brother Theodore	...	Hitomu (as Theodore Gottlieb)
Virginia Carroll	...	Dr. Ann Curry [Chs. 6-7]
Gene Roth	...	J.M. Walker - Newspaper Editor (as Gene Stutenroth)
Sam Flint	...	Prof. Henry Weston
Tom Steele	...	Bard [Ch. 1] / Jack [Ch. 8] / Blair [Ch. 12]
Dale Van Sickel	...	Bill [Ch. 4] / Hodges [Ch. 7] / Smith [Ch. 10] / Bass [Ch. 12-13]
LeRoy Mason	...	Dr. Godfrey [Ch. 5]
Forrest Taylor	...	Bradley (Gang Lawyer) [Ch. 10]
Ernie Adams	...	Blinky

Runtime:

180 min (13 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Approved | Finland:K-16

Filming Locations:

Iverson Ranch, Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Republic Pictures (I)

Trivia:

Chapter Titles: 1. Deadly Prophecy 2. The Stolen Formula 3. Hidden Death 4. Peril in the Sky 5. The Spider's Lair 6. Glass Guillotine 7. Wheels of Death 8. False Information 9. The Spider's Venom 10.The Stolen Corpse 11.Death Dials a Number 12.The Talking Mirror 13.A Life for a Life

Quotes:

Steve Colt: When Ward destroyed the fingerprints and got away with Dr. Currie's handbag, he left us with no further clue to the Black Widow Gang. All we know is that the leader is definitely a foreigner, probably an Asiatic, certainly a woman.
Prof. Henry Weston: And an ingenuous woman - as deadly as the name implies.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Firesign Theatre Presents 'Hot Shorts' (1983)

Seemingly forgotten serial is better than it should be thanks to neat gadgets and a go for it attitude

Someone is killing off industrialists with a poison that is similar to the poison of a black widow. The person behind it is the evil Sombra, a woman who is using her fortune telling business as a front for blackmail and espionage. The Clarion Newspaper assigns one of its reporters to follow a well known mystery writer,Steve Colt, that they have hired to solve the crimes. Almost instantly the intrepid pair unknowingly stumbles upon the villainess and her band and 12 chapters of action follow as the bad guys try to stay away from the good guys. Mostly unknown serial is an enjoyable romp thanks to Republic caring enough not to completely do things by the book. Instead of the usual tricks and traps that Republic's serial makers would lapse into in the name of saving a few pennies you have things like the chair of death where a spider like device comes out of the back to stink you to death, or cars that change color with the flip of a dial. It's the equivalent to a really good B-movie that you stumble upon late at night that is completely gripping even though its something you've never heard of.(Regrettably this serial is also as forgettable in the same way its good but it doesn't linger in the brain as anything other than a vague memory- a "yea I saw that" until you put it on again and you realize how good it was). Recommended.