Despite some atmospherically dark camerawork in the midtown streets and cavernous brownstones, The Web keeps its tone on the lighter side. Set among Manhattan sophisticates, it gathers together Edmond O'Brien, Ella Raines, Vincent Price and William Bendix. That reads like a recipe for a succulent film noir; not quite that, The Web is noirish enough and satisfying.
Rich and ruthless industrialist Price hires poor but honest lawyer O'Brien as his bodyguard. His first night on the job, O'Brien shoots and kills an intruder, an old associate of Price's just out of prison. The killing looks suspicious to a street-smart police detective (Bendix), who lacks the evidence to bring a charge. But when the murdered man's daughter tries to kill him in revenge, O'Brien starts to have second thoughts ("Was I set up?"); he also starts to have amorous thoughts about Price's Gal Friday (Raines).
The performers redeem the run-of-the-mill material. Price reminds us what a smug villain he could be before horror movies snatched his soul. For once neither a dim-witted sidekick nor a brute, Bendix convinces us as a shrewd cop. Raines -- a star in two early Robert Siodmak noirs (Phantom Lady and Uncle Harry) -- leads us to wonder why her career never took flight; sleek, quick and smart, she's every bit as good as her contemporary Lauren Bacall. Only O'Brien fails to impress; he always plays O'Brien and works better co-starring than in the lead.
Like The Crack-Up and The Unsuspected, TheWeb is a suspense thriller that happens to fall under the influence of the noir cycle that was reaching full speed in 1947. It's fun, but far from canonical.
Rich and ruthless industrialist Price hires poor but honest lawyer O'Brien as his bodyguard. His first night on the job, O'Brien shoots and kills an intruder, an old associate of Price's just out of prison. The killing looks suspicious to a street-smart police detective (Bendix), who lacks the evidence to bring a charge. But when the murdered man's daughter tries to kill him in revenge, O'Brien starts to have second thoughts ("Was I set up?"); he also starts to have amorous thoughts about Price's Gal Friday (Raines).
The performers redeem the run-of-the-mill material. Price reminds us what a smug villain he could be before horror movies snatched his soul. For once neither a dim-witted sidekick nor a brute, Bendix convinces us as a shrewd cop. Raines -- a star in two early Robert Siodmak noirs (Phantom Lady and Uncle Harry) -- leads us to wonder why her career never took flight; sleek, quick and smart, she's every bit as good as her contemporary Lauren Bacall. Only O'Brien fails to impress; he always plays O'Brien and works better co-starring than in the lead.
Like The Crack-Up and The Unsuspected, TheWeb is a suspense thriller that happens to fall under the influence of the noir cycle that was reaching full speed in 1947. It's fun, but far from canonical.