The Glass Web
- November 11, 1953 (1953-11-11) (New York City)
The Glass Web is a 1953 American 3-D film noir crime film directed by Jack Arnold and starring Edward G. Robinson, John Forsythe, Marcia Henderson and Kathleen Hughes.[1] It is based on Max Simon Ehrlich's 1952 novel Spin the Glass Web.
Plot
Henry Hayes is a well-respected crime researcher known for, and sometimes kidded, about his relentless perfectionism. Little is known of his social life. When he discovers he is being led on by gold-digger Paula Rainer, he kills her in accidental anger. He decides the best way to divert suspicion from himself is to immediately re-create the crime on his television show.
But producer Don Newell, who had been outside the dead woman's corridor at the time of the murder, notices that Hayes' perfectionism has him including items that only the murderer could have known; including which record was playing on her record player (Bing Crosby singing "Temptation").
Newell is able to trap Hayes into a confession, and Hayes is arrested.
Cast
- Edward G. Robinson as Henry Hayes
- John Forsythe as Don Newell
- Marcia Henderson as Louise Newell
- Kathleen Hughes as Paula Rainer
- Richard Denning as Dave Markson
- Hugh Sanders as Detective Lt. Mike Stevens
- Jean Willes as Sonia
- Eve McVeagh as Viv
- Harry Tyler as Jake (as Harry O. Tyler)
- John Hiestand as Announcer
- Clark Howat as Bob
- Robert Nelson Plainclothesman (as Bob Nelson)
- John Verros as Fred Abbott
- Helen Wallace as Mrs. Doyle
- Benny Rubin as Tramp Comic
Reception
Critical response
When the film was first released, The New York Times film critic Bosley Crowther gave the film a negative review, writing, "Aside from the price of silence, which seems a most original one, there is little else that is original or even startling in this film. Katherine Hughes, who plays the blonde number, makes a dainty dish of poison, it is true, but the rest, including the performances of the two gentlemen, is pretty routine. As for suspense, it is evident who did the murder all the time. And it is plain that Mr. Forsythe will not be butchered. So what goes with this sort of show? Pardon a slightly pointed comment, but it's the kind of film you might see on TV."[2]
Home media
Music rights issues kept the film off the home video market for many years until the 3D Film Archive announced they would restore the film for a 2023 release on the Blu-ray 3D format. It is the last feature filmed in Universal 3D to arrive on the market in any format.
References
- ^ The Glass Web at IMDb.
- ^ Crowther, Bosley. The New York Times, "Edward G. Robinson and John Forsythe Star in The Glass Web, a Thriller at Palace film", film review, November 12, 1953. Accessed: July 8, 2013.
External links
- The Glass Web at IMDb
- The Glass Web at AllMovie
- The Glass Web at the TCM Movie Database
- The Glass Web film trailer on YouTube
- v
- t
- e
- With These Hands (1950)
- Girls in the Night (1953)
- It Came from Outer Space (1953)
- The Glass Web (1953)
- Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)
- The Man from Bitter Ridge (1955)
- Revenge of the Creature (1955)
- Tarantula! (1955)
- Red Sundown (1956)
- Outside the Law (1956)
- The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957)
- The Tattered Dress (1957)
- Man in the Shadow (1957)
- The Lady Takes a Flyer (1958)
- High School Confidential! (1958)
- The Space Children (1958)
- Monster on the Campus (1958)
- No Name on the Bullet (1959)
- The Mouse That Roared (1959)
- Bachelor in Paradise (1961)
- A Global Affair (1964)
- The Lively Set (1964)
- Hello Down There (1969)
- Black Eye (1974)
- Boss Nigger (1975)
- The Swiss Conspiracy (1976)
- The Wackiest Wagon Train in the West (1976)
- Marilyn: The Untold Story (1980)