Black Widow

Another film watched for the "House of Hammer" Podcast and we're still in 1951 for "The Black Widow" a noir-y thriller. I watched the version on Youtube currently, which is around 50 minutes, so there are theoretically 12 minutes of this film that I've not seen. I'm going to review it anyway.

Mark Sherwin (Robert Ayres) has his car stolen and is beaten up, he stumbles to a nearby house and recuperates, but has retrograde amnesia and can't remember who he is. His investigations eventually get him home, where his wife (Christine Nordon) has been preparing for his funeral. The thief had crashed his car and she had assumed it was him at the wheel. As his recuperation continues, he's confused to find that his wife is proceeding with the funeral.

As I said with the last Hammer film, I'm not sure if we're watching them in production order but, despite the exterior shooting, this did not maintain the uptick in general quality from the last film I watched for the Podcast "Cloudburst". This might, in fairness, be down to the quality of the version on Youtube, but the film stock used looked grainier and the sounder recording poorer than the last film. There are some odd continuity moments too, particular related to transitions from day to night and back again.

The story was alright though. Amnesia is a bit of a cliché, but it works here. The film is quite short and, at the end, takes a number of big leaps to get Mark to the correct conclusion. This might have something to do with those missing twelve minutes though. Anthony Forwood, who we've already seen in "The Man In Black" return for another Hammer (Exclusive) production, as does Christine Nordon, who was in "A Case for PC 49". For the second film in a row we have an American lead, Robert Ayres this time, who would have a decent career on this side of the Atlantic before his premature death in 1968.

Fine for what it is, but over pretty quickly.

So says the doctor when he is asked whether to call in a psychiatrist.This film seems to be in two parts.The first where Ayres looses and tries to recover his memory.The second where he recovers his homicidal spouse.Christine was a real blonde bombshell.Yet she only appeared in a handball of films.Maybe the competition from Diana Does was too stiff.However she goes full out as the murderous wife.Having been disappointed by the reappearance of husband Ayres,she has to go to the trouble of bumping him off again.There is a lot of plot for so short a film so,as a result,there are a lot of holes in the plot and far too many coincidences and contrivance.However it is all quite entertaining.

This 1951 support feature wraps up in just 53 minutes, which I find laudable. The downside is that its shortness cannot have attracted better actors and the film suffers for the mediocrity of the ensemble.

Christine (played by Christine Norden, about whom I know zero) is the name of the wife cheating on her husband with his best chum (with spouses and chums like that, wise to see everyone as the enemy!)

The problem is that deceived hubby Robert Ayres (who I daftly confused with Lew Ayres, of ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT fame) is not able to convey credible emotions. Seeing that he was dumb enough to leave his car to assist a thief lying on the road who promptly punched him and stole his vehicle, before equally dumbly flooring the accelerator and crashing to his death, the result was... you guessed it, the cuckolded hubby became amnesic. How complicated is that! Very! Because the best chum has more of a conscience than the femme fatale of a wife, and he is not that keen to ice his pal and potentially face the noose, he comes across as half-hearted which detracts from the killer instinct the situation demanded.

Those flaws aside, the script benefits from sharp dialogue, and cinematography compares favorably with most B pics. To conclude, a gripping programmer that is definitely no waste of time. 7/10.

Robert Ayres shows up at the home of John Longden, with scalp wounds and suffering from amnesia. After he is physically recovered, he heads off to investigate and at a Stately Home discovers a coffin. His memory comes rushing back and he realizes it is his name and that woman is Christine Norden, his wife. She puts him to bed. The next morning, she tells him the doctor says he's to stay abed for the day. So he's puzzled to look out the window and see the funeral cortege moving ahead, and Miss Norden weeping at the graveside.

Mr. Ayres was a successful actor in Great Britain. He hailed from Michigan originally, with a voice and manner that suggested Van Johnson and a saturnine appearance and demeanor.

This movie moves along at a swift pace, and although it is competently played at all times, there isn't much that's surprising in its upper-class British manner. Still, it's brief enough to be watchable.

This had the makings of being an excellent movie. However, it needed more meat on the bones. Christine Norden and Robert Ayers give terrific performances in this noirish thriller. Unfortunately, at just over 52 minutes there just isn't enough time to allow the story to fully develop. Therefore, it ends up playing more like a TV drama than a full length film. The abrupt ending is less than satisfying. In spite of the time drawback, I'd still recommend this.