The Golden Spiders: A Nero Wolfe Mystery

Before anything else, I'd like to know why this episode is separated from the other 22 episodes. Since five of the novels were divided in two, the official list is 27 episodes. I have this as the pilot, based upon date released, followed by two seasons of novels and novellas. There were two main cast character change from this episode to the remaining 22. Nero Wolfe, Archie Goodwin, Fritz Brenner, Inspector Cramer, Purley Stebbins, Fred Durkin, Orrie Cather, and Lily Rowan remain the same throughout. The changes were the actors who played Lon Cohen and Saul Panzer. The rest of the cast was done as an ensemble.

Having read each of Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe stories multiple times before this television series appeared, I was curious how faithful to the written word it would be. I was very pleased with the result. My only complaint is not the production values, but that now I'm losing my hearing, they did not think to supply subtitles. The Golden Spiders had everything to warrant a full series, but it was not to the taste of everyone, as there have been various complaints about one actor or another, too much bombast, earlier series (that frankly left me cold) being better, but for me...I was tickled pink that each episode brought forth the essence of that particular story.

The Golden Spiders made me hope for more.

As a longtime fan of Nero Wolfe novels, Maury Chaykin, and Timothy Hutton, I had high expectations of this movie. I was not disappointed. I watched it for the first time with some friends that knew nothing of Nero Wolfe and we all enjoyed it. The casting was superb and the sets and props seemed to be authentic for the period. My one complaint is that Saul Rubinek does not make a good Saul Panzer. Granted, he had a well-described character to live up to - one whose abilities the author describes in an awe-striking way. But he is not at all what I had pictured in my mind. A very minor criticism of a very excellent movie.

One must watch this film closely or run the risk of missing something very relevant. I watched very closely and still missed the whodunnit part. Like Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot [another weirdo dick], big Nero likes to gather all the suspects' together and tell each one how the caper went down and then name the guilty party. Somehow, the big finale went straight over my little pointy head: I still don't have the vaguest inkling who the baddie is. Still, I consider this a very good film: loved the locales and old cars. What a great study Nero had. I'd give a month's pay for that red chair.

Nero Wolfe has consistently defied a good translation to the screen, perhaps because so much of the attraction in Rex Stout's novels is the wit of the language. But this is the best job so far. Best casting is Timothy Hutton as Archie Goodwin, who succeeds in combining the smart alec and hardboiled just like the character in the book. Chaykin makes a good effort as Wolfe; he isn't really BIG enough, so that his high-pitched tirades don't really do justice to Wolfe's bellowing. Wolfe's office is just as you could imagine it, down to the red leather chair. The orchid room, by contrast, is disappointing--need more flowers, more jungle. Not sure why Golden Spiders was chosen as plot--there are perhaps too many characters and the suspects aren't developed enough. Hopefully, this will be the first in a series of films.

Surprisingly accurate rendition of this "typical" Rex Stout book. Setting accurately depicted the era (early 50's). Wolfe and Archie nicely portrayed, including the crucial "multilevel" relationship which they enjoy.

Very pleased to see Rex Stout's dialog used frequently throughout the production. Hard to improve on his witty and intelligent characterizations. Plot development was orderly and included all the necessary ingredients and characters. A full cast of the principle Stout characters is essential and in this case provided.

Summary: I heartily recommend this film and hope for many sequels. Hopefully the sequels will return to the earliest books of the genre set in the mid to late 30's.