Teia de Aranha

This comic adaptation of one of Agatha Christie's lesser-known (and just plain lesser) stories is a static piece of filmmaking (basically, it's just filmed theater), and suffers from an overbearingly incessant score, but Glynis Johns is a charming leading lady, and fans of the writer may want to take a peek anyway, for completion's sake. **1/2 out of 4.

Once, long before I actually saw the film, I read a review which stated that "The Spider's Web" is so bad that only die-hard Agatha Christie fans would be able to somewhat enjoy it. Yeah, well, I happen to be a die-hard Christie fan and I didn't just "somewhat enjoyed" it; - I loved it! Besides, whoever wrote that dumb review must have been a real sourpuss, because even objectively speaking, I think that "The Spider's Web" is excellent entertainment for various types of audiences. It's a light-headed and comical murder mystery with spirited performances, nice scenery and decors (albeit limited because it's an adaptation of a stage play), ingenious plot twists and a memorable climax. In terms of atmosphere and narrative style, "The Spider's Web" is quite similar to the contemporary Miss Marple film series starring Margaret Rutherford ("Murder She Said", "Murder at the Gallop", "Murder Ahoy" and "Murder Most Foul"). If you liked those, there's a strong chance you will also very much love "The Spider's Web". Glynis Johns Gives a delightfully energetic performance as the hectic housewife Clarissa Hailsham-Brown, trying to cover up a murder in order to safeguard her household and even persuading three sophisticated gentlemen to sabotage the police investigation. Another woman, Cicily Courtneidge, is also outstanding as the intrusive and non-stop talkative gardener Mrs. Peake. True, I may be biased, because I worship Agatha Christie and firmly believe she was the greatest fiction writer in history, but regardless of that, "The Spider's Web" is a fun flick; - period!

Agatha Christie was a top-drawer playwright as well as a novelist, and this film is based on her successful comedy thriller 'Spider's Web' (there was no 'The' in the original title). It had a successful run in London in 1954-56 and starred the wonderful Margaret Lockwood, who also starred in a 1955 TV movie versiion (which I've never seen, alas).

In this very plush technicolor adaptation, Glynis Johns steps into Lockwood's shoes, and does a creditable job. It's a high-energy role, and she overplays her part just a bit. This was probably at the urging of director Godfrey Grayson, a competent director of crime movies who perhaps found himself in unfamiliar comedy territory. In fact, Godfrey's uninspired direction is probably why the film starts to plod about halfway through, and never really recovers.

For the complicated plot, Christie may have borrowed an idea or two from Jack Trevor Story's novel The Trouble With Harry, which of course was the foundation for Hitchcock's classic 1955 movie. The Spider's Web is no classic, however, and probably won't stick in your memory. But it makes for OK viewing, with some laughs and a few thrills. The acting all around is commendable, and, best of all, the sets are gorgeous and definitely worth a peek.

As usual with Agatha Christie, this is a very intelligent thriller with towering complications all the way, all happening in the same house, where Glynis Johns' VIP husband is expecting some international celebrities for the night to not be disturbed, while before that a dead body is surprisingly found. Fortunately Glynis Johns' friends are at hand, and they fake a bridge party, but that does not fool the policemen a very long way, who unfortunately have been anonymously informed about something fishy going on at the manor and come looking there for a body. No one has any idea who or why that fellow has been murdered, he is a distant relative being married to Glynis Johns' husband's former wife, and they have a child, a daughter, who lives with Glynis Johns and her husband, and she is a good mother while the real mother apparently was not. Glynis assumes that it's the girl who has killed that intruding step-father, and so the mysery rolls on. It's delightful entertainment with witty dialog and a typical Agatha Christie jig-saw intrigue of many suprirses. Enjoy!

Glynis Johns is the sort of sweet but vague woman who calls everyone 'darling'. So when a dead man turns up behind the couch, she calls her houseguests and has them move the body into the secret passage in the house.

It's based on one of Agatha Christie's lesser known stage plays. Like most of her writing, it is marvelously plotted, but indifferently written. It relies on a fine cast to bring this murder mystery to life, including Jack Hulbert, Cicely Courtneidge, Ronald Howard, Ferdy Mayne, and Peter Butterworth as the befuddled inspector.

It's been opened up slightly from the stage play, resulting in a four-set movie.

Sometimes it seems as if makers of mystery movies have two choices: they can make a good mystery or they can make a good movie. This one is enlivened by a fine cast, but not enough to make it more than an indifferent programmer.