Le traquenard

The Web is one of dozens of forties thrillers featuring private detectives and the rich men who hire them, the beautiful women who love them, and the police, who invariably hamper their efforts to unravel the clues to intricate mysteries, the details of which are explained with astonishing clarity in the end, despite the fact that most viewers can scarcely be expected to keep track of all the evidence. This one is more elegant than most, with plush settings and striking photography. There's a touch of Laura here, thanks to the casting of Vincent Price and the character he plays, as well as a bit of the Chandler private eye cycle in the character of Edmond O'Brien's detective. Ella Raines makes a beautiful heroine, and Bill Bendix is on hand as the no-nonsense cop. Michael Gordon directs smoothly, and everything comes together in the end. There's nothing remarkable in The Web, which is just a cut above the generic, but it works like a Swiss watch.

A strong cast and a neat story make up "The Web" from 1947, starring Edmond O'Brien, Ella Raines, Vincent Price, and William Bendix.

O'Brien is an attorney, Regan, who is hired for an exorbitant amount of money to be the bodyguard for a tycoon, Andrew Colby (Price). He is frightened of a former employee who has just been released from prison.

Regan meets Colby's beautiful secretary-girlfriend Noel (Raines) - she seems to be living in Colby's house, which makes me wonder where the censors were. Regan falls for her. After the released convict seemingly breaks into Colby's home, Regan kills him. Then he starts to think he's been set up.

Enjoyable noir with Raines a knockout - she's one of my favorite actresses of that era - and Price before his horror days and very effective.

Neat plot.

I saw this on AMC one night and loved it. One of the best things Vincent Price ever did. Nice twists and turns, great performances. A real underrated gem. Edmund O'Brien and William Bendix give wonderful performances. This movie is hard to track down. Try and seek it out.

Vincent Price was my main attraction to The Web, and thank goodness I checked it out because it was a very good movie. Edmond O'Brien for my tastes is rather bland and the exterior set for the rendezvous is on the tacky side. Aside from that, The Web is very well made, stylish, atmospheric and sumptuous. The script is taut and exceptionally well-written, the direction is spirited and never lags and while the story is somewhat run-of-the-mill the fact that the film continually makes it interesting and intricate makes you not mind so much. Ella Raines is appropriately smart and elegant, while John Abbott is very creepy and William Bendix is great fun as the crafty police lieutenant who is not as dumb as he looks. But the film belongs to Vincent Price, suave and subtly menacing it is a role that he is perfect for and one that he plays the heck out of. All in all, a very well-done thriller that deserves to be better known. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Surprisingly good unknown noir, featuring fine work from noir regulars Ella Raines, William Bendix, Vincent Price and Edmund O'Brien. Taut, well-acted, although rather unsurprisingly plotted and photographed, this is quite a satisfying diversion.

Ms. Raines, a competent actress, seems to have relied on her 'ironed' and particularly sleek tresses to carry her career forward. Price, always elevated because of his voice, poise and diction, carries another role both admirably and distastefully. Edmond O'Brien, oleaginous and plump, doesn't sweat as much as usual, although he is subjected to a hotter than usual roasting from... William Bendix, who many of my generation recall as the harmlessly bumbling Riley in 'The Life of Riley' TV series of the 1950's, once again reprises his role as a hard as nails, street-wise tough guy as the police detective.

Great ensemble cast of noir regulars, good pacing and direction, mostly mediocre dialog and music and cinematography, yet still a joy to watch.