A Tattered Web

Average TV movie concerning cranky cop (Bridges) whose son-in-law (Converse) is having an affair with local harlot (Helm) that threatens to de-rail his marriage to Bridges beloved daughter (Shockley). Bridges tries to convince both Converse and Helm (separately) to end the infidelity, but goes too far, resulting in the title woes.

Murray Hamilton is reliable as Bridges' loyal police buddy, concerned by his colleague's apparent carelessness in handling aspects of the murder case, while familiar faces Walter Brooke, James Hong, John Fiedler and Whit Bissell have small roles. Broderick Crawford has a key supporting role as a drunk fingered for the crime, but Hamilton's not convinced by the forced confession obtained by Bridges. In my opinion Shockley, as the almost child-like daughter of Bridges over-protectiveness, does an outstanding job, neglected by her two-timing husband, but knowing more than she appears to comprehend.

Small-scale thriller moves at an economical pace with solid performances and some moments of suspense. Experienced TV and movie director Wendkos knows how to fashion a taut thriller for 70 minutes, but where there was the promise of a tense climax on two occasions (in both the bedroom scene and cliff-edge confrontation with Converse), neither comes to fruition, instead, the conclusion is tepid and ultimately disappointing.

Gosh, Frank Converse was such a hunk. Wish I'd seen him do Streetcar Named Desire.

In A Tattered Web, he's 33, playing the cheating husband of Sallie Shockley and son-in-law of Lloyd Bridges in a tv movie directed by Paul Wendkos.

Bridges is Sergeant Ed Stagg who's been following Steve (Converse) to a girlfriend's (Anne Helm). Fiercely protective of his daughter to the point of obsession, Stagg confronts the woman, and during an altercation, accidentally kills her.

He can't have Steve accused, so he focuses on an old drunk (Broderick Crawford) who has already been arrested for murder and tries to convince him that he killed her.

The big problem here is that Stagg acts so guilty his colleagues become suspicious, especially when a sketch in the newspaper looks so much like Steve. He begins to unravel, remembering his drunken father and how he nearly killed him.

Steve, meanwhile, knows he's innocent and wants to come clean with his wife and the police. To Stagg, these are not admirable qualities.

Bridges unravels very well, and Converse is convincing. Broderick is excellent, very sympathetic. Shockley doesn't have much to do, but one certainly feels sorry for her going forward. Her dad's losing it.

This film is a low budget drama which is chiefly remarkable for containing one of Broderick Crawford's finest performances, as a befuddled drunk who has murdered his best friend but doesn't remember doing so, and an intense and convincing performance by Lloyd Bridges (father of Jeff and Beau). Bridges plays Police Sergeant Ed Stagg who is obsessively devoted to protecting his grown daughter, whom he raised alone after her mother ran off. He discovers that his daughter's husband is having an affair, and he orders him to stop it. Things get out of hand and someone ends up dead by accident, but dead is dead, and a cover-up is necessary. So we get involved in a whodunnit where the who is concealed, and will this all unravel? Bridges is rather terrifying in his obsessive love for the dreamy and over-protected daughter, and the extremes to which he will go. He reveals terrible things about his own childhood as the story progresses. It is an engrossing film.

The most entertaining aspect about "A Tattered Web", I think, is the short description on the back of the Dutch DVD-release. Here it says about Lloyd Bridges' character: "he's a mean person, but we understand him...". Excuse me? Speak for yourself, will you! Bridges depicts a dictatorial patriarch who murders a girl in her own apartment, and then abuses his power and authority as a life-long police detective to frame an elderly drunkard for his vicious crime. I, for one, have absolutely no respect or understanding for anything this man does.

That being said, "A Tattered Web" is an obscure and inconspicuous, but nevertheless solidly engaging made-for-television thriller from the early 70s, with a simple but effective plot and competent people in front as well as behind the cameras. TV-regular Paul Wendkos ("The Legend of Lizzie Borden", "Haunts of the very Rich") directs steadily, and the cast contains a handful of familiar faces, including Lloyd Bridges (yes, in a serious role), Frank Converse, Murray Hamilton and Broderick Crawford. There's a fair amount of suspense to enjoy, especially when the titular web closes around Sgt. Ed Stagg and he's running out of cover-up options.

While this is not "Crime and Punishment," it's still kind of a neat story. Lloyd Bridges plays an LA cop with a sterling reputation, but he is carrying around lots of baggage. He is so overprotective of his daughter because he has been hurt so many times himself. In order to continue that protection, he horns in on an affair his son in law is having with a young woman. While threatening this woman, he inadvertently kills her. The rest of the movie involves his efforts to cover things up and draw attention away from his daughter's husband. There is a tug based on Bridges' hypocrisy in that he has hated his son-in-law from day one, just for being his son-in-law. The plot stands up pretty well. The police are dupes in all this because of the outstanding record of the sergeant. The one character that really doesn't do very well is the daughter. She comes across pretty dull and doesn't have any hard edge at all. Late in the movie, when another police detective is trying to talk to her, she does her own version of the "if I just hold my hands over my ears I won't hear anything bad" routine. No wonder the guy went to another woman. As I said, there's a lot of angst, some decent acting, some not so decent, but it will hold one's attention for an hour and a half.