The Crooked Web (1955) User Reviews

B noir

[blanche-2 · 6/10 · 29 January 2014]

Frank Lovejoy, Richard Denning, and Mari Blanchard star in "The Crooked Web" from 1955.

The story in the beginning is that a brother and sister (Denning and Blanchard) set up the owner of a diner (Lovejoy) in order to use his money for a scam they have planned in Germany. The story then changes.

Despite what one of the posters said, this film has a decent cast. I thought Mari Blanchard as the femme fatale was very beautiful and sexy. She had a hard edge that was brought out when her boyfriend wouldn't do what she wanted.

Richard Denning was so handsome, but his film career never took off. However, he made a good living in radio, film, and television. He was the original star of a radio show with Lucille Ball that was later turned into "I Love Lucy." Denning was to star with her, but Ball wanted Arnaz.

Lovejoy did a good job as the guy who is set up, alternately greedy, suspicious, and in love with Blanchard.

The film is okay, but the plot has an enormous hole. If interested, read below. Otherwise, stop here.

Spoiler When Lovejoy sees Denning's badge while Denning showers, Denning tells him that it was made for him so they can get onto the estate with the hidden box of expensive items made of gold. But the badge, which was real, must have had his real name on it and not the one he was using. He had already been recognized on board ship by someone who had been in the service with him, who had called him by his real name, but Denning tells him he's mistaken. So Lovejoy had already heard the name.

Con Game With A Bullet

[boblipton · 7/10 · 15 September 2019]

Frank Lovejoy runs a roadside cafe. He's in love with carhop Mari Blanchard, and wants to get married. She wants security. When her brother, Richard Denning, shows up, he's got a big deal in Chicago, which Mari drunkenly spills to Frank is about $200,000 in stolen and buried gold in Germany. Deming is willing to cut Frank in for operating expenses.... yet when Frank goes home, Denning and Miss Blanchard meet up and canoodle. When they meet Denning's partner in Chicago, he doesn't want any more partners, and says he'll do it all on his own, so Denning shoots him.

It's clearly a confidence scam at this point. The question is, what has Lovejoy got that they are willing to spend such time and effort to get him to Germany? The movie veers fast and furiously as it bumps along, with a great script. Nathan Juran's directon is adequate, but the performers are up to their roles for a movie that is a lot of fun for fans of con-game movies like me.

Excellent Little Film Noire!

[bsmith5552 · 7/10 · 25 June 2017]

"The Crooked Web" is an enjoyable little Film Noire filled with twists and turns. It's hampered by it's "B" movie budget but the excellent leads make up for any deficiencies.

Stan Fabian (Frank Lovejoy) who loves to play the horses, runs a profitable little drive-in restaurant. One of his car hops is the brassy Joanie Daniel (Mari Blanchard) with whom Stan is romantically involved. One day her "brother" Frank (Richard Denning) drives up. The two "siblings" appear not to get along.

Frank it seems, has a plan to retrieve some WWII artifacts in Germany which attracts Stan's interest. Not to spoil the story, but it is necessary to know that Frank and Joanie are really working undercover to lure Stan into revealing his guilt over a murder ten years earlier at the end of the war.

Frank's partner Torres (Steven Rich) is dead set against Stan's involvement in their plan. Frank "gets rid of" Torres and the three (Stan, Joanie and Frank) proceed. Meanwhile we learn that Stan was responsible for the death of his cohort and an MP trying to arrest him for stealing army supplies ten years earlier. This whole elaborate plan is meant to trap Stan into revealing his guilt.

In Germany Frank leads the trio to a grave sight on an estate where a treasure of gold is buried but are driven off by guards. After another attempt fails and the estate where the grave is located is taken over by the U.S. Air Force. Drastic action is called for and...............................

Frank Lovejoy, Mari Blanchard and Richard Denning were recognizable and capable performers who spent many years just below the "A" list. Lovejoy and Denning play well off of each other as the viewer is left to wonder who is the good guy and who is the bad. Blanchard who appeared mostly in westerns, makes a formidable "femme fatale" as she draws the hapless Lovejoy into "The Crooked Web".

Watch for veteran comic Vince Barnett as Lovejoy's partner in the Drive-in. Roy Gordon plays Richard Atherton the father of the murdered soldier who is behind the undercover operation. John Mylong is the German police inspector, Lou Merril, Schmitt the metallurgist and Harry Lauter as the Air Force recruiter.

A NORISH STING...SPANNING SEVERAL YEARS...RELIES HEAVILY ON A TRIO OF COMPELLING B-ACTORS

[LeonLouisRicci · 7/10 · 13 August 2021]

Richard Denning, Frank Lovejoy, and Mari Blanchard are the Center-Piece of this Sprawling Story of a WWII Murder Suspect Pursued Years Later.

This Mid-50's B&W B-Movie is Film-Noir Influenced in Tone with some Sharp Twists and a Striking Look at L. A. and other Far-Off Locations.

The Tension is Taught with Deception, Double-Cross, and Misdirection.

It's a Complicated Scenario to Fit into such a Short Low-Budget Effort.

But the Good Production Team Make it Work Somewhat.

A Suspension of Disbelief is Required to Take it All In with Ease,

but Watching the Good Trio of Interesting Working-Class Actors make it Fun to Observe.

Mari Blanchard has a Difficult Role Balancing Between Denning and Lovejoy.

Pretending Permeates the Picture as She is One Thing while Being Another During the Length of the Film.

Drawing a Murder-Suspect into the Light with a Plot Point that is as Interestingly Far-Fetched as it gets.

The Story Sucks You In,

as the Uneasy Trio of Would-Be Criminals make Their Way Through the Machinations of a Pulp Story of Hidden Treasure and Undercover Intrigue.

A Slightly Above Average Little Movie with a Good Cast and an Over-the-Top Story is...

Worth a Watch.

The Crooked Web

[CinemaSerf · 6/10 · 14 November 2022]

This is just a bit too convoluted for it's own good. It's all about a scheme to retrieve some gold from Germany buried at the end of WWII by Richard Denning ("Frank"). Frank Lovejoy ("Stan") and his gal Mari Blanchard ("Joanie") are the pair trying to manoeuvre their mark into taking them back to find the loot, but they also they have an ulterior motive of which poor old "Frank" is unaware. It's got a few twists and turns to keep the plot moving, but much of the story seems to exist in order to perpetuate itself, rather than offer us anything to get our teeth into and after a while it becomes a bit dull. The performances are weak, the dialogue really wordy and I found the music got on my nerves a bit, too. Director Nathan Juran usually had a good eye for a story and phototography at his best; this isn't it.

Restaurant Owner Breaking Bad

[Henchman_Number1 · 4/10 · 16 March 2014]

Drive-in restaurant owner Stan Fabian and his car-hop girlfriend Joanie (Frank Lovejoy and Mari Blanchard) become involved in a scheme to recover the proceeds of an armed heist when Joanie's brother (Richard Denning) unexpectedly arrives in town. Her brother offers Stan half of his share of a robbery he pulled off while in the Army in WWII if Stan will travel back to Germany with him to help retrieve the buried gold. Complications and a few surprising turn of events arise along the way.

This low budget crime drama starts off promisingly enough but quickly fizzles out under the strained believably of the plot and characters. It was directed by Nathan Juran with a decidedly disinterested feel. Juran was a director who was capable of doing some decent low budget pictures like Gunsmoke and Highway Dragnet. Juran just didn't breath much life into this one. All of the principals struggle with their character identities. The script has Lovejoy who was at his best as a tough guy with a hard edge, walking around through most of the movie in an impatiently perplexed way, seemingly oblivious to what most people would consider obvious. His role seems to pivot around implausible reactions to Denning's character for the sole purpose of making it possible to move on to the next scene. Blanchard's character lacks believe-ability. It makes it hard to understand why even the perennially perplexed Lovejoy would be willing to risk so much for a character with such head-scratchingly odd reactions and shifting motivations. The script moves from one contrived situation stacked upon another contrived situation in order to reach the end.

The Crooked Web has recently been released on Film Noir DVD packages. It's part of the current marketing ploy of repackaging black and white 1950's crime dramas and labeling them as Film Noir. While it does have a noir influence, it's a garden variety, double feature, crime B-flick. Anybody looking for the next undiscovered gem in the mold of "Double Indemnity" or "Out of the Past" should keep on looking because this isn't it.

Both Juran and the cast had better days then what we see here. Other than some early on interesting exterior shots of 1950's L.A. there isn't a lot to recommend in this one.

She told me she was working for a very "Nice" guy!

[kapelusznik18 · 5/10 · 20 February 2014]

***SPOILERS*** You notice right away that hamburger joint owner Stanley Fabian, Frank Lovejoy, senses that something isn't kosher not in the hamburgers that he's flipping but in the relationship of his fiancée and waitress in his hamburger joint Jonie Daniels, Miri Blanchard, and her long lost "Brother" Frank, Richard Denning, who just happened to drop in for a hamburger on his way to Chicago. With Frank claiming that he's to get his hands on as much as $2000,000.00 worth of stolen gold jewelry and split it with his partner Chicago hoodlum Ray Torres, Steven Rich, the temptation was too much for Stanley to ignore. What the not too on the ball Stanley didn't realize is that he was being set up by both Frank as well as Jonie who wen't brother & sister but special agents for the US Army in a murder he committed ten years ago in post war Germany of a US officer as he, being a cook in the US Army, was stealing top grade beef & poultry from the US Army mess hall.

Like a mindless and love sick jerk Stanley went along with the scam even though at times both Jonie & Frank blew their cover right in front of him by making out with each other! Still Stanley fell right into the trap doing everything that both Frank & Jonie asked him to implicate himself in the murder that he committed ten years ago, With it looking like the plan to trap Stanley was about to go bust the brainless nincompoop out of the blue admitted that he in fact did committed a murder when he was a cook in the US Army, in him trying to explain to Jonie why he can't re-enlist, and his fate was sealed!

Frank Lovejoy seems to realize just how ridicules his role in the movie was and seemed to be on automatic pilot in plying it. Showing almost no emotion at all Lovejoy just went through the motions playing a complete jerk until he finally, in front of witnesses, admitted the crime that he was being investigated for. Even when it was all over in him being lead away in handcuffs and possible the firing squad Lovejoy, as Stanley Fabian, acted so mindless and brain dead that you wondered if he had known what was going on in the movie or the crime, murder, that he in fact committed and now was going too pay for!

What starts off great mulches down into a web of convoluted cold war mumbo-jumbo.

[mark.waltz · 4/10 · 26 September 2014]

The stage is set for an intriguing "Double Indemnity" like thriller where hard-boiled waitress (Mari Blanchard) turns out to seem to be more than the back-stabbing blonde sex-pot, betraying her fiancé (Frank Lovejoy) with a man (Richard Denning) she claims is her brother. The scenes at the drive-in restaurant which Lovejoy owns (and where Blanchard works) give promise to another "Detour" or "Decoy", a throwback to what classic film noir was all about. But soon you learn that what you think is going on isn't what is going on at all, and it all boils down to a trip to Germany where a stash of valuables hidden in a graveyard becomes the desire of the three leads, running from the law, yet not really on each other's side.

There are some creepy moments where Lovejoy comes across Denning and Blanchard are acting a lot less like brother and sister and more like lovers, and he doesn't put two and two together. There's faked murders, a phony radio broadcast announcing the search for the three runaways, and a lot more confusing situations involving a military base all of a sudden built around the gravesite which Lovejoy and Denning desperately try to get to so they can turn the valuables into golden wrenches in order to smuggle out of the country.

I found the whole thing pretty preposterous as the film went on, and as it neared its violent conclusion, my thoughts went from "Huh?" to "Whatever!". What seemed like a great scam in the making film where all the amoral parties ended up paying turned into an absurd cat and mouse game where the mouse and the rat play with the cat who grabs the cheese, not realizing that it's poisoned.

The plot makes no sense and the film is easy to skip

[planktonrules · 3/10 · 14 December 2015]

The plot for "The Crooked Web" is way too complicated--so complicated and nonsensical that you wonder why they didn't work out all these details better before they filmed the story. It's a shame...but it's a film I would just as soon never watched.

The story begins with a business run by Stan (Frank Lovejoy). He's assisted by his fiancée, Joanie (Mari Blanchard) and things look pretty normal. Then, her ne'er-do-well brother, Frank (Richard Denning) arrives and he's apparently got so get rich quick scheme but it entails going to Germany and digging up some grave. Also, along the way Frank ends up killing his partner right in front of Stan and Joanie!! Instead of going to the cops, Stan wants in with Frank and his scheme.

Soon, the viewer learns that Frank and Joanie are NOT brother and sister and in fact she's already engaged with Frank. What gives? Well it seems that the pair are government agents and they are trying to lure Stan back to Germany. Does it all sound too complicated? You haven't even begun to hear the entire story! But, unfortunately, the story doesn't make a lot of sense and there really was no reason to even lure Stan to Germany in the first place. Overall, a film with little payoff and a story that seems to have too many holes.

Bad plot

[klatteross-15130 · 4/10 · 26 April 2022]

I rated it 4 only because I like Mari Blanchard and Frank Lovejoy. The "plot" is so bad it deserves a 2. It is so disconnected and self-contradictory that it seems they just improvised a story as they went along. If I understood correctly, the Air Force comandeered a private estate, erected chain-link fence all around it, built a gatehouse, set up Restricted signage, staffed the estate with military guards...OVERNIGHT !

If I understood correctly, Frank Lovejoy could not be charged with a murder that he committed on German soil unless he was physically present in Germany. Nonsense. It was not clear if the action takes place before 1952 or after 1952. If before, a murder committed by an American airman upon another American airman would be U. S. military jurisdiction, not German police; if after, there could be a simple extradition. They say he couldn't be arrested because there was no evidence--but they had a ballistics test matching his rifle to the murder weapon. Seems like pretty good evidence to me. Richard Denning says he will enlist and assign himself to the new Top Secret Experimental Base that is going to be erected overnight. Why is there a recruiting station in Germany? Were there a lot of former wehrmacht trying to join the American Air force?

And this is definitely NOT Film Noir; it is more like a Saturday morning kids' serial.

WTF?

[arfdawg-1 · 2/10 · 26 January 2020]

Holy cow. Completely ridiculous, unbelievable crime (not noir) drama that would put Ed Wood and Harry Stephen Keeler to shame.

The movie is acted and directed OK, and it's oddly watchable, but the plot is laughable. It's quite simply, ludicrous.

Not Noir!

[wfleitz-50963 · 1/10 · 29 August 2022]

I like Frank Lovejoy but this film was absolutely a waste of time. They literally told you how it was going to end at about a quarter of the way through when we learn that Stan (Lovejoy's character) committed murder as a soldier in post war Germany and the murdered soldier's father wanted Lovejoy captured by the German police so they developed this elaborate scheme to get him back. At that point I should have given up watching. After that the rest of the movie was a combination of odd strategies for nabbing Stan and boring side takes with uninspiring bit players. The only reason I made it to the end was I was hoping there would be a plot twist but alas all we got was Stan giving Joanie a slap as he was being arrested. Definitely not film noir. All that to get Frank to admit he shot some other soldier while selling post war contraband. Skip this one.

This is one of the worst movies I've ever seen

[tangmusi · 1/10 · 25 February 2024]

Yes, the cast is great. Yes the first ten minutes or so, up to and including the first twist, is a great movie.

But after that it goes so completely insane in a way that's super not fun or campy or bombastic. It somehow manages to be both boring, and implausible. The plot folds in over on itself. It's just very, very bad writing.

Right now, this has an average of a six. I just think that's way way too high. This deserves a four at best, and so I'm on here to try to push that to happen. I love noir, and I've now watched so many, to relive the high of first seeing the greats. I've seen so many bad ones. This is the worst one I've ever seen.

Starts off great - loses steam

[bensonmum2 · 5/10 · 26 July 2021]

The Crooked Web is impossible to discuss without spoiling key plot points, so I'm not even going to try --- SPOILER WARNING

The Crooked Web gets off to a flying start. It's got a good set-up straight out of the film noir handbook. Stan (Frank Lovejoy) doesn't know it yet, but he's about to be taken for a ride. He "accidentally" overhears his girl Joanie's (Mari Blanchard) brother (Richard Denning) discussing a business opportunity. It's pretty clear that it's all a scam, just not the kind we think it's going to be. Being a sap, Frank goes along for the ride. Up to this point, The Crooked Web is outstanding. But once things move to Germany, the plot gets confusing and changes tone from a film noir to some sort of spy/espionage type thing. There are still some thrills and nervous moments as Frank almost stumbles on the truth, but the entertaining, dark noir is gone.

As I indicated, the film sort of loses its way once our main characters arrive in Germany. Maybe I missed something, but all the scheming and plotting in Germany seems designed to get Stan to confess to a war crime - right? How is that supposed to work? How is making him think they're about to come into thousands of dollars in gold supposed to make him suddenly decide to do what's right and admit to what he did? Even when he finally does confess, it makes no sense. Why would he do it? All he had to do was keep his yapper shut. It's not like Joanie had anything concrete on him. Ridiculous.

Lovejoy and Denning are fine as the two male leads, but Blanchard is terrible. She's horribly unconvincing as the "young, naive" thing she's supposed to be playing. The film looks terrific. For what is unmistakably a B film, the technical aspects exceed what you'd expect. And that gorgeous opening shot of Stan's Drive-In is like a work of art - stunning!

In the end, I'm going to call The Crooked Web bang-on average. It looks good, it's mostly well acted, and about half the plot works well. But when the film changes gears, it lost me.

5/10.