Friday, June 19, 2020

Movie review - "The Spider and the Fly" (1949) **1/2

The first film from the reactivated Mayflower Productions, benefits from atmospheric Robert Hamer direction and strong leads. The story is good too though I wonder about the structure - detective Eric Portman chases thief Guy Rolfe, and both men kind of love each other and also a girl, Nina Grey, who works for Rolfe. Portman gets Rolfe two thirds in and the last act it's World War One and Portman arranges for Rolfe to get out of prison to spy. It's like they started the whole movie again. Shouldn't that be the whole story?

Portman is typically excellent; Rolfe is impressive too, he steps up. Grey less so but I don't think it's her fault, she doesn't get enough screen time - more scenes would have helped (I would have revealed she was a spy then played it out more).

Should be remade. I'm surprised they kept this as a French story - could've worked as a American or British one.

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