November 7, 2015

THE CROOKED WEB (1955)


Columbia Pictures released this Clover Production movie. The mid-20th century story and screenplay by Lou Breslow illustrate the reality of what the future Internet will be like. That not everything you see or read is true. It is a tale of clever deception so carefully planned that it has taken ten years to co-ordinate. Calling the premise a “con” is an understatement as seemingly everyone from America to Germany, on sea and land, has their role to play no matter how small, to capture Frank Lovejoy for his decade-old crime. Joining Lovejoy is handsome Richard Denning along with Mari Blanchard, California’s oldest carhop. This seventy-seven-minute drama was directed by Nathan Juran.


What the poster has to do with this film is a mystery. That lady is not in this movie. Lovejoy and Blanchard plan to wed and the audience is neatly strung along for thirty minutes until Denning shows up as her ne’er do well “brother,” establishing the crooked part. He has the scheme to unearth “buried treasure” left behind at the end of WW2, located within a current Army reservation. Just the amount of resources Lovejoy needs for a comfortable life in another country. Plenty of twists and deceptions to make this a pretty fun outing.
As trained government agents, Denning’s cleverness and Blanchard’s attractiveness come into play numerous times to regain Lovejoy’s confidence and quell his suspicions. Lovejoy comes off rather bland, to the point of almost being a bit dense. Hopefully, that was the way he wanted to play it. Logically, he never suspects anyone would spend a decade setting him up. He does fear a double-cross and at the last moment confesses to Blanchard of his past and seals his fate. Finding out who Blanchard really is offered him no encouragement, either.

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