Very disappointed :(

Brilliant and touching

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Blistering performances.

An insurance investigator called Jake Winter (Griffith Jones) is lured into a trap by seductive blonde Laura Vane (Zena Marshall) who asks him to recover a blackmail letter from financial adviser Charles Dexter (Robert Percival). However, Jake finds himself being framed for the murder of the latter's wife and he teams up with his boss, the outgoing Susan Honeywell (Hazel Court), to clear his name. The pair discover that Laura is Dexter's lover and the pair hatched an elaborate plan to rid him of his wife and collect her life insurance, which is worth £50,000. Another murder follows and Susan nearly falls victim to the ruthless pair and Jake must play cat and mouse with the Yard whilst trying to save her life...British b-pic crime noir that is marred by unconvincing performances from Jones and Court. Jones, in particular, plays a not particularly likable chap, the insurance investigator Jake Winter, who is arrogant, smug and we can easily see that he is the sort of guy who would fall for a scam like the one being perpetrated by Marshall and Percival and, therefore, it is hard to sympathise with his plight. It is also hard to accept that Hazel Court's character would fall in love with him either, but that is what happens as the plot unravels. The script by Doreen Montgomery is formulaic and the plot turns are quite predictable so don't expect any surprises here. But, director Charles Saunders directs with proficiency and his past experience as an editor appears to have served him well since he keeps the plot moving at a cracking pace and it never tires the audience. He succeeds in creating some film noirish images with his cinematographer Hone Glendining - the shots of the suburban Mews at night as Winter arrives at a witness's flat to stumble upon a murder victim are quite unsettling - and the location shots around London and the home counties are quite pleasant. The director whacks up some suspense at the climax where the killers attempt to murder Hazel Court by putting her head in a gas oven and Jones has to save her life whilst attempting to outrun the police at the same time.Overall, the lead performances fail to convince and the plot offers no surprises, but it is still efficient (if not particularly inspiring) entertainment that does more than enough to keep an audience interested for the first half of the double bill.Available on DVD paired with Henry Cass's The Crooked Sky.

Directed in a thoroughly dull and routine manner, save for a couple of trivial touches like the barkeep shaking the cocktail shaker in front of the camera, and a tiny tracking shot of Hazel Court entering the insurance office, this movie is also burdened with an equally dull and thoroughly uninteresting script that is literally bursting with unnecessary talk including needless explanations and boring recapitulations. Fortunately, this quota quickie is just saved from complete damnation by the charming and delightful presence of Hazel Court. True, even she can't manage her stupid dialog with any degree of credibility, but she is always attractively costumed and her vivacious over-acting is just the shot the picture needs - especially as the rest of the players, with the exception of Zena Marshall, are rather wet.

The one thing that separates THE SCARLET WEB from the mass of British B-movie crime films of the 1950s is the comedy. Now, I'm not sure whether it was intentional or not, however, this film is chock full of amusing one-liners and non-sequiters that are guaranteed to have viewers scratching their heads. It's awful, in a way, insofar as being very stilted and dated, and yet in a way, it's also oddly amusing.The film stars the unremarkable Griffith Jones as an insurance investigator who comes out of prison having been there undercover and immediately falls into the arms of femme fatale Zena Marshall (DR. NO). Although she's very attractive, Marshall's overacting style makes her something of a laughable figure, so it's a relief when the tough Hazel Court shows up as Jones's boss and indulges in plenty of witty and not-so witty repartee with our stolid hero.The plot is far from realistic and sees Jones framed for murder and subsequently pursued by the cops while he tries to catch those really responsible. There's not much mystery here and not much of anything really apart from some dated romance scenes and incessant shots of Jones climbing in and out of windows. However, Court is as lovely as ever, and you do get the likes of Ronnie Stevens and Michael Balfour in support; plus Molly Raynor steals her scenes as the acidic Miss Riggs.

I finally caught up with this film a few days ago on Performance satellite channel and i have to say that my wait was worth while.This is screamingly funny and so cheaply made.For example the music used in this film is from the Pathe News library.It is played time and again at appropraite and inappropriate moments.Our hero has gone inside to trap a villain who was trying an insurance fraud.When he comes out,his boss at the insurance firm,Hazel Court,forgets to tell the police this vital piece of information,so that he is as real life crook. In one scene to avoid the police our hero goes out of Hazel Courts office by going out of the window some floors up.Now some directors would think this a good time to create some tension.But no we are told that he managed to get into a conference room.Yet there was no door leading to a conference room. Outside our heros flat a furtive figure is lurking around.When our hero drives off the odd character to give the police details of the car only he cannot remember all of the car number,and so it goes on.Try and watch it yourself and see if it is not worthy of nomination of one of the worst turkeys of all time.