The Crooked Web (1955)

The Crooked Web Film Details

Overview: Government agent tries to trick a suspect into returning to Germany, the scene of his crimes.

Tagline: World’s Most Beautiful Bait!

Review: ***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!

Country: USA

Language: English, German

Duration: 77 min

Genre: Crime, Drama, Film-Noir

Also known as: Reţeaua necinstită,The Crooked Web,A Cilada,La trama del delitto,Asesino secreto,The Big Shock,Piège double