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'''''The Spider and the Fly''''' is a 1949 British [[crime film]] directed by [[Robert Hamer]] and starring [[Eric Portman]], [[Guy Rolfe]] and [[Nadia Gray]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmovie.com/movie/the-spider-and-the-fly-v111328/cast-crew|title=The Spider and the Fly (1949) - Robert Hamer - Cast and Crew - AllMovie|website=AllMovie}}</ref> The screenplay concerns an unusual love triangle that develops between two criminals and a policeman on the eve of the [[First World War]].
'''''The Spider and the Fly''''' is a 1949 British [[crime film]] directed by [[Robert Hamer]] and starring [[Eric Portman]], [[Guy Rolfe]] and [[Nadia Gray]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmovie.com/movie/the-spider-and-the-fly-v111328/cast-crew|title=The Spider and the Fly (1949) - Robert Hamer - Cast and Crew - AllMovie|website=AllMovie}}</ref> The screenplay concerns an unusual love triangle that develops between two criminals and a policeman on the eve of the [[First World War]]. Hamer made it immediately after ''[[Kind Hearts and Coronets]]''.<ref>SPIDER AND THE FLY, The
Monthly Film Bulletin; London Vol. 16, Iss. 181, (Jan 1, 1949): 195. </ref>


==Plot==
==Plot==
Line 59: Line 60:


==Production==
==Production==
It was the first film from the producing team of Maxwell Setton and Aubrey Baring, who set up their operation at Mayflower Pictures.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Harper|first1=Sue|last2=Porter|first2=Vincent|title=British Cinema of the 1950s: The Decline of Deference|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2003|pages=178–180|url=https://books.google.com/?id=UyYTDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA386&lpg=PA386&dq=vincent+porter+sue+harper#v=onepage&q&f=false|isbn=9780198159346}}</ref>
It was the first film from the producing team of Maxwell Setton and Aubrey Baring, who set up their operation at Mayflower Pictures. Mayflower had been established by Charles Laughton and Eric Pommer in the 1930s but become dormant until Setton and Baring re-activated it; the two men would make six movies together, most of which were written by Robert Westerby, who wrote ''The Spider and the Fly''.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Harper|first1=Sue|last2=Porter|first2=Vincent|title=British Cinema of the 1950s: The Decline of Deference|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2003|pages=178–180|url=https://books.google.com/?id=UyYTDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA386&lpg=PA386&dq=vincent+porter+sue+harper#v=onepage&q&f=false|isbn=9780198159346}}</ref>


Robert Westerby's story was based on a true story which he had been told by a member of the French police.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article47247462 |title=Portman emerges as screen gentleman |newspaper=[[The Australian Women's Weekly]] |location=Australia, Australia |date=31 December 1949 |access-date=17 June 2020 |page=36 |via=Trove }} </ref> Mayflower received a government grant to underwrite part of the cost.
Robert Westerby's story was based on a true story which he had been told by a member of the French police.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article47247462 |title=Portman emerges as screen gentleman |newspaper=[[The Australian Women's Weekly]] |location=Australia, Australia |date=31 December 1949 |access-date=17 June 2020 |page=36 |via=Trove }} </ref> Mayflower received a government grant to underwrite part of the cost.


Filming took place in Paris over three weeks, and at Pinewood studios in London.<ref>Of local origin. (1949, Jun 15). New York Times (1923-Current File) Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/docview/105970373</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article229779432 |title=Star back to films after stage hit |newspaper=[[The Sun]] |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=1 May 1949 |access-date=17 June 2020 |page=12 |via=Trove }} </ref> Sets were by the [[art director]] [[Edward Carrick]]. The period costumes were designed partly by [[Elizabeth Haffenden]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6ba0096d|title=The Spider and the Fly (1949)|publisher=}}</ref>
Filming started in May 1949 and took place in Paris over three weeks, then at Pinewood studios in London.<ref>Of local origin. (1949, Jun 15). New York Times </ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article229779432 |title=Star back to films after stage hit |newspaper=[[The Sun]] |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=1 May 1949 |access-date=17 June 2020 |page=12 |via=Trove }} </ref> Sets were by the [[art director]] [[Edward Carrick]]. The period costumes were designed partly by [[Elizabeth Haffenden]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6ba0096d|title=The Spider and the Fly (1949)|publisher=}}</ref> It was [[Seth Holt]]'s first film as lead editor, although he had worked as an assistant for a number of years.<ref>{{Cite magazine|magazine=Screen|volume=10|number=6|title=Seth Holt interview|first=Kevin|last=Gough-Yates|page=5|url=https://archive.org/details/Screen_Volume_10_Issue_6/page/n6/mode/1up?q=%22spider+and+the+fly%22}}</ref>


It was Eric Portman's first film in over a year, during which time he enjoyed a great success on stage in a double bill of [[Terence Rattigan]] plays called ''Playbill''. Nadia Gray was a Romanian actor who had spent part of the war in a German concentration camp; she was cast in the film partly due to her appearance on the Paris stage in a production of [[Noel Coward]'s ''[[Present Laughter]]'' (she was seen by [[Anthony Havelock-Allan]] who recommended her).<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article252741052 |title=No Title |newspaper=[[Merredin Mercury And Central Districts Index]] |location=Western Australia |date=9 June 1949 |access-date=17 June 2020 |page=1 (MODERN WEEKLY news magazine) |via=Trove }} </ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article250813947 |title=FILM NEWS |newspaper=[[Manjimup Mail And Jardee-pemberton-northcliffe Press]] |location=Western Australia |date=10 August 1949 |access-date=17 June 2020 |page=6 (MODERN WEEKLY News Magazine) |via=Trove }} </ref>
It was Eric Portman's first film in over a year, during which time he enjoyed a great success on stage in a double bill of [[Terence Rattigan]] plays called ''Playbill''. Nadia Gray was a Romanian actor who had spent part of the war in a German concentration camp; she was cast in the film partly due to her appearance on the Paris stage in a production of [[Noel Coward]'s ''[[Present Laughter]]'' (she was seen by [[Anthony Havelock-Allan]] who recommended her).<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article252741052 |title=No Title |newspaper=[[Merredin Mercury And Central Districts Index]] |location=Western Australia |date=9 June 1949 |access-date=17 June 2020 |page=1 (MODERN WEEKLY news magazine) |via=Trove }} </ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article250813947 |title=FILM NEWS |newspaper=[[Manjimup Mail And Jardee-pemberton-northcliffe Press]] |location=Western Australia |date=10 August 1949 |access-date=17 June 2020 |page=6 (MODERN WEEKLY News Magazine) |via=Trove }} </ref> It was Guy Rolfe's third leading role.<ref>Round the British Studios
Nepean, Edith. Picture Show; London Vol. 53, Iss. 1377, (Aug 20, 1949): 11. </ref>
==Reception==
The ''Monthly Film Bulletin'' said "The film falls between melodrama and something deeper - a study of human relationships. Though there are some tense scenes, it is as a whole not sufficiently exciting for a thriller, and Hamer's bitter intelligence is not quite sharp enough for a real drama of character."<ref>[www.screenonline.org.uk/media/mfb/1003456/index.html Review of film] at Monthly Film Bulletin</ref>
==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}
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*{{IMDb title|id=0041911|title=The Spider and the Fly}}
*{{IMDb title|id=0041911|title=The Spider and the Fly}}
*{{Screenonline title|491646}}
*{{Screenonline title|491646}}
*[https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6ba0096d The Spider and the Fly] at BFI

{{Robert Hamer}}
{{Robert Hamer}}


Revision as of 10:35, 17 June 2020

The Spider and the Fly
Directed byRobert Hamer
Written byRobert Westerby
Produced byAubrey Baring
Maxwell Setton
StarringEric Portman
Guy Rolfe
Nadia Gray
CinematographyGeoffrey Unsworth
Edited bySeth Holt
Music byGeorges Auric
Production
companies
Mayflower Productions
Pinewood Films
Distributed byGeneral Film Distributors
Release date
1 December 1949
Running time
92 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Budget£120,000[1]

The Spider and the Fly is a 1949 British crime film directed by Robert Hamer and starring Eric Portman, Guy Rolfe and Nadia Gray.[2] The screenplay concerns an unusual love triangle that develops between two criminals and a policeman on the eve of the First World War. Hamer made it immediately after Kind Hearts and Coronets.[3]

Plot

In 1913, Fernand Maubert (Eric Portman), the dedicated chief of police of Paris, is pursuing Philippe Lodocq (Guy Rolfe), a suave bank robber suspected of a series of thefts, but the criminal always has an alibi. After the latest robbery, Maubert does capture Lodocq's accomplice, Madeleine Saincaise (Nadia Gray).

When she is released from prison, Maubert warns her to stay away from Lodocq (though he has a certain admiration for the man). Impressed by her intelligence, beauty and courage, he begins to court her himself. When Lodocq visits her, she professes her love for him, but he tells her that it is too dangerous for them to be seen together and that they would eventually tire of each other anyway. Later, however, during one of their cordial occasional meetings, Maubert tells Lodocq that he can tell that Madeleine is different from Lodocq's other women; she has gotten under his skin.

Later, the police are tipped off by an informant and arrive during an attempted theft. Lodocq gets away, but his assistant Jean Louis (John Carol) is killed, along with a policeman. Lodocq persuades Madeleine to provide him with an alibi. Maubert knows she is lying, but can not prove it. However, he does stop seeing her.

Finally, Maubert gets the break he has been waiting for. Lodocq employs Jean Louis' brother Alfred for his next theft. Maubert gets Alfred to betray Lodocq, not out of revenge for his brother's death, but by telling him falsely that Lodocq did not give his mother Jean's fair share of the loot. Lodocq is imprisoned just as World War I breaks out.

During the war, Maubert becomes a major in French counterintelligence. When the Minister of War (Edward Chapman) tells him that they urgently need a list of German spies in France being kept in a safe in the German embassy in neutral Bern, Switzerland, Maubert states there is only one man for the job. Maubert is authorized to offer a pardon to Lodocq in exchange for his services. The prisoner agrees after Maubert dangles the prospect of seeing Madeleine.

The theft goes off without a hitch. However, when Lodocq goes to Madeleine's flat, he finds a despondent Maubert already there. In a surprise twist, it turns out that Madeleine's name was on the list they stole. She is taken away, with the implication that she will be executed for treason. In the final scene, Maubert watches Lodocq, now an anonymous French soldier, board a train for the intense fighting at Verdun, both knowing that Lodocq stands little chance of survival.

Cast

Production

It was the first film from the producing team of Maxwell Setton and Aubrey Baring, who set up their operation at Mayflower Pictures. Mayflower had been established by Charles Laughton and Eric Pommer in the 1930s but become dormant until Setton and Baring re-activated it; the two men would make six movies together, most of which were written by Robert Westerby, who wrote The Spider and the Fly.[4]

Robert Westerby's story was based on a true story which he had been told by a member of the French police.[5] Mayflower received a government grant to underwrite part of the cost.

Filming started in May 1949 and took place in Paris over three weeks, then at Pinewood studios in London.[6][7] Sets were by the art director Edward Carrick. The period costumes were designed partly by Elizabeth Haffenden.[8] It was Seth Holt's first film as lead editor, although he had worked as an assistant for a number of years.[9]

It was Eric Portman's first film in over a year, during which time he enjoyed a great success on stage in a double bill of Terence Rattigan plays called Playbill. Nadia Gray was a Romanian actor who had spent part of the war in a German concentration camp; she was cast in the film partly due to her appearance on the Paris stage in a production of [[Noel Coward]'s Present Laughter (she was seen by Anthony Havelock-Allan who recommended her).[10][11] It was Guy Rolfe's third leading role.[12]

Reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin said "The film falls between melodrama and something deeper - a study of human relationships. Though there are some tense scenes, it is as a whole not sufficiently exciting for a thriller, and Hamer's bitter intelligence is not quite sharp enough for a real drama of character."[13]

References

  1. ^ "THE STARRY WAY". The Courier-mail. No. 4075. Queensland, Australia. 17 December 1949. p. 2. Retrieved 24 May 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  2. ^ "The Spider and the Fly (1949) - Robert Hamer - Cast and Crew - AllMovie". AllMovie.
  3. ^ SPIDER AND THE FLY, The Monthly Film Bulletin; London Vol. 16, Iss. 181, (Jan 1, 1949): 195.
  4. ^ Harper, Sue; Porter, Vincent (2003). British Cinema of the 1950s: The Decline of Deference. Oxford University Press. pp. 178–180. ISBN 9780198159346.
  5. ^ "Portman emerges as screen gentleman". The Australian Women's Weekly. Australia, Australia. 31 December 1949. p. 36. Retrieved 17 June 2020 – via Trove.
  6. ^ Of local origin. (1949, Jun 15). New York Times
  7. ^ "Star back to films after stage hit". The Sun. New South Wales, Australia. 1 May 1949. p. 12. Retrieved 17 June 2020 – via Trove.
  8. ^ "The Spider and the Fly (1949)".
  9. ^ Gough-Yates, Kevin. "Seth Holt interview". Screen. Vol. 10, no. 6. p. 5.
  10. ^ "No Title". Merredin Mercury And Central Districts Index. Western Australia. 9 June 1949. p. 1 (MODERN WEEKLY news magazine). Retrieved 17 June 2020 – via Trove.
  11. ^ "FILM NEWS". Manjimup Mail And Jardee-pemberton-northcliffe Press. Western Australia. 10 August 1949. p. 6 (MODERN WEEKLY News Magazine). Retrieved 17 June 2020 – via Trove.
  12. ^ Round the British Studios Nepean, Edith. Picture Show; London Vol. 53, Iss. 1377, (Aug 20, 1949): 11.
  13. ^ [www.screenonline.org.uk/media/mfb/1003456/index.html Review of film] at Monthly Film Bulletin

External links

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