''The Spider's Web'' (also known as ''The Spider's Web by Agatha Christie'') is a 1960 British

mystery film A mystery film is a film that revolves around the solution of a problem or a crime. It focuses on the efforts of the detective, private investigator or amateur Detective, sleuth to solve the mysterious circumstances of an issue by means of clues, ...

directed by

Godfrey Grayson Godfrey Ramsey H. Grayson (1913, Birkenhead, Cheshire – 1998, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey) was an English film director. Selected filmography * ''Doctor Morelle'' (1949) * ''Meet Simon Cherry'' (1949) * ''The Adventures of PC 49'' (1949) * '' ...

and starring

Glynis Johns Glynis Margaret Payne Johns (5 October 1923 – 4 January 2024) was a British actress. In a career exceeding seven decades on stage and screen, Johns appeared in more than 60 films and 30 plays. She received various accolades throughout her ca ...

, John Justin,

Cicely Courtneidge Dame Esmerelda Cicely Courtneidge (1 April 1893 – 26 April 1980) was an Australian-born British actress, comedian and singer. The daughter of the producer and playwright Robert Courtneidge, she was appearing in his productions in the West End ...

and

Jack Hulbert John Norman Hulbert (24 April 189225 March 1978) was a British actor, director, screenwriter and singer, specializing primarily in comedy productions, and often working alongside his wife (Dame) Cicely Courtneidge. Biography Born in Ely, C ...

. It was adapted by Albert G. Miller and Eldon Howard from the 1954 play '' Spider's Web'' by

Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English people, English author known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving ...

, and was a rare

Technicolor Technicolor is a family of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes. The first version, Process 1, was introduced in 1916, and improved versions followed over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black-and ...

'A' feature from the Danzigers. It was remade as a television play starring

Penelope Keith Dame Penelope Anne Constance Keith (''née'' Hatfield; born 2 April 1940) is an English actress and presenter, active in film, radio, stage and television and primarily known for her roles in the British sitcoms '' The Good Life'' and '' To the ...

, broadcast on

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...

on 26 December 1982.

Plot

An ambassador's wife must hide the corpse of her stepdaughter's unlikeable stepfather from her husband, who is bringing important visitors to their country home.

Cast

as Clarissa Hailsham-Brown * John Justin as Henry Hailsham-Brown *

as Sir Rowland Delahaye *

as Miss Peake * Ronald Howard as Jeremy * David Nixon as Elgin * Wendy Turner as Pippa *

Basil Dignam Basil Dignam (24 October 1905 – 31 January 1979) was an English character actor. Basil Dignam was born in Sheffield, West Riding of Yorkshire. Before the acting, he tried many jobs, from a company clerk to a journalist. He acted on film and ...

as Hugo * Joan Sterndale-Bennett as Mrs Elgin *

Ferdy Mayne Ferdy Mayne or Ferdie Mayne (born Ferdinand Philip Mayer-Horckel; 11 March 1916 – 30 January 1998) was a German-British stage and screen actor. Born in Mainz, he emigrated to the United Kingdom in the early 1930s to escape the Nazi regime. ...

as Oliver *

Peter Butterworth Peter William Shorrocks Butterworth (4 February 1915Anton Rodgers Anthony Rodgers (10 January 1933 – 1 December 2007) was an English actor and occasional director. He performed on stage, in film, in television dramas and sitcoms. He starred in several sitcoms, including '' Fresh Fields'' (ITV, 1984– ...

as Sergeant Jones *

Robert Raglan Robert Raglan (7 April 1909 – 18 July 1985) was a British actor best known for his semi-regular role in ''Dad's Army'' as Colonel Pritchard. He also starred in a number of other television series and films such as ''Fabian of the Yard'' (1954 ...

as Dr. Berry

Critical reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin The ''Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 until April 1991, when it merged with '' Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those wi ...

'' wrote: "The attempt at light relief falls flat, while the comically inept police inspector is little short of ludicrous. ...There is the usual surprise denouement, but much is left vague or unclarified."

Leslie Halliwell Robert James Leslie Halliwell (23 February 1929 – 21 January 1989) was a British film critic, encyclopaedist and television rights buyer for ITV, the British commercial network, and Channel 4. He is best known for his reference guides, '' Fi ...

wrote: "Fairly standard who-done-it played unwisely for comedy." ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media In mass communication, digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operates in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital content can be created, vi ...

'' wrote, "an entertaining film version of Agatha Christie's 1954 stage play about a diplomat's wife who hides the corpse of her stepdaughter's father. Though there is no

Miss Marple Miss Jane Marple is a fictional character in Agatha Christie's crime novels and short stories. Miss Marple lives in the village of St Mary Mead and acts as an amateur consulting detective. Often characterised as an elderly spinster, she is one ...

Hercule Poirot Hercule Poirot (, ) is a fictional Belgian detective created by the English writer Agatha Christie. Poirot is Christie's most famous and longest-running character, appearing in 33 novels, two plays (''Black Coffee (play), Black Coffee'' and '' ...

to push this programmer along, it still moves at a lively pace."

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Spider's Web, The 1960 films 1960s mystery films Films directed by Godfrey Grayson British films based on plays Films based on works by Agatha Christie Films shot at New Elstree Studios Films set in England British murder mystery films United Artists films 1960s English-language films 1960s British films English-language mystery films