Thu 21 Feb 2019
Movie Review: WEB OF DANGER (1947).
Posted by Steve under Films: Drama/Romance , Reviews[4] Comments
WEB OF DANGER. Republic Pictures, 1947, Adele Mara, Bill Kennedy, Damian O’Flynn, Richard Loo, Victor Sen Yung, Roy Barcroft. Director: Philip Ford.
In spite of the title, Web of Danger is not a crime film at all, and to tell you the truth, I can’t even tell you what the title means. In a small, rather slight degree, you might possibly call this a thriller, but since the danger caused a bridge-building crew by flooding far upriver, except for one specific scene, any suspense that’s conjured up is more in the mind of the viewer than from anything seen onscreen.
What it is, more than anything else, is a romantic drama, with the supervisor and foreman of the crew (Bill Kennedy and Damian O’Flynn) fighting it out (literally) over the hand of waitress Peg Mallory (Adele Mara) — as if she had no say in the matter.
Except for the accidental death of one of the crew members (see above), the story plays out in light and frothy fashion. Another exception is the rescue of the families whose homes are threatened by the levees about to break, which is perfunctory and anticlimactic. The part that’s light and frothy is well done, though!
February 21st, 2019 at 6:03 pm
In his later years Bill Kennedy hosted a TV series in Detroit where he introduced old movies. He was a beloved figure here in Michigan. His show was a place where young people often first learned about vintage Hollywood films.
I’ve seen just a few of his early films. This one has him in the lead – something I’ve never seen.
February 21st, 2019 at 6:15 pm
Yes, I went to school in Ann Arbor from 1964 to 1969, and knew of his TV series well. I didn’t get to watch often, as he was on during the afternoon, and I was usually doing something else, such as going to school. But even though I wasn’t able to watch, he was indeed a big favorite, quite the celebrity.
But no, he was not the lead in very many of his movies. Without going through them all, this is the only one I know of, too.
February 21st, 2019 at 7:33 pm
Hollywood used to do these working man movies once in a while dealing with various dangerous jobs from Linemen to high steel. Warner’s often did them with big casts, but many of the smaller studios did them as action films as well. They were usually built around the rivals for a girl theme used here. Bogart, Gable, Tracy, Cagney, Raft, Robinson, Fonda, Wayne, Lloyd Nolan, and Randolph Scott all did a few of these working stiff dramas.
February 21st, 2019 at 9:31 pm
That’s exactly the category this movie falls into:
A working stiff romantic triangle drama.