The Black Widow (1951 film)
Encyclopedia
The Black Widow is a 1951 British thriller, directed by Vernon Sewell
and starring Christine Norden
and Robert Ayres
. The film was a B-movie
production by Hammer Film Productions
and was based on a radio serial entitled Return from Darkness.
Sherwin regains consciousness, but is suffering from complete amnesia with no idea of his own identity or how he came to be found in such a remote location. The farm owner and his daughter agree to look after Sherwin while he recuperates. The police investigate missing persons reports but find no case to match Sherwin's age and physical description. Some days later Sherwin is on the mend, and happens to find in his overcoat pocket a ticket stub from a theatre in a town some 50 miles away. Hoping to find some clue as to his identity, he takes a train to the town and walks the streets to see whether anything will jog his memory.
He comes across a house which he seems to recognise and walks in through the unlocked door. Inside he finds a flower-covered coffin in the front room. A woman (Norden) enters and on seeing Sherwin, screams and faints. This jolts Sherwin's memory back into gear and he recognises the woman as his wife Christine, who has believed him dead since there was no reason for anybody to consider that the body found in the burned-out car was not his.
Sherwin is bothered by his wife's odd demeanour, particularly her excessive concern about whether or not anybody could have seen him in the street or arriving at the house. His suspicions aroused, he decides to continue to play the amnesiac. Saying he is going upstairs to rest, he eavesdrops on her telephone calls and soon realises that she is speaking to a lover of some time standing, the gist of the conversation being the need to dispose of Sherwin quickly before anyone else finds out that he was not the crash victim. Gradually, he finds out that Christine and her lover (Anthony Forwood
) had been intending to sell the house and cash all his assets, and his inconvenient reappearance has derailed their plans. Aware now of Christine's true colours, he decides to play along with her schemes until he can engineer a suitable come-uppance for the pair.
Vernon Sewell
Vernon Campbell Sewell was a British film director, screenwriter, producer writer and, briefly, an actor. Sewell was born in London, England in 1903. He was educated at Marlborough College. He directed over 30 films during his career, starting with Morgenrot in 1933...
and starring Christine Norden
Christine Norden
Christine Norden was a British actress.-Career:Born Mary Lydia Thornton in Mowbray Terrace, Sunderland, she was the daughter of a bus driver...
and Robert Ayres
Robert Ayres (actor)
Robert Ayres was an American film, stage and television actor.-Selected filmography:* The Black Widow * Delayed Action * A Prize of Gold * It's Never Too Late...
. The film was a B-movie
B-movie
A B movie is a low-budget commercial motion picture that is not definitively an arthouse or pornographic film. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified a film intended for distribution as the less-publicized, bottom half of a double feature....
production by Hammer Film Productions
Hammer Film Productions
Hammer Film Productions is a film production company based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1934, the company is best known for a series of Gothic "Hammer Horror" films made from the mid-1950s until the 1970s. Hammer also produced science fiction, thrillers, film noir and comedies and in later...
and was based on a radio serial entitled Return from Darkness.
Plot
Mark Sherwin (Ayres) is driving in the country when he notices a man laying at the side of the road. Assuming the man is the victim of a hit-and-run, he stops to offer assistance, only to be coshed and left stunned while his wallet and car are stolen. On recovering his senses, he staggers towards a nearby farmhouse where he collapses. He is found by the farm owner, who summons a doctor. Meanwhile the car thief comes to grief while speeding round a corner on a clifftop road, the car plunges over the edge and explodes in flames.Sherwin regains consciousness, but is suffering from complete amnesia with no idea of his own identity or how he came to be found in such a remote location. The farm owner and his daughter agree to look after Sherwin while he recuperates. The police investigate missing persons reports but find no case to match Sherwin's age and physical description. Some days later Sherwin is on the mend, and happens to find in his overcoat pocket a ticket stub from a theatre in a town some 50 miles away. Hoping to find some clue as to his identity, he takes a train to the town and walks the streets to see whether anything will jog his memory.
He comes across a house which he seems to recognise and walks in through the unlocked door. Inside he finds a flower-covered coffin in the front room. A woman (Norden) enters and on seeing Sherwin, screams and faints. This jolts Sherwin's memory back into gear and he recognises the woman as his wife Christine, who has believed him dead since there was no reason for anybody to consider that the body found in the burned-out car was not his.
Sherwin is bothered by his wife's odd demeanour, particularly her excessive concern about whether or not anybody could have seen him in the street or arriving at the house. His suspicions aroused, he decides to continue to play the amnesiac. Saying he is going upstairs to rest, he eavesdrops on her telephone calls and soon realises that she is speaking to a lover of some time standing, the gist of the conversation being the need to dispose of Sherwin quickly before anyone else finds out that he was not the crash victim. Gradually, he finds out that Christine and her lover (Anthony Forwood
Anthony Forwood
Anthony Forwood was an English actor.- Career :In 1949 Forwood gained his first acting role when he starred in Ralph Thomas' Traveller's Joy. That same year he appeared in the thriller Man in Black with Sid James...
) had been intending to sell the house and cash all his assets, and his inconvenient reappearance has derailed their plans. Aware now of Christine's true colours, he decides to play along with her schemes until he can engineer a suitable come-uppance for the pair.
Cast
- Christine NordenChristine NordenChristine Norden was a British actress.-Career:Born Mary Lydia Thornton in Mowbray Terrace, Sunderland, she was the daughter of a bus driver...
as Christine Sherwin - Robert AyresRobert Ayres (actor)Robert Ayres was an American film, stage and television actor.-Selected filmography:* The Black Widow * Delayed Action * A Prize of Gold * It's Never Too Late...
as Mark Sherwin - Jennifer JayneJennifer JayneJennifer Jayne was an English film and television actress.Her name at birth was Jennifer Jones, which she altered in order to avoid confusion with Jennifer Jones, the Hollywood actress...
as Sheila Kemp - Anthony ForwoodAnthony ForwoodAnthony Forwood was an English actor.- Career :In 1949 Forwood gained his first acting role when he starred in Ralph Thomas' Traveller's Joy. That same year he appeared in the thriller Man in Black with Sid James...
as Paul Kenton - John LongdenJohn LongdenJohn Longden was a West Indian-born English film actor. He appeared in 84 films between 1926 and 1964, including five films directed by Alfred Hitchcock.-Biography:...
as Mr. Kemp - John HarveyJohn Harvey (actor)John Harvey was an English actor. He appeared in 52 films, two television films and made 70 television guest appearances between 1948 and 1979....
as Dr. Wallace - Reginald Dyson as Police Sergeant
- Joan Carol as Hotel Desk Clerk
- Madoline ThomasMadoline ThomasMadoline Thomas was a Welsh actress whose career encompassed stage, film and television roles. Thomas' stage credits included a number of roles with the Royal Shakespeare Company during the 1960s in productions including The Comedy of Errors, Richard II, Richard III, Henry V and Henry VI, Part 2...
as Housekeeper - Jill Hulbert as Helen
External links
- The Black Widow at BritMovie