The Crooked Web

1955 film by Nathan H. Juran

November 30, 1955 (1955-11-30)

Running time

77 minutesCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglish

The Crooked Web is a 1955 crime film noir directed by Nathan Juran and starring Frank Lovejoy, Mari Blanchard and Richard Denning.^[1]

Plot

Stan Fabian runs a drive-in restaurant with girlfriend Joanie Daniel, whose brother Frank turns up for a visit. Joanie has declined to marry Stan because he's strapped for cash, but Frank tempts him with a proposition, mentioning that he and a partner hid a stash of gold in Germany during the war.

Stan accepts an offer to help recover the gold for a cut of the loot. What he doesn't know is that Joanie and Frank are actually undercover cops. A rich businessman's son was apparently killed by Stan during a deal gone wrong, but the German police are unable to extradite him to charge him with a crime.

Frank pretends to shoot his partner, using blanks. He secretly meets with Berlin chief of police Koenig, pretending to be looking for the gold. Stan fears a double-cross, but confesses his wartime murder to Joanie, and is shocked to be placed under arrest.

Cast

Frank Lovejoy as Stanley Fabian
Mari Blanchard as Joanie Daniel
Richard Denning as Frank Daniel
John Mylong as Herr Koenig
Harry Lauter as Sgt. Mike Jancoweizc
Steven Ritch as Ramon 'Ray' Torres
Lou Merrill as Herr Schmitt
Van Des Autels as Tom Jackson^[2]

References

^ The Crooked Web at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
^ "Van Des Autels filmography". American Film Institute. Retrieved May 31, 2023.

External links

The Crooked Web at IMDb
The Crooked Web at AllMovie
The Crooked Web at the TCM Movie Database

Films produced by Sam Katzman

Showmen's/
Screencraft

His Private Secretary (1933)
Police Call (1933)
Ship of Wanted Men (1933)
Public Stenographer (1934)
The Moth (1934)
The Big Race (1934)
St. Louis Woman (1934)

Supreme

A Demon for Trouble (1934)
Western Justice (1934)
The Brand of Hate (1934)
Smokey Smith (1935)
Tombstone Terror (1935)
Trail of Terror (1935)
Alias John Law (1935)
Big Calibre (1935)
Sundown Saunders (1935)
Brand of the Outlaws (1936)
The Kid Ranger (1936)

Victory

Peter B. Kyne	Danger Ahead (1935) Hot Off the Press (1935) Bars of Hate (1935) The Fighting Coward (1935) Taming the Wild (1936) aka Madcap A Face in the Fog (1936) Rio Grande Romance (1936) Kelly of the Secret Service (1936)
Tom Tyler	Rip Roarin' Buckaroo (1936) The Phantom of the Range (1936) Orphan of the Pecos (1937) (also d) Brothers of the West (1937) (also d) Cheyenne Rides Again (1937) Lost Ranch (1937) (also d) Mystery Range (1937) Feud of the Trail (1937)
Serials	Shadow of Chinatown (1936) Blake of Scotland Yard (1937)
Herman Brix	Two Minutes to Play (1936) Silks and Saddles (1936) Amateur Crook (1937) (also d) Flying Fists (1937) Million Dollar Racket (1937) Sky Racket (1937) (also d)
Tim McCoy	Six-Gun Trail (1938) Lightning Carson Rides Again (1938) Texas Wildcats (1939) Code of the Cactus (1939) Outlaws' Paradise (1939) Trigger Fingers (1939) The Fighting Renegade (1939) Straight Shooter (1939)

Puritan

The Rogues' Tavern (1936)

Monogram

East Side Kids	East Side Kids (1940) Boys of the City (1940) That Gang of Mine (1940) Pride of the Bowery (1941) Flying Wild (1941) Bowery Blitzkrieg (1941) Spooks Run Wild (1941) Mr. Wise Guy (1942) Let's Get Tough! (1942) Smart Alecks (1942) 'Neath Brooklyn Bridge (1942) Kid Dynamite (1942) Clancy Street Boys (1942) Ghosts on the Loose (1943) Mr. Muggs Steps Out (1943) Million Dollar Kid (1943) Follow the Leader (1944) Block Busters (1944) Bowery Champs (1944) Docks of New York (1945) Mr. Muggs Rides Again (1945) Come Out Fighting (1945)
Bela Lugosi	Invisible Ghost (1941) Bowery at Midnight (1942) The Corpse Vanishes (1942) Black Dragons (1942) The Ape Man (1943) Voodoo Man (1944) Return of the Ape Man (1944)
Musicals	Zis Boom Bah (1942)
Billy Gilbert	Spotlight Scandals (1943) Crazy Knights (1944) Three of a Kind (1944) Trouble Chasers (1945)
The Teen-Agers	Junior Prom (1946) Freddie Steps Out (1946) High School Hero (1946) Vacation Days (1947)

Columbia

Serials	Who's Guilty? (1945) Jungle Raiders (1945) Brenda Starr, Reporter (1945) Hop Harrigan (1946) Chick Carter, Detective (1946) Son of the Guardsman (1946) Jack Armstrong (1947) The Vigilante (1947) The Sea Hound (1947) Brick Bradford (1947) Congo Bill (1948) Tex Granger (1948) Superman (1948) Adventures of Sir Galahad (1949) Batman and Robin (1949) Bruce Gentry – Daredevil of the Skies (1949) Pirates of the High Seas (1950) Atom Man vs. Superman (1950) Cody of the Pony Express (1950) Captain Video: Master of the Stratosphere (1951) The Mysterious Island (1951) Roar of the Iron Horse (1951) Son of Geronimo (1952) Blackhawk (1952) The Great Adventures of Captain Kidd (1953) The Lost Planet (1953) Riding with Buffalo Bill (1954) Gunfighters of the Northwest (1954) Adventures of Captain Africa Mighty Jungle Avenger! (1955) Perils of the Wilderness (1956) Blazing the Overland Trail (1956)
Jean Porter	Betty Co-Ed (1946) Little Miss Broadway (1947) Sweet Genevieve (1947) Two Blondes and a Redhead (1947)
Jon Hall	Last of the Redskins (1947) The Prince of Thieves (1948) The Mutineers (1949) Hurricane Island (1951) When the Redskins Rode (1951) Brave Warrior (1952) Last Train from Bombay (1952)
Jungle Jim	Jungle Jim (1948) The Lost Tribe (1949) Mark of the Gorilla (1950) Captive Girl (1950) Pygmy Island (1950) Fury of the Congo (1951) Jungle Manhunt (1951) Jungle Jim in the Forbidden Land (1952) Voodoo Tiger (1952) Savage Mutiny (1953) Valley of the Head Hunters (1953) Killer Ape (1953) Jungle Man-Eaters (1954) Cannibal Attack (1954) Jungle Moon Men (1955) Devil Goddess (1956)
Gloria Henry	Racing Luck (1948) Triple Threat (1948)
Gloria Jean	I Surrender Dear (1948) Manhattan Angel (1949)
Musical	Mary Lou (1948) Glamour Girl (1948)
Crime	Chinatown at Midnight (1949) State Penitentiary (1950) Revenue Agent (1950) Chain Gang (1950) The Miami Story (1954) Chicago Syndicate (1955) The Crooked Web (1955) Inside Detroit (1955) Teen-Age Crime Wave (1955) Miami Exposé (1956) Rumble on the Docks (1956) Escape from San Quentin (1957) The Tijuana Story (1957) The World Was His Jury (1958)
William Castle	Serpent of the Nile (1953) Fort Ti (1953) Slaves of Babylon (1953) Conquest of Cochise (1953) The Law vs. Billy the Kid (1954) Jesse James vs. the Daltons (1954) Masterson of Kansas (1954) The Battle of Rogue River (1954) Charge of the Lancers (1954) Drums of Tahiti (1954) The Saracen Blade (1954) The Iron Glove (1954) Duel on the Mississippi (1955) The Gun That Won the West (1955) New Orleans Uncensored (1955) Uranium Boom (1956) The Houston Story (1956)
Action	Barbary Pirate (1949) The Mutineers (1949) Last of the Buccaneers (1950) Tyrant of the Sea (1950) The Magic Carpet (1951) The Golden Hawk (1952) Thief of Damascus (1952) Prisoners of the Casbah (1953) Flame of Calcutta (1953) Siren of Bagdad (1953) Prince of Pirates (1953) Target Hong Kong (1953) The 49th Man (1953) Pirates of Tripoli (1955) Crash Landing (1958)
War	Purple Heart Diary (1951) A Yank in Korea (1951) The Pathfinder (1952) A Yank in Indo-China (1952) Sky Commando (1953) Mission Over Korea (1953) The Last Blitzkrieg (1959) The Enemy General (1960)
Western	California Conquest (1952) Jack McCall, Desperado (1953) Seminole Uprising (1955) Blackjack Ketchum, Desperado (1956) Utah Blaine (1957) The Wild Westerners (1962)
Sci-fi	Creature with the Atom Brain (1955) It Came from Beneath the Sea (1955) Earth vs. the Flying Saucers (1956) The Werewolf (1956) The Man Who Turned to Stone (1957) The Giant Claw (1957) Zombies of Mora Tau (1957) The Night the World Exploded (1957) Lock Up Your Daughters (1959)
Rock Musical	Rock Around the Clock (1956) Cha-Cha-Cha Boom! (1956) Calypso Heat Wave (1957) Don't Knock the Rock (1957) Juke Box Rhythm (1959) Twist Around the Clock (1961) Don't Knock the Twist (1961)
Drama	Going Steady (1958) Life Begins at 17 (1958) The Flying Fontaines (1959) The Love-Ins (1967) For Singles Only (1968)

Fox

Pirates of Tortuga (1961)
The Wizard of Baghdad (1961)

Tallahassee 7000 (1961)

MGM

Musicals	Hootenanny Hoot (1963) Get Yourself a College Girl (1964) Kissin' Cousins (1964) Your Cheatin' Heart (1964) Harum Scarum (1965) When the Boys Meet the Girls (1965) Hold On! (1966) The Fastest Guitar Alive (1967) A Time to Sing (1968)
Non-musical	Hot Rods to Hell (1967) Riot on Sunset Strip (1967) (sold to AIP) The Young Runaways (1968)

Other

Angel, Angel, Down We Go (1969)
How to Succeed with Sex (1970)
The Loners (1972)

v t e Films directed by Nathan Juran
The Black Castle (1952) Gunsmoke (1953) Law and Order (1953) The Golden Blade (1953) Tumbleweed (1953) Highway Dragnet (1954) Drums Across the River (1954) The Crooked Web (1955) Hellcats of the Navy (1957) The Deadly Mantis (1957) 20 Million Miles to Earth (1957) The Brain from Planet Arous (1957) Attack of the 50 Foot Woman (1958) The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958) Good Day for a Hanging (1959) Flight of the Lost Balloon (1961) Jack the Giant Killer (1962) Siege of the Saxons (1963) First Men in the Moon (1964) East of Sudan (1964) Land Raiders (1970) The Boy Who Cried Werewolf (1973)

Films directed by Nathan Juran