Chris Conlon (Richard Conte) is an ex-cop, now private detective. He is approached by a woman calling herself Judith Smith (Faye Marlowe). Judith hires him to retrieve an envelope from Florence Cain (Ann Savage). Florence is Conlon’s partner. Conlon has Florence meet him at his apartment. Someone, who is also interested in the envelope, follows him, sneaks into his apartment, and kills Florence. Conlon has his friend, Henry (Mantan Moreland), help him carry Florence’s body back to her apartment. Police Detective Lt. Walter Castle (Walter Sande) suspects Conlon anyway.
Conlon traces Judith to a mind reading act at a local nightclub and finds out that her real name is Delilah “Lila” Neilsen. Her partner is Ernest (Kurt Kreuger) and their manager is Mikail Barak (Martin Kosleck). Eventually he learns that Lila has been searching for the murderer of her sister. Lila isn’t even sure her sister is dead, but Florence had information to prove it.
Conlon traces Lila’s sister’s last movements to a hotel run by Henri Dutrelle (Jean Del Val). He believes the killer was also registered there but before he can have the owner identify the man, he is killed. Once again, Conlon is suspected. Conlon is now on the hunt for not only whoever killed Lila’s sister but whoever tried to frame him for two murders.
“The Spider” was released in 1945 and was directed by Robert D. Webb. It is an American crime noir mystery with comedic undertones. It is a remake of the 1931 film but the resemblance between the two films is almost nonexistent. The story was changed so much that the meaning of the spider in the title has no bearing on the film. It was also based on the 1928 play of the same name by Fulton Oursler and Lowell Brentano.
Anytime you add Mantan Moreland to a film, you are going to get a couple chuckles out of it. His comedic timing is impeccable. Adding Martin Kosleck as a sinister agent brings the film back down to its gritty intentions. That and having Ann Savage at the detective’s ill-fated partner, even though she’s not in it long enough. Still, there is a lighter side to it.
It is one of the lesser-known noir films, and as noir it’s not as hardboiled as some, but not bad as a mystery. It has a decent cast but an awful lot of plot holes. It’s not great, it’s not bad, it’s just entertaining and an easy watch.