The plot for "The Crooked Web" is way too complicated--so complicated and nonsensical that you wonder why they didn't work out all these details better before they filmed the story. It's a shame...but it's a film I would just as soon never watched.The story begins with a business run by Stan (Frank Lovejoy). He's assisted by his fiancée, Joanie (Mari Blanchard) and things look pretty normal. Then, her ne'er-do-well brother, Frank (Richard Denning) arrives and he's apparently got so get rich quick scheme but it entails going to Germany and digging up some grave. Also, along the way Frank ends up killing his partner right in front of Stan and Joanie!! Instead of going to the cops, Stan wants in with Frank and his scheme.Soon, the viewer learns that Frank and Joanie are NOT brother and sister and in fact she's already engaged with Frank. What gives? Well it seems that the pair are government agents and they are trying to lure Stan back to Germany. Does it all sound too complicated? You haven't even begun to hear the entire story! But, unfortunately, the story doesn't make a lot of sense and there really was no reason to even lure Stan to Germany in the first place. Overall, a film with little payoff and a story that seems to have too many holes.

Drive-in restaurant owner Stan Fabian and his car-hop girlfriend Joanie (Frank Lovejoy and Mari Blanchard) become involved in a scheme to recover the proceeds of an armed heist when Joanie's brother (Richard Denning) unexpectedly arrives in town. Her brother offers Stan half of his share of a robbery he pulled off while in the Army in WWII if Stan will travel back to Germany with him to help retrieve the buried gold. Complications and a few surprising turn of events arise along the way.This low budget crime drama starts off promisingly enough but quickly fizzles out under the strained believably of the plot and characters. It was directed by Nathan Juran with a decidedly disinterested feel. Juran was a director who was capable of doing some decent low budget pictures like Gunsmoke and Highway Dragnet. Juran just didn't breath much life into this one. All of the principals struggle with their character identities. The script has Lovejoy who was at his best as a tough guy with a hard edge, walking around through most of the movie in an impatiently perplexed way, seemingly oblivious to what most people would consider obvious. His role seems to pivot around implausible reactions to Denning's character for the sole purpose of making it possible to move on to the next scene. Blanchard's character lacks believe-ability. It makes it hard to understand why even the perennially perplexed Lovejoy would be willing to risk so much for a character with such head-scratchingly odd reactions and shifting motivations. The script moves from one contrived situation stacked upon another contrived situation in order to reach the end.The Crooked Web has recently been released on Film Noir DVD packages. It's part of the current marketing ploy of repackaging black and white 1950's crime dramas and labeling them as Film Noir. While it does have a noir influence, it's a garden variety, double feature, crime B-flick. Anybody looking for the next undiscovered gem in the mold of "Double Indemnity" or "Out of the Past" should keep on looking because this isn't it.Both Juran and the cast had better days then what we see here. Other than some early on interesting exterior shots of 1950's L.A. there isn't a lot to recommend in this one.

***SPOILERS*** You notice right away that hamburger joint owner Stanley Fabian, Frank Lovejoy, senses that something isn't kosher not in the hamburgers that he's flipping but in the relationship of his fiancée and waitress in his hamburger joint Jonie Daniels, Miri Blanchard, and her long lost "Brother" Frank, Richard Denning, who just happened to drop in for a hamburger on his way to Chicago. With Frank claiming that he's to get his hands on as much as $2000,000.00 worth of stolen gold jewelry and split it with his partner Chicago hoodlum Ray Torres, Steven Rich, the temptation was too much for Stanley to ignore. What the not too on the ball Stanley didn't realize is that he was being set up by both Frank as well as Jonie who wen't brother & sister but special agents for the US Army in a murder he committed ten years ago in post war Germany of a US officer as he, being a cook in the US Army, was stealing top grade beef & poultry from the US Army mess hall.Like a mindless and love sick jerk Stanley went along with the scam even though at times both Jonie & Frank blew their cover right in front of him by making out with each other! Still Stanley fell right into the trap doing everything that both Frank & Jonie asked him to implicate himself in the murder that he committed ten years ago, With it looking like the plan to trap Stanley was about to go bust the brainless nincompoop out of the blue admitted that he in fact did committed a murder when he was a cook in the US Army, in him trying to explain to Jonie why he can't re-enlist, and his fate was sealed!Frank Lovejoy seems to realize just how ridicules his role in the movie was and seemed to be on automatic pilot in plying it. Showing almost no emotion at all Lovejoy just went through the motions playing a complete jerk until he finally, in front of witnesses, admitted the crime that he was being investigated for. Even when it was all over in him being lead away in handcuffs and possible the firing squad Lovejoy, as Stanley Fabian, acted so mindless and brain dead that you wondered if he had known what was going on in the movie or the crime, murder, that he in fact committed and now was going too pay for!

Frank Lovejoy, Richard Denning, and Mari Blanchard star in "The Crooked Web" from 1955.The story in the beginning is that a brother and sister (Denning and Blanchard) set up the owner of a diner (Lovejoy) in order to use his money for a scam they have planned in Germany. The story then changes.Despite what one of the posters said, this film has a decent cast. I thought Mari Blanchard as the femme fatale was very beautiful and sexy. She had a hard edge that was brought out when her boyfriend wouldn't do what she wanted.Richard Denning was so handsome, but his film career never took off. However, he made a good living in radio, film, and television. He was the original star of a radio show with Lucille Ball that was later turned into "I Love Lucy." Denning was to star with her, but Ball wanted Arnaz.Lovejoy did a good job as the guy who is set up, alternately greedy, suspicious, and in love with Blanchard.The film is okay, but the plot has an enormous hole. If interested, read below. Otherwise, stop here.Spoiler When Lovejoy sees Denning's badge while Denning showers, Denning tells him that it was made for him so they can get onto the estate with the hidden box of expensive items made of gold. But the badge, which was real, must have had his real name on it and not the one he was using. He had already been recognized on board ship by someone who had been in the service with him, who had called him by his real name, but Denning tells him he's mistaken. So Lovejoy had already heard the name.