The Man in the Net ** (1959, Alan Ladd, Carolyn Jones, Diane Brewster) – Classic Movie Review 12,060

Director Michael Curtiz’s plodding, flaccid 1958 film noir thriller The Man in the Net, adapted from Hugh Wheeler (writing as Patrick Quentin)’s 1956 novel Man in a Net, stars a rather past his prime Alan Ladd as a Connecticut artist who sets off on the run from cops and vigilantes when he is falsely charged with his alcoholic wife Carolyn Jones’s apparent killing.

The nifty direction and attractive cast don’t conjure up a compelling movie because the plot is so incredible and the characters so irritating. The players, who appear so attractive on paper at least, prove weary and unengaged seeming, and the Ladd-Jones star duo raises few sparks.

Some tension along the way and a good climax are compensations.

Reginald Rose writes the screenplay.

Filming started 23 June 1958.

It is mostly shot in Hollywood at the Goldwyn Studios with some location shooting at Raceland in Framingham, Massachusetts, and in Thompson, Connecticut.

It runs 98 minutes.

Film rights were bought in 1956 by The Mirisch Corporation, who had a deal with United Artists for release. Alan Ladd was signed to star in January 1958 and his company Jaguar Productions co-produces.

Also in the cast are Diane Brewster, John Lupton, John Alexander, Charles McGraw, Tom Helmore, Edward Binns, Betty Lou Holland, Kathryn Givney, Barbara Beaird, Susan Gordon, Michael McGreevey, Charles Herbert, Steve Perry, Bill Cassidy, Alvin Childress, Douglas Evans, Natalie Masterson, and Patrick Miller.

© Derek Winnert 2022 Classic Movie Review 12,060

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