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Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

Sick Product of a Sick System

Just what I expected

Fantastic!

This is a slow-paced but solid film about a police inspector, played by the calm and unruffled Eric Portman (the spider) and his quarry, a master thief and safe cracker (the fly), who is played by Guy Rolfe. Rolfe was excellent in another film which he made this same year, PORTRAIT FROM LIFE (1949, see my review). He is just as good in this one as well, though playing a very different type of character, and one far less sympathetic. Robert Hamer directed this, one of only 14 films which he directed. He retired from the screen at age 49 and died at age 52, hence the small number of his films. He is best remembered for directing KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS (1949), this very same year, with Alec Guinness. The love interest in this story is played by the Romanian actress Nadia Gray, who has both men in her thrall but has a wild passion for Rolfe which at first he does not return. This was only her second film, the first being a French film in this same year which has never been reviewed on IMDb and may be lost, or at least lost to memory. Portman finally catches the elusive Rolfe and send him to prison, but then a wartime situation arises which requires a crucial document to be stolen from the safe of The German Legation in Switzerland. Portman recruits Rolfe for this task and the thief thus uses his safe-cracking and building-climbing skills to get the document and fight the Germans. It is a good film, well made, but somewhat slow. It would not have seemed so in 1949, perhaps, but things have speeded up now.

This is an unusual film from the highly-rated Robert Hamer containing two superb performances from Eric Portman and the statuesque Guy Rolfe. Rolfe is a revelation in that he is in no way overshadowed by Portman and his physical presence dominates his scenes. The script matches the performances and the locations, direction, lighting, and camera-work ensure is it wholly convincing throughout. Set in France just before and during the Great War, there are some truly tense and suspenseful scenes and the film holds you from start to finish. It is a picture which, because of its unusual atmosphere and setting, together with the performances and story-line, stays with you. The last two scenes are touching and beautifully played. Why more was not made of Guy Rolfe's talent and presence by giving him more prime roles in his career is a mystery to me. Try not to miss this one.

Police inspector Eric Portman (Maubert) is permanently on the case of gentleman thief Guy Rolfe (Philippe), who is a character similar to David Niven's gentleman thief in the original "Pink Panther" film. The film is set in France just before World War 1 and we watch Portman and Rolfe play out a cat-and-mouse game as various robberies are carried out. Nadia Gray (Madeleine) plays the love interest for our two male leads. She is part of Rolfe's crooked network and Portman is constantly at her to shatter Rolfe's alibis. An undercover operation finally finds Rolfe caught in the act but the outbreak of war leads to new priorities and Portman asks for his old adversary to be released from prison to assist France in stealing some important documents from Switzerland. The film then turns into a buddy-buddy movie as these two characters work together to complete their mission. Can they succeed? I really enjoyed this film. The acting is good and Portman (representing detection) and Rolfe (representing crime) are extremely likable in their roles and play off each other with a camaraderie that will have you relishing in them working together in the latter part of the film. The dialogue is good throughout and not one scene is wasted. An amusing occasion occurs when Portman arrests Rolfe and they go into a bar on the way to jail to share a cognac together. Portman pays way in excess of the cost of the drink and when this is pointed out by the barmaid, he replies that it is for the glasses as well at which point both Portman and Rolfe smash their glasses onto the floor. It's amusing and it strengthens the bond between them. I dare you to try it next time you have a drink in a bar.There are a couple of twists at the end which are quite moving. It's a good film to keep and watch again.

The Spider and The Fly (1949) appeared on Turner Classic Movies in a pre-dawn showing this November 2008. Having trouble sleeping, I met it halfway through and wished I'd recorded it entirely.The acting was splendid--the police inspector is a real pro, and Guy Rolfe as the master thief is attractively otherworldly. Like Bronson, McQueen, and Mitchum, Rolfe makes others wait for him to respond. The male leads develop a complex relationship: one pursues the other, they both love the same woman, then they need each other in the face of a common enemy.The supporting roles range in style from perfect British competence (the French minister of war) to dreamlike (the boy who helps the thief escape looks like a child version of the thief) to comedy (the lovestruck housemaid the thief gently seduces to gain access to a neighbor's window).The photography and sets are also dreamy, mostly shot by night, with long hallways down which the preternaturally tall thief moves, almost without one seeing him move.The plot features a quietly serious patriotic theme in which the thief regains the classic French status of citizen. That theme takes another unexpected step to end with a ground-level prophecy of tragedy. Not a great film, but well-made and at moments strangely lovely. I returned to bed and slept better.