The Web [Blu-ray]

The Web is the definitive film noir title; the film itself is not quite as definitive, but is one of the better second-echelon examples of its genre. Attorney Edmond O'Brien and police lieutenant William Bendix join forces to trap a suspected murderer. The culprit is above-suspicion industrialist Vincent Price, who is behind two murders and a million-dollar robbery. O'Brien gets himself hired as Price's bodyguard, falling in love with the suspect's secretary Ella Raines. As the story progresses, Price contrives to use O'Brien as a fall guy for another murder--and it looks like he'll get away with it. The Web was the first directorial job for Michael Gordon, who spent the rest of the 1940s turning out above-average mellers for Universal.