[center][/center] (Copy of a copy from TCM) (First Viewing, 11th Minnelli film) Mid-1950's melodramatics of the highest order, complete with lofty intentions and a high-minded seriousness that only underlines the general silliness. In its own way, however, it does show how thin the line separating what's considered
"sane" and "insane" truly is, especially when taken within certain contexts. But then, that's the (very obvious) point. Set in a high-class sanitarium, THE COBWEB follows a number of the high-strung patients and the doctors and administrative staff taking care of their mental health. Appropriately, and rather ingeniously, the plot revolves around the new drapes being hung in the library, a minor incident that quickly escalates into a clash of egos, a battle of wills, and eventually, a matter of life and death. The "cobweb" refers to the messy, tangled strands of storyline that trap all those involved (which is clearly stated in the climactic closing speech, in case the audience hadn't caught the symbolism yet). The biggest draw of THE COBWEB is its remarkable cast, probably one of the most spectacular ever assembled in a Hollywood film. It seems Minnelli was intent on getting everybody (and I mean everybody) into this film, including what was at that time Hollywood past (Lillian Gish, Fay Wray, Charles Boyer), Hollywood present (Lauren Bacall, Gloria Grahame, Richard Widmark) and betting on Hollywood future (Susan Strasberg and John Kerr, though their fame never materialized despite admirable respective runs). And that's not even counting the likes of Oscar Levant, Adele Jergans, Paul Stewart... had he been able to fit Judy Garland in there somewhere, Minnelli would have had just about all the bases covered. This star power gives THE COBWEB most of its thrust, and makes the general histrionics all the more pleasurable. While some of the performers are swallowed up in the parade of actors (particularly Widmark, and Bacall comes dangerously close, saved only by her enigmatic, smoldering sexiness) but many of the performers give shrewd, memorable little performances-- one thinks of Graham, Kerr, Jergans, Strasberg, Wray, and particularly Gish, who dominates every scene she's in. It's amazing how Minnelli is able to juggle all of these characters without dropping at least a few of them, but he pulls it off with startling aplomb, demonstrating once again why he's classic Hollywood cinema's most consistently underrated class act. Now if we could just get this on DVD with a nice print. Such a deliciously bad movie deserves to be available to all.
July 10, 2005
