The Cobweb (1955) is a drama directed by Vincente Minnelli that centers around the staff and residents of a psychiatric institution, starring Richard Widmark, Lauren Bacall, and Charles Boyer. Things are good and patients are as happy as they can be until one day the library drapes need an update. Things begin to unravel when what seems like a minor affair triggers a near total meltdown of everyone involved. Lillian Gish, Susan Strasberg, Gloria Grahame, and John Kerr co-star in this psychological soap opera-like, melodrama. Fay Wray and Oscar Levant even pop up for an important scene or three.
Buy The Cobweb Blu-rayDr. Stewart “Mac” McIver (Widmark) runs a private psychiatric facility converted from a grand old mansion known as “the Castle.” He’s taken it over from the long-tenured Dr. Douglas “Dev” Davanal (Boyer). Mac is a forward thinker who makes it a priority to run the place with the patient’s comfort front and center, even if it means relaxing some of the stricter rules. He even encourages the residents to participate democratically in decisions that involve their living conditions. He’s also available to his patients and staff 24/7, much to the dismay of his “neglected” and lonely wife Karen (Grahame). Doc McIver’s little experiment is going rather well until the library needs new drapes.
Karen decides to get involved and orders more contemporary designer curtains. The facilities operations manager, the pennywise Victoria Inch (Gish), dismisses the whole thing as a minor matter and orders inexpensive drab drapes instead of Karen’s fancy fabrics. Unaware of the battle going on between his wife and Ms. Inch, Mac and Meg Rinehart (Bacall), in charge of the art and crafts department, decide to have troubled artist and patient Stevie Holte’s paintings printed on custom-made drapes. The residents are all in favor of the use of the handiwork of one of their own. Of course, what seems like a simple miscommunication puts everyone on edge and will stir up current, as well as past, misdeeds.
As the tension mounts, we find out Dev’s a drunk who cheats on his wife (Wray) with his secretaries, past and present. Karen, seeking attention and approval for her drapes, misleads Dev with her flirting into thinking that she is offering herself in trade. Meanwhile, Mac is falling for Meg (it’s Lauren Bacall, who wouldn’t?) as they bond over Stevie’s care and create a surrogate family life through work. All the while, Ms. Inch is plotting against them all as she reminisces about the institution’s inception and Dev’s heydays. It’s all just too much for Stevie, who bolts off, disappearing into the night and is feared dead.
And that’s The Cobweb in a “nutshell.” It’s an enjoyable 124-minute rollercoaster of a melodrama that was filmed with wonderful Cinemascope and beautiful color. Perhaps because of those aspects, The Cobweb feels like Vincent Minelli’s take on Rebel Without a Cause but in a mental hospital with adults as the primary players. It also doesn’t help that young John Kerr’s brooding, “out of touch with reality” artist Stevie, comes across as an angsty, square version of Jim Stark with fragile nerves that cracked up upon his mother’s death. Stevie’s budding romance with the phobia-filled young Sue, a fellow resident, played by Strasberg, also lends to the Rebel vibe in a frail way.
The adults in the room come with plenty of emotional baggage and more issues than Time magazine which only adds to the soap-opera qualities. The cast is great and above the average fare found on the soaps. Gish shines as the stickler with a tight pocketbook, Widmark is believable as the doctor with a modern eye for psychology, and Bacall remains a stunning scene-stealer that captures the attention of any room she is in.
The Cobweb’s title, poster, trailer and general pitch to audiences is a bit off the mark. It makes the movie out to be more of a horror offering or an intense psycho drama. The opening scenes and score, by Leonard Rosenman, also lend a dark, eerie atmosphere but that aura is quickly overtaken by the melodrama. The film remains serious yet playful at times. Stevie’s last line of dialog is a very humorous bit of pure irony. Minnelli manages to maintain a slight air of danger and impending doom that has us strapped to our chairs awaiting the final resolution and the fate of those caught in The Castle’s cobwebs.
The Special Features include a Tom and Jerry cartoon The Egg and Jerry, where a newly hatched baby bird believes Jerry is it’s momma and of course Tom tries to eat the hatchling. There’s also the fun Salute to the Theaters 1955 MGM Promotional Short that serves as a vintage, full-color, 17-minute, coming-attractions movie reel that visits film sets and stars as it highlights some of the upcoming titles to be released.
Sadly missing is an audio commentary track of any kind that would have been fascinating. It would have been interesting to hear any background information about the production and making of The Cobweb. Was the Castle based on any real mental facilities or was it all hokum? How did Minnelli approach the movie and what were his general thoughts? Were there any connections to Rebel without a Cause (also released that year) and was there any intent to make it more of a horror movie or suspense thriller? How close is it to the original novel by William Gibson, who also worked on the dialog. We may never know the answers to these questions but hopefully someday there will be a 30 minute documentary titled “Subject: Library Drapes,” which is a line lifted right from the movie and delivered in Boyer’s accent.
I can see why The Cobweb was panned by critics in the 1950s for its soap opera-like fuss over such a trivial matter as new curtains. But 70 years late,r the world at large is more aware and understanding of triggers, stressors, and undiagnosed neurosis. The Cobweb, though melodramatic and a bit overdone, may have been a little ahead of its time with its story that focuses on how something as simple as new drapes can set off a whirlwind of emotions and chaos.
