The Cobweb (1955)

80% of critics liked it
(5 reviews)
56% of users liked it
(305 ratings)

William Gibson's novel The Cobweb was brought to the screen by MGM with an impressive, hand-picked cast. Richard Widmark plays the head of a posh psychiatric clinic. Widmark's wife Gloria Grahame jockeys for the honor of selecting new drapes for the hospital's library. One wouldn't think that such a… More William Gibson's novel The Cobweb was brought to the screen by MGM with an impressive, hand-picked cast. Richard Widmark plays the head of a posh psychiatric clinic. Widmark's wife Gloria Grahame jockeys for the honor of selecting new drapes for the hospital's library. One wouldn't think that such a trivial decision would spark so much melodrama; but thanks to those drapes, we are allowed to probe the disturbed psyches of martinet business affairs director Lillian Gish, philandering doctor Charles Boyer, lonely activities director Lauren Bacall, and suicidal patient John Kerr. Oscar Levant, who spent most of his life in and out of "little white rooms", is ideally cast as a neurotic musician, while Fay Wray has a superb cameo as Boyer's long-suffering wife. Cobweb served as the screen debuts for both John Kerr and Susan Strasberg. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 2 hr. 5 min.
Directed By: Vincente Minnelli
Written By: John Paxton, William Gibson
Genres: Drama, Action & Adventure

In Theaters: Jan 1, 1955 Wide
On DVD: Jan 22, 1992

Critic Reviews

Michael E. Grost, Classic Film and Television
Strange, unique look at mental asylum is both visually and dramatically brilliant.
Niki Patton, Martha's Vineyard Times (Massachusetts)
With its usual twist, it's surprising that The Cobweb hasn't become a cult classic. This '50's studio picture combines the ever popular Hollywood topic of mental illness with interior decorating.
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
Quintessential Minnelli melodrama is also a personal film: Set in an asylum in which the conflict concerns the kinds of drapes to be used, it offers inside look at a rigid institution in which the caretakers are as needy as the patients.
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
The highlight of the film was Oscar Levant singing "Mother" while being sedated.

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Featured Audience Ratings

jay n

It's all about the DRAPES!!!! Truly odd film is loaded with great actors and a ludicrous story. How it ever got the green light from the studio is mystery number one, that Vincente Minnelli said okay to directing it is the second although that would explain why so many great… More
It's all about the DRAPES!!!! Truly odd film is loaded with great actors and a ludicrous story. How it ever got the green light from the studio is mystery number one, that Vincente Minnelli said okay to directing it is the second although that would explain why so many great actors allowed themselves to be involved. Laughable take on mental health but good for one fun viewing as a camp catastrophe.
Eric H

Minnelli managed to assemble an all star cast for such a strange concept. On paper it would seem like the plot of a screwball comedy but the movie is played completely straight, and is all the worse for it. You'll be screaming at the characters to lighten up. None of them are… More
Minnelli managed to assemble an all star cast for such a strange concept. On paper it would seem like the plot of a screwball comedy but the movie is played completely straight, and is all the worse for it. You'll be screaming at the characters to lighten up. None of them are particularly likable, neither inmates or administrators. You would think someone with as much experience of clinics as Minnelli had, thanks to his estranged wife, would give us more of an insight. The patients just aren't convincing enough and are reduced to big name extras. The administrative staff are given cliched storylines to follow. If there are any central characters it's Widmark and Grahame, a bickering married couple. Bacall is completely wasted in a throwaway role as a chain-smoking activities director. Levant is perfectly cast as an inmate but doesn't get enough screen time to exploit his melancholy persona. Perhaps the movie would have fared better had it been made twenty years later. With it's sprawling cast it resembles the films of Altman but Minnelli couldn't call on the technology that allowed Altman his famous overlapping dialogue. Considering the subject matter the movie is far too sane. A seventies version would have allowed a lot more freedom to explore the issues. At one point, young inmates Kerr and Strasberg leave the clinic for a night at the cinema. A metaphor perhaps for Minnelli's plunging himself into his work to escape the grim reality of life with Judy? There have been some great movies set on psychiatric wards, "One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest", "Shock Corridor", but I wouldn't bother booking yourself in for treatment here.

Cast

            Richard Widmark as Dr. Stewart McIver

            Lauren Bacall as Meg Faversen Rinehart

            Charles Boyer as Dr. Douglas N. Devanal

            Gloria Grahame as Karen McIver

            Lillian Gish as Victoria Inch

            John Kerr (II) as Steven W. Holte

            Susan Strasberg as Sue Brett

            Oscar Levant as Mr. Capp

            Tommy Rettig as Mark

            Paul Stewart as Dr. Otto Wolff

            Jarma Lewis as Lois DeMuth

            Adele Jergens as Miss Cobb

            Edgar Stehli as Mr. Holcomb

            Sandy Descher as Rosemary

            Bert Freed as Abe Irwin

            Mabel Albertson as Regina Mitchell-Smythe

            Fay Wray as Edna Devanal

            Oliver Blake as Curly

            Olive Carey as Mrs. O'Brien

            Eve McVeagh as Shirley

            Virginia Christine as Sally

            Jan Arvan as Mr. Appleton

            Ruth Clifford as Mrs. Jenkins

            Myra Marsh as Miss Gavney

            James Westerfield as James Petlee

            Marjorie Bennett as Sadie

            Stuart Holmes as Mr. Wictz

            Dayton Lummis
            
See full cast