Cornell Woolrich - Nightwebs (A Collection of Stories)

10. The Chase (United Artists, 1946). Directed by Arthur Ripley from a screenplay by Philip Yordan based on CW 11. players: Robert Cummings, Michele Morgan, Steve Cochran, Peter Lorre. Knott says: “It was about the most horribly mutilated picture I have ever seen from any book.” Thailing agrees: “The worst mutilation of a Woolrich book was The Chase which some simple-minded baboon tried to make out of The Black Path of Fear.”

11. Fall Guy (Monogram, 1947). Directed by Reginald LeBorg from a screenplay by Jerry Warner based on BM 17. Players: Dennis O’Keefe, Robert Armstrong, Teala Loring, Elisha Cook, Jr.

12. Fear in the Night (Paramount, 1947). Written and directed by Maxwell Shane, based on A 20. Players: Paul Kelly, DeForest Kelley, Ann Doran.

13. The Guilty (Monogram, 1947). Directed by John Reinhardt from a screenplay by Robert E. Presnell, Jr., based on DFW 44. Players: Bonita Granville, Don Castle, John Litel, Regis Toomey. “A superior mystery... It stands high among films in which it is im possible to spot the killer before the surprise finale.” Connor, p. 43.

14. I Wouldn’t Be in Your Shoes (Monogram, 1948). Directed by William Nigh from a screenplay by Steve Fisher based on DFW 32. Players: Don Castle, Elyse Knox, Regis Toomey.

15. Return of the Whistler (Columbia, 1948). Directed by D. Ross Lederman from a screenplay by Edward Bock and Maurice Tombragel based on A 18 (“All at Once, No Alice”). Players: Michael Duane, Lenore Aubert, Richard Lane, James Cardweil, Anne Shoemaker. “A fair thriller.” Connor, p. 43.

16. Night Has a Thousand Eyes (Paramount, 1948). Directed by John Farrow from a screenplay by Barre Lyndon and Jonathan Latimer based on GH 1. Players: Edward G. Robinson, Gail Russell, John Lund, Virginia Bruce, William Demarest. “A faithful reproduction of the novel,” Knott writes. Nevins dissents: “It’s a silly debasement of what may well be Woolrich’s greatest novel. An excellent analysis of how and where the film goes off the tracks appears in Gordon Gow, Suspense in the Cinema, pp. 125–130 (1968).”

17. The Window (RKO, 1949). Directed by Ted Tetzlaff from a screenplay by Mel Dinelli based on MBM 5. Players: Bobby Driscoil, Arthur Kennedy, Barbara Hale, Paul Stewart. “A very well done picture,” says Knott.

18. No Man of Her Own (Paramount, 1950). Directed by Mitchell Leisen from a screenplay by Sally Benson and Catherine Turney based on WI 10 (I Married a Dead Man). Players: Barbara Stanwyck, Phyllis Thaxter, Richard Denning, John Lund, Lyle Bettger. “There was a strong smell of soap opera about the picture.” Connor, p. 45.

19. Rear Window (Paramount, 1954). Directed by Alfred Hitchcock from a screenplay by John Michael Hayes based on DD 23. Players: James Stewart, Grace Kelly, Raymond Burr, Wendell Corey, Judith Evelyn, Thelma Ritter. “It was very well done as Hitchcock always is,” Knott writes. For a detailed analysis of the film see Robin Wood, Hitchcock’s Films, pp. 62–71(1965). See also François Truffaut, Hitchcock, pp. 159–166 (1967).

20. Nightmare (United Artists, 1956). Written and directed by Maxwell Shane, based on A 20, which he had also adapted and directed in 1947 under the title Fear in the Night. Players: Edward G. Robinson, Kevin McCarthy. “It was adequate,” Knott states.

21. The Boy Cried Murder (Universal International, 1966). Directed by George Breakston from a screenplay by Robin Estridge based on MBM 5. Players: Fraser MacIntosh, Veronica Hurst, Phil Brown, Beba Loncar, Tim Barrett. Thailing writes: “Although the film follows the story line pretty well, it somehow fails to capture Woolrich’s moody atmosphere as neatly as the earlier version The Window.”

22. La Mariée Etait en Noir (France, 1967). U.S. title: The Bride Wore Black. Directed by François Truffaut from a screenplay by Truffaut and Jean-Louis Richard based on CW 7. Players: Jeanne Moreau, Jean-Claude Brialy, Michel Bouquet, Charles Denner, Claude Rich, Daniel Boulanger, Michel Lonsdale. The great French director’s simultaneous homage to Woolrich and to Hitchcock was acclaimed by the critics but failed thumpingly at the box-office. Both Knott and Thailing consider the film one of the two finest screen adaptations of Woolrich.

23. La Sirène du Mississippi (France, 1969). U.S. title: Mississippi Mermaid. Directed by François Truffaut from his own screenplay based on WI 8 (Waltz into Darkness). Players: Jean-Paul Belmondo, Catherine Deneuve, Michel Bouquet, Nelly Borgeaud, Marcel Berbert. Truffaut’s second film based on Woolrich changes the time from 1880 to the present and the setting from New Orleans to an island in the Indian Ocean, but remains faithful to the broad outlines of Woolrich’s novel, and even manages to make the main characters credible.

Mr. Norman Miller, a New York film historian, has uncovered three Argentinian films based on Woolrich.

1—A. El Pendiente (AAA, 1951). Directed by Leon Klimovsky from a screenplay by Ulyses Petit de Murat and Samuel Eichelbaum based on DFW 50. Players: Mirtha Legrand, José Cibrián, Francisco de Paula, Hector Calcaño, Raul del Valle.

2—A. Si Muero Antes de Des pertar (San Miguel, 1952). Directed by Carlos Hugo Christensen from a screenplay by Alejandro Casona based on DFW 24 (“If I Should Die Before I Wake”). Players: Néstor Lavarce, Floren Delbene, Blanca del Prado, Homero Carpena, Maria Angélica Troncoso.

3—A. No Abras Nunca esa Puerta (San Miguel, 1952). Directed by Carlos Hugo Christensen from a screenplay by Alejandro Casona based on DFW 26 and PD 2 (“Somebody on the Phone” and “Humming Bird Comes Home”). Players: Angel Magana, Roberto Escalada, Renée Dumas, Norma Giménez, Nicolás Fregues.

Here is a representative sampling of Woolrich material as adapted (sometimes by Woolrich himself) for radio.

Last Night. Suspense, 6/15/43. Adapted by Woolrich from DS 5 (“The Red Tide”). For details see the afterword to “The Red Tide” in this volume. With Margo, Kent Smith.

The White Rose Murders. Suspense, 7/6/43. Adapted by Woolrich from BDM 1 (“The Death Rose”). With Maureen O’Hara.

The Singing Walls. Suspense, 9/2/43. From BM 17 (“C-Jag”). With Preston Foster.

Phantom Lady. Lux Radio Theatre, 3/27/44. From the film of the same title based on WI 1. With Brian Aherne, Ella Raines, Alan Curtis.

Post Mortem. Suspense, c1945. From BM 16. With Agnes Moorehead. I Won’t Be a Minute. Suspense, 12/6/45. From DFW 41.

The Black Path of Fear. Suspense, 3/7/46. From CW 11. With Cary Grant.

Deadline at Dawn. Lux Radio Theatre, 5/20/46. From the film of the same title based on WI 3. With Joan Blondell, Paul Lukas, Bill Williams.

Phantom Lady. Mystery Hour, 8/17/46. From WI 1 or the film taken therefrom. With Franchot Tone, Roger Pryor.

Nightmare. Mystery Theatre, 8/30/46. From A 20.

The Chase. This Is Hollywood, 11/9/46. From the film based on CW 11. With Michele Morgan, Robert Montgomery.

They Call Me Patrice. Suspense, 12/12/46. From TW 1, which was later expanded into WI 10 (i Married a Dead Man). With Susan Peters.

The Bride Wore Black. Mystery Theatre, 2/7/47. From CW 7. With June Havoc.

A Death is Caused. Mystery Playhouse, 1947. From DD 28. Deadline at Dawn. Mystery Playhouse, 1948. From WI 3 or the film taken therefrom.

Nightmare. Suspense, 3/14/48. From A 20. With Eddie Bracken. If the Dead Could Talk. Suspense, late 1948. From BM 21. The Night Reveals. Suspense, early 1949. From Story 1. With Fredric March. Thailing says: “To my mind it is absolutely the greatest Cornell Woolrich story ever done for radio... It has stood out sharply in my mind to this day.”

Wardrobe Trunk. RCA Playhouse, 4/4/49. From DFW 12. Murder Always Gathers Momentum. RCA Playhouse, 10/27/49. From DFW 43.