The Man in the Net

Nearing the end of his film career (he would die five years after this film’s release), Alan Ladd and his quiet, laconic style are a natural fit for the broken-down, put-upon half of a man he plays in Michael Curtiz’s The Man in the Net, an unusual late noir that moves from domestic suspense and murder mystery to a second half that gives off vibes of a small town western and even something we might call “family noir.” John Hamilton (Ladd) and his wife Linda (Carolyn Jones) have recently relocated to a little country town in Connecticut; now trying to make it as a painter, Hamilton had worked in a New York City advertising firm but left the stress of the city because Linda had become an alcoholic and had had a nervous breakdown. Unfortunately, Linda remains quite a bit crazy, and her longing for excitement leads her to lies, humiliations, and other forms of tormenting her patient husband (“You’re my husband, not my minister!”) until one day she disappears. As expected, Hamilton is the primary suspect according to Sheriff Steve Ritter (Charles McGraw), whose resentment of Hamilton stirs up the men of the town to form a vigilante mob that forces the painter to flee his home, offers shelter in the hidden fort of a couple of the local children. Using the kids as lookouts and decoys, and ultimately relying on the kindness of neighbor Vickie Carey (Diane Brewster), Hamilton races against the clock to uncover the truth about Linda’s vanishing. Curtiz eschews the noir paintbrush here, instead making use of the small-town setting (reportedly shot in Thompson, CT) to convey a sense of enclosure and impending doom. Worth noting: Curtiz brings the very best out of the five child actors, who are all a joy to watch.