Black Widow
SYNOPSIS
Peter Denver (VAN HEFLIN), a Broadway producer, puts his wife Iris (GENE TIERNEY) on a plane for New Orleans where her mother is ill and then goes to a cocktail party at the apartment of Carlotta Marin (GINGER ROGERS) star of his current Broadway hit, and her husband Brian Mullen (REGINALD GARDINER) At the party he meets Nancy Ordway (PEGGY ANN GARNER) an ambitious young writer from Savannah, Ga., who has crashed the party as so many do at such open house affairs.
That night on the long distance phone Peter tells Iris that he took Nancy to dinner, just for companionship, but never again because “the kid ate too much."
The story now goes back to the day Nancy arrived in New York. She contacts her uncle, Gordon Ling, an actor, and through him meets Claire Amberley, a painter, and her brother John, a pseudo-intellectual. She begins her climb up the social ladder by moving into Claire's apartment when she learns she's a wealthy Bostonian. She also meets Brian, who falls for her.
Nancy continues to pursue Peter, however, and eventually moves into his apartment. When Iris returns from New Orleans there is evidence of Nancy's presence all over the apartment. Peter protests his innocence, saying he only tried to befriend Nancy. When Iris discovers Nancy's body in the bathroom all evidence points to Peter In trying to clear himself Peter learns that Nancy has had many men and was strictly a hustler.
Detective Lieutenant Bruce (GEORGE RAFT) questions all who have been involved with Nancy His search for evidence takes him to Lottie's apartment and suspicion points away from Peter to Brian and Lottie.
It develops that Lottie had gone to Denver's apartment to shut up Nancy about her relationship with Brian and in a quarrel she choked Nancy to death. Detective Bruce delivers the final piece of evidence when he shows Lottie a crumpled piece of paper with doodles on it that he found in her apartment, written by the same ballpoint pen supposed to have been used by Nancy. Lottie makes a break for the window but is restrained by Detective Bruce.
Later in Denver's apartment Bruce, Iris and Peter speculate on what penalty the jury will impose on Lottie.