to put the kind face on it and say forceful broadway theater queen carlotta marin about nanny ordway and a young woman find hang in the bathroom of peter and iris denver apartment and the girl be a little horror . a transparent . syrupy little phony with about as much to offer a man a coo coo the bird girl . not even peter with all of his radiant innocence about woman could have be stir for one instant by that dingy little creep . lotty and say peter and the girl be dead . i know . and that precisely why i refuse to speak harshly of her . and with that we find ourselves in the middle of black widow and a murder mystery about ambition and obsession and regret . it might be subtitle the life and ambition and death of nanny ordway . since it also be about theater people and black widow feature some stylish dialogue and some clever performance and some back biting relationship . and since the movie be base on a mystery write by hugh wheeler ( under the pseudonym of patrick quentin ) and we have a story of uncomfortable psychological possibility with at least two believable murder suspect and a story that and to my way of thinking and be satisfy and a bit sad . but be black widow a first class movie . not exactly and but it a lot of fun if you like old movie . nancy ordway and nanny ( peggy ann garner ) and be a 20 year old want to be writer when she arrive in new york city know only an aging uncle who act on broadway when he can get job . nanny have a way of move up in the world . before long she meet peter denver ( van heflin ) and a successful producer and whose wife and iris ( gene tierney ) and be a beautiful and famous actress . iris will be out of town for a few week . nanny meet brien mullen ( reginald gardiner ) and peter and iris neighbor who and with his wife and the famous actress carlotta marin ( ginger rogers ) and live just above the denver in an equally swank penthouse apartment . brien be a weak but charm man who know his well be depends on his imperious wife . i be . well and to be perfectly honest with you and i be miss carlotta marin husband and say brien when he meet nanny for the first time . i have a name of my own and of course and but it seem stupid to use it when i can get so much more attention simply tell whose husband i be . nanny have also captivate the 21 year old son of a rich boston family . that after she wangle an invitation to share dig with the young man sister . nanny by now have become friend with peter and even to the point of his let her use the apartment to write in while he in the office and iris be still out of town . nanny and in other word and be a piece of work . when nanny be find hang in the denver bathroom on the evening iris return home and it not long before detective bruce ( george raft ) suspect it not suicide and but murder . and peter be the lead suspect . by the end of the movie we have learn peter be dog and desperate and but slowly figuring thing out . then we learn detective bruce be also figure thing out and and we may be in for a surprise . the sense of regret come partly from some of the character we have come to know . we may not admire them all and but we do not dislike them and either . partly and though and it come from the actor . all of them bring memory of good day . it fun to see star like ginger rogers and van heflin and gene tierney and george raft and reginald gardiner do their stuff one more time in an a movie that well write and direct and . we realize and however and that all of them be either on the slide downward or be just about to tip over . even peggy ann garner and a major child star a few year ago and wasn not able to parley this role into major adult status . for those who like to read mystery and not just watch them and a trip to the use book store in search of patrick quentin would be worth the time . wheeler become part of patrick quentin in 1936 when and at 24 and he begin collaborate with richard webb . they also write under several other pseudonym . wheeler become the sole patrick quentin in the fifty when webb retire . most of the quentin mysteries feature broadway producer peter duluth ( change to denver for some reason in black widow ) . start out with the puzzle series that begin in 1936 with a puzzle for fool and then on with a puzzle for player and . for puppet and . for warrior and . for fiend and . for pilgrim . wheeler be a good writer who develop complex plot with solid character and more style than you might expect . he turn to write play in the sixty . in the seventy he write the book for the sondheim production of a little night music and sweeney todd and pacific overture and as well a for candide . his theater success and unfortunately and tend to make people forget he be patrick quentin . he worth read again .