The Man in the Net

Director: Michael Curtiz

Overview

John Hamilton ( Alan Ladd) leaves his job as a Madison Avenue advertiser for quiet New England to become serious artist. His mentally disturbed alcholholic wife Linda (Carolyn Jones) wants to go back to the big city. She mysteriously disappears, prompting the police and the people of town to suspect him of murder. The natives grow restless and contemplate a lynching while the search continues for the missing woman.

Product Details

Release Date:	06/07/2011
UPC:	0883904243472
Original Release:	1959
Source:	MGM
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[monaural]
Language:	English
Time:	1:37:00
Sales rank:	47,030

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Alan Ladd	John Hamilton
Carolyn Jones	Linda Hamilton
Diane Brewster	Vickie Carey
John Lupton	Brad Carey
Charles McGraw	Steve Ritter
Tom Helmore	Gordon Moreland
Betty Lou Holland	Roz Moreland
John Alexander	Mr. Carey
Edward Binns	Capt. Green
Kathryn Givney	Mrs. Carey
Barbara Beaird	Emily Jones
Susan Gordon	Angel Jones
Charles Herbert	Timmie Moreland
Michael McGreevey	Buck Ritter
Stephen Perry	Leroy
Alvin Childress	Alonzo
Douglas Evans	Charlie Raines
Natalie Masterson	Mrs. Jones
Patrick Miller	State Trooper
Bill Cassidy	State Trooper
H.J. Salter	Composer

Technical Credits

Reginald Rose

Reginald Rose	Screenwriter
Walter Mirisch	Producer
Alan Ladd	Executive Producer

Editorial Reviews

A rather disappointing mystery thriller, The Man in the Net should be more appreciated by fans of little-known examples of this genre than by the general public. Net is not bad, mind you, but it is rather too far-fetched. All of its plot pieces fit together, but only because the writer decides they should, not because they fit together logically in a real world setting. The characters feel contrived, and the use of children becomes a bit cloying. Michael Curtiz's direction is surprisingly weak, given his usual skill and talent; a stronger hand could have at least papered over some of the weak spots. Alan Ladd's underplayed performance is a bit monotonous, and his stoical approach comes off as unrealistic in all the circumstances. He's somewhat hamstrung by the part, which requires this approach, but he goes too far; his John Hamilton is so reserved as to be unconvincing. Carolyn Jones does much better, having been given an outsized character to play and playing her to the hilt. Those interested in social history will find the film's portrayal of rural Connecticut fascinating, as in both setting and attitude of its characters it seems to resemble a stereotypical backwater southern town (although whether the depiction in either case is historically valid could be questioned).