The Spider Woman (1944)

The Spider Woman (1944) is the tenth Sherlock Holmes film (affiliate link) starring Basil Rathbone as Holmes is unusual for it’s villain. Gale Sondergaard plays the beautiful but deadly Spider Woman, Andrea Spedding. A number of prominent men have committed suicide in what the London newspapers were calling “The Pyjama Murders.” However, Sherlock Holmes believes the mysterious Spider Woman is actually responsible.

According to the Internet Movie Database (IMDB), Gale Sondergaard was born Edith Holm Sondergaard on February 15, 1899 in Litchfield, Minnesota. Sondergaard attended the University of Minnesota. Sondergaard would later marry Hollywood director Herbert J. Biberman.

After her marriage to Biberman, she was cast by his friend Mervyn Leroy in Anthony Adverse (1936). She delivered an impressive performance, which led to more significant roles. As she entered the 1940s, she began to play femme fatale roles in a number of movies including The Spider Woman. Sondergaard was 44 years old when this film was made.

In 1948, Gale Sondergaard and her husband were blackballed for refusing to testify in the congressional hearings about communists in Hollywood. Sondergaard remained out of films and television until the mid-1960s.

The Spider Woman runs about 62 minutes and was released on January 21, 1944.

While one of the later films in the series, it is worth watching for the production quality and unique characters in the film. You can leave a comment or ask a question about this or any post on my Facebook page.