The Golden Spiders: A Nero Wolfe Mystery
Encyclopedia
The Golden Spiders: A Nero Wolfe Mystery is a made-for-television film based on the 1953 novel
by Rex Stout
. Set in 1950s Manhattan, the A&E Network
production stars Maury Chaykin
as the heavyweight detective genius Nero Wolfe
, and Timothy Hutton
as Wolfe's assistant, Archie Goodwin
, narrator of the Nero Wolfe stories. Veteran screenwriter Paul Monash
adapted the 1953 novel
by Rex Stout
; Bill Duke
directed. When it first aired on the A&E Network
March 5, 2000, The Golden Spiders was seen in 3.2 million homes, making it the fourth most-watched A&E original movie ever. Its success led to the A&E original series, A Nero Wolfe Mystery
(2001–2002).
(Timothy Hutton
) introduces us to the seventh-of-a-ton master sleuth Nero Wolfe
(Maury Chaykin
) — "a man who thinks he's the world's greatest detective. Truth being, he is." Wolfe lives in an opulent Manhattan brownstone
on West 35th Street, where he enjoys reading, the cultivation of rare orchids, beer, and fine food prepared by his resident chef, Fritz Brenner (Colin Fox)
. The brownstone is also home to Archie, Wolfe's confidential assistant and legman, whose responsibilities include goading his sedentary boss into working occasionally to replenish the coffers.
When Archie joins him in the dining room, Wolfe is unfazed by the news that he is overdrawn at the bank — but he is taken aback at the discovery that Fritz has altered one of his favorite dishes without consulting him. The resulting tantrum prompts Archie to do something uncharacteristic when the doorbell rings: admit one of the neighborhood kids, Pete Drossos (Robert Clark
), who says he has to see Nero Wolfe.
Pete has a case. He tells Wolfe he works the wipe racket — cleaning the windshields of cars stopped at intersections, for the occasional tip. About an hour before, Pete saw a good-looking woman wearing large gold earrings shaped like spiders, at the wheel of a 1952 Cadillac. As Pete wiped her windshield the woman mouthed the words, "Help. Get a cop." A male passenger stuck a gun in her ribs and the car drove off. Pete wrote down the license number. If the woman is found dead, Pete believes he can claim a reward by identifying the man who was with her. Since the case is too big for him to handle alone, Pete asks Nero Wolfe to go 50-50. Wolfe instructs Archie to call the police, to suggest they do a routine check on the license plate number, and Pete hurries home to his mother.
The next evening Sergeant Purley Stebbins (R. D. Reid
) of Manhattan Homicide visits Wolfe's office. The car Archie had called the police about the previous evening has just been seen to run down and kill a boy — a boy named Peter Drossos. Stebbins' visit is interrupted by the arrival of Pete's mother (Nancy Beatty), who is there to do what her dying boy asked her to do: "Go to Mr. Wolfe. Tell him what happened. Give Mr. Wolfe the money. Tell him to find the guy who ran me down."
After Mrs. Drossos leaves, Wolfe tells Archie to return Pete's money — $4.30 — or give it to the Red Cross. Archie refuses and instead drafts a newspaper ad directed at the woman Pete saw at the wheel of the Cadillac. Archie is sure the ad will never be answered, but it will give Wolfe the feeling that he has earned his fee.
But the ad does draw Inspector Cramer (Bill Smitrovich
) of Manhattan Homicide, who wants to know what Wolfe is up to. The Cadillac has been found, along with evidence that it was used for another murder: that of an Immigration and Naturalization Service
agent named Matthew Birch.
The ad then attracts a woman reluctant to give her name — and she is wearing golden spider earrings. She offers $500 for information about the boy who saw her driving the car. After Wolfe explains that the boy is dead and the police are searching for the driver, the woman is shaken. She identifies herself as Laura Fromm (Mimi Kuzyk), a wealthy widow and philanthropist. She admits she was not driving the car, presents Wolfe with a $10,000 retainer for his expert advice, and promises to return the next day. First she must see someone, find out something. Wolfe accepts the retainer and warns Mrs. Fromm sternly about the danger of asking any questions herself, since two people have already been killed.
Mrs. Fromm is not on time for her appointment the next day. Instead, Wolfe is visited by two attorneys who report that Mrs. Fromm has been run down and killed by a car. One is executor of her estate; the other is Dennis Horan (Gary Reineke), an attorney for the Association of European Refugees, a humanitarian organization with which Mrs. Fromm was closely involved. When asked to return the hefty retainer, Wolfe tells the lawyers that he intends to earn the money by finding the murderer.
Freelance operatives Saul Panzer (Saul Rubinek
), Orrie Cather (Trent McMullen
) and Fred Durkin (Fulvio Cecere
) are called in to assist — to investigate the refugee organization, trace the distinctive golden spider earrings, and see if anything comes of Wolfe's conjecture that Matthew Birch was the passenger in the Cadillac. The inquiry reveals a blackmail ring that is victimizing hundreds of vulnerable people.
In the final scene, Archie meets with Pete's mother in the office and gives her half of Laura Fromm's $10,000 retainer, saying that Pete and Wolfe had agreed to take equal shares of any proceeds from the case. Even though she begins to cry — something Wolfe cannot bear — Archie reports to Wolfe that she kept her composure until she made it out the door.
magazine, executive producer Michael Jaffe explained why the novel The Golden Spiders
was selected to introduce contemporary audiences to Nero Wolfe:
Saul Rubinek
, who would take the role of Lon Cohen in the subsequent series
, was cast as Saul Panzer in the pilot. Prior to the original film's broadcast, Rubinek was asked what made him want to do the project:
The Golden Spiders is an A&E Network
Production in association with Jaffe/Braunstein Films, Ltd. Shot in Toronto, the film features production design by Lindsey Hermer-Bell
and cinematography by Michael Fash. The adaptation of Rex Stout's novel is the final credit of Paul Monash
, a veteran screenwriter and film producer. "I have no need to work on things I don't care to," Monash told an interviewer about his work on The Golden Spiders. "This, I wanted to do."
— into production.
, is included on two of A&E's DVD box sets —"Nero Wolfe: The Complete Classic Whodunit Series" and "Nero Wolfe: The Complete Second Season." The film was also released independently on VHS and DVD.
. The film saw its first international DVD release in August 2008, when it was included in "Nero Wolfe – Collection One", offered for sale in Australia by FremantleMedia
Enterprises.
The Golden Spiders
The Golden Spiders is a Nero Wolfe detective novel by Rex Stout. It was first published in 1953 by The Viking Press.-Plot introduction:...
by Rex Stout
Rex Stout
Rex Todhunter Stout was an American writer noted for his detective fiction. Stout is best known as the creator of the larger-than-life fictional detective Nero Wolfe, described by reviewer Will Cuppy as "that Falstaff of detectives." Wolfe's assistant Archie Goodwin recorded the cases of the...
. Set in 1950s Manhattan, the A&E Network
A&E Network
The A&E Network is a United States-based cable and satellite television network with headquarters in New York City and offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, London, Los Angeles and Stamford. A&E also airs in Canada and Latin America. Initially named the Arts & Entertainment Network, A&E launched...
production stars Maury Chaykin
Maury Chaykin
Maury Alan Chaykin was an American-born Canadian actor. Best known for his portrayal of detective Nero Wolfe, he was also known for his work as a character actor in many films and on television programs.-Personal life:...
as the heavyweight detective genius Nero Wolfe
Nero Wolfe
Nero Wolfe is a fictional detective, created in 1934 by the American mystery writer Rex Stout. Wolfe's confidential assistant Archie Goodwin narrates the cases of the detective genius. Stout wrote 33 novels and 39 short stories from 1934 to 1974, with most of them set in New York City. Wolfe's...
, and Timothy Hutton
Timothy Hutton
Timothy Tarquin Hutton is an American actor. He is the youngest actor to win the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, which he won at the age of 20 for his performance as Conrad Jarrett in Ordinary People . He currently stars as Nathan "Nate" Ford on the TNT series Leverage.-Early life:Timothy...
as Wolfe's assistant, Archie Goodwin
Archie Goodwin (fictional detective)
Archie Goodwin is a fictional character and detective in Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe mysteries. The witty voice of all the stories, he recorded the cases of the detective genius from 1934 to 1975 . He lives in Nero Wolfe's brownstone in New York City.Archie was born on October 23 in Chillicothe, Ohio,...
, narrator of the Nero Wolfe stories. Veteran screenwriter Paul Monash
Paul Monash
-Life and career:Paul Monash was born in Harlem, New York, in 1917, and grew up in The Bronx. His mother, Rhoda Melrose, acted in silent films. Monash earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and a master's degree in education from Columbia University...
adapted the 1953 novel
The Golden Spiders
The Golden Spiders is a Nero Wolfe detective novel by Rex Stout. It was first published in 1953 by The Viking Press.-Plot introduction:...
by Rex Stout
Rex Stout
Rex Todhunter Stout was an American writer noted for his detective fiction. Stout is best known as the creator of the larger-than-life fictional detective Nero Wolfe, described by reviewer Will Cuppy as "that Falstaff of detectives." Wolfe's assistant Archie Goodwin recorded the cases of the...
; Bill Duke
Bill Duke
William Henry "Bill" Duke, Jr. is an American actor and film director with over 30 years of experience. Known for his physically imposing frame, Duke's work frequently dwells within the action/crime and drama genres but also includes comedy.-Early life:Duke was born in Poughkeepsie, New York, the...
directed. When it first aired on the A&E Network
A&E Network
The A&E Network is a United States-based cable and satellite television network with headquarters in New York City and offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, London, Los Angeles and Stamford. A&E also airs in Canada and Latin America. Initially named the Arts & Entertainment Network, A&E launched...
March 5, 2000, The Golden Spiders was seen in 3.2 million homes, making it the fourth most-watched A&E original movie ever. Its success led to the A&E original series, A Nero Wolfe Mystery
A Nero Wolfe Mystery
A Nero Wolfe Mystery is a television series adapted from Rex Stout's classic series of detective stories that aired for two seasons on the A&E Network. Set in New York City in the early 1950s, the stylized period drama stars Maury Chaykin as Nero Wolfe and Timothy Hutton as Archie Goodwin...
(2001–2002).
Plot
The voice of Archie GoodwinArchie Goodwin (fictional detective)
Archie Goodwin is a fictional character and detective in Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe mysteries. The witty voice of all the stories, he recorded the cases of the detective genius from 1934 to 1975 . He lives in Nero Wolfe's brownstone in New York City.Archie was born on October 23 in Chillicothe, Ohio,...
(Timothy Hutton
Timothy Hutton
Timothy Tarquin Hutton is an American actor. He is the youngest actor to win the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, which he won at the age of 20 for his performance as Conrad Jarrett in Ordinary People . He currently stars as Nathan "Nate" Ford on the TNT series Leverage.-Early life:Timothy...
) introduces us to the seventh-of-a-ton master sleuth Nero Wolfe
Nero Wolfe
Nero Wolfe is a fictional detective, created in 1934 by the American mystery writer Rex Stout. Wolfe's confidential assistant Archie Goodwin narrates the cases of the detective genius. Stout wrote 33 novels and 39 short stories from 1934 to 1974, with most of them set in New York City. Wolfe's...
(Maury Chaykin
Maury Chaykin
Maury Alan Chaykin was an American-born Canadian actor. Best known for his portrayal of detective Nero Wolfe, he was also known for his work as a character actor in many films and on television programs.-Personal life:...
) — "a man who thinks he's the world's greatest detective. Truth being, he is." Wolfe lives in an opulent Manhattan brownstone
Brownstone
Brownstone is a brown Triassic or Jurassic sandstone which was once a popular building material. The term is also used in the United States to refer to a terraced house clad in this material.-Types:-Apostle Island brownstone:...
on West 35th Street, where he enjoys reading, the cultivation of rare orchids, beer, and fine food prepared by his resident chef, Fritz Brenner (Colin Fox)
Colin Fox (actor)
Colin Fox is a Canadian actor. His acting credits include playing Jean Paul Desmond and Jacques Eloi Des Mondes in Strange Paradise , as well as voice work in various animated series, and in other roles in film, television and on the stage...
. The brownstone is also home to Archie, Wolfe's confidential assistant and legman, whose responsibilities include goading his sedentary boss into working occasionally to replenish the coffers.
When Archie joins him in the dining room, Wolfe is unfazed by the news that he is overdrawn at the bank — but he is taken aback at the discovery that Fritz has altered one of his favorite dishes without consulting him. The resulting tantrum prompts Archie to do something uncharacteristic when the doorbell rings: admit one of the neighborhood kids, Pete Drossos (Robert Clark
Robert Clark (actor)
Robert Clark is an Americanactor. After building up years of experience in singing, stage and limited television work in the 1990s, he has gone on to receive critical and public recognition for his roles in various small screen productions, most notably The Zack Files and Strange Days at Blake...
), who says he has to see Nero Wolfe.
Pete has a case. He tells Wolfe he works the wipe racket — cleaning the windshields of cars stopped at intersections, for the occasional tip. About an hour before, Pete saw a good-looking woman wearing large gold earrings shaped like spiders, at the wheel of a 1952 Cadillac. As Pete wiped her windshield the woman mouthed the words, "Help. Get a cop." A male passenger stuck a gun in her ribs and the car drove off. Pete wrote down the license number. If the woman is found dead, Pete believes he can claim a reward by identifying the man who was with her. Since the case is too big for him to handle alone, Pete asks Nero Wolfe to go 50-50. Wolfe instructs Archie to call the police, to suggest they do a routine check on the license plate number, and Pete hurries home to his mother.
The next evening Sergeant Purley Stebbins (R. D. Reid
R. D. Reid
R. D. Reid is a Canadian actor known for his portrayal of Sergeant Purley Stebbins in the A&E TV original series, A Nero Wolfe Mystery , and the series pilot, The Golden Spiders: A Nero Wolfe Mystery . He appeared in Zack Snyder's Dawn of the Dead, and George A. Romero's Diary of the Dead...
) of Manhattan Homicide visits Wolfe's office. The car Archie had called the police about the previous evening has just been seen to run down and kill a boy — a boy named Peter Drossos. Stebbins' visit is interrupted by the arrival of Pete's mother (Nancy Beatty), who is there to do what her dying boy asked her to do: "Go to Mr. Wolfe. Tell him what happened. Give Mr. Wolfe the money. Tell him to find the guy who ran me down."
After Mrs. Drossos leaves, Wolfe tells Archie to return Pete's money — $4.30 — or give it to the Red Cross. Archie refuses and instead drafts a newspaper ad directed at the woman Pete saw at the wheel of the Cadillac. Archie is sure the ad will never be answered, but it will give Wolfe the feeling that he has earned his fee.
But the ad does draw Inspector Cramer (Bill Smitrovich
Bill Smitrovich
-Personal life:Bill Smitrovich was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, the son of Anna and Stanley William Zmitrowicz, a tool and die maker. Bill is a graduate of the University of Bridgeport and holds an MFA from Smith College . He is married to Shaw Purnell from Pittsburgh, PA...
) of Manhattan Homicide, who wants to know what Wolfe is up to. The Cadillac has been found, along with evidence that it was used for another murder: that of an Immigration and Naturalization Service
Immigration and Naturalization Service
The United States Immigration and Naturalization Service , now referred to as Legacy INS, ceased to exist under that name on March 1, 2003, when most of its functions were transferred from the Department of Justice to three new components within the newly created Department of Homeland Security, as...
agent named Matthew Birch.
The ad then attracts a woman reluctant to give her name — and she is wearing golden spider earrings. She offers $500 for information about the boy who saw her driving the car. After Wolfe explains that the boy is dead and the police are searching for the driver, the woman is shaken. She identifies herself as Laura Fromm (Mimi Kuzyk), a wealthy widow and philanthropist. She admits she was not driving the car, presents Wolfe with a $10,000 retainer for his expert advice, and promises to return the next day. First she must see someone, find out something. Wolfe accepts the retainer and warns Mrs. Fromm sternly about the danger of asking any questions herself, since two people have already been killed.
Mrs. Fromm is not on time for her appointment the next day. Instead, Wolfe is visited by two attorneys who report that Mrs. Fromm has been run down and killed by a car. One is executor of her estate; the other is Dennis Horan (Gary Reineke), an attorney for the Association of European Refugees, a humanitarian organization with which Mrs. Fromm was closely involved. When asked to return the hefty retainer, Wolfe tells the lawyers that he intends to earn the money by finding the murderer.
Freelance operatives Saul Panzer (Saul Rubinek
Saul Rubinek
Saul Rubinek is a Canadian actor, director, producer and playwright, known for his work in TV, film and the stage.-Early life:...
), Orrie Cather (Trent McMullen
Trent McMullen
Trent McMullen is a Canadian actor known for his portrayal of freelance detective Orrie Cather in the A&E TV original series, A Nero Wolfe Mystery , and the series pilot, The Golden Spiders: A Nero Wolfe Mystery . In 2010 McMullen starred in Ed Gass-Donnelly's second feature film Small Town Murder...
) and Fred Durkin (Fulvio Cecere
Fulvio Cecere
-Early life:Born to Italian parents, he attended Southwestern University School of Law in Los Angeles, but after one year he realized that acting, not law, was his true calling. He took acting classes at UCLA and starred in a wide array of television and feature film parts over the next few years...
) are called in to assist — to investigate the refugee organization, trace the distinctive golden spider earrings, and see if anything comes of Wolfe's conjecture that Matthew Birch was the passenger in the Cadillac. The inquiry reveals a blackmail ring that is victimizing hundreds of vulnerable people.
In the final scene, Archie meets with Pete's mother in the office and gives her half of Laura Fromm's $10,000 retainer, saying that Pete and Wolfe had agreed to take equal shares of any proceeds from the case. Even though she begins to cry — something Wolfe cannot bear — Archie reports to Wolfe that she kept her composure until she made it out the door.
Production
In a 2002 interview in Scarlet StreetScarlet Street (magazine)
Scarlet Street was an American film magazine that primarily specialized in the genres of horror, mystery and film noir. Its initial concentration was on Sherlock Holmes and related film and television productions, but later its subject matter expanded to include a variety of other genres.The title...
magazine, executive producer Michael Jaffe explained why the novel The Golden Spiders
The Golden Spiders
The Golden Spiders is a Nero Wolfe detective novel by Rex Stout. It was first published in 1953 by The Viking Press.-Plot introduction:...
was selected to introduce contemporary audiences to Nero Wolfe:
- There are three or four really extraordinary novels — The Silent SpeakerThe Silent SpeakerThe Silent Speaker is a Nero Wolfe detective novel by Rex Stout, first published by the Viking Press in 1946. It was published just after World War II, and key plot elements reflect the lingering effects of the war: housing shortages and restrictions on consumer goods, including government...
, In the Best FamiliesIn the Best FamiliesIn the Best Families is a Nero Wolfe detective novel by Rex Stout, first published by the Viking Press in 1950...
, and The Doorbell RangThe Doorbell RangThe Doorbell Rang is a Nero Wolfe detective novel by Rex Stout, first published by the Viking Press in 1965.-Plot introduction:Nero Wolfe is hired to force the FBI to stop wiretapping, tailing and otherwise harassing a woman who gave away 10,000 copies of a book that is critical of the Bureau and...
, for example. These are some of the most famous and most complex and most amazing stories in the series, but we didn't want to start with those particular ones for a whole complex of reasons. We wanted to pick a story that had activity in it so that we could slowly bring people into the static milieu of Nero Wolfe's house. The Golden Spiders took you outside. There's a gunfight and a tough interrogation scene. It was a very strong story with a lot of pathos, because a young boy is murdered and Wolfe has to deal with his mother. So that was why we chose that one.
Saul Rubinek
Saul Rubinek
Saul Rubinek is a Canadian actor, director, producer and playwright, known for his work in TV, film and the stage.-Early life:...
, who would take the role of Lon Cohen in the subsequent series
A Nero Wolfe Mystery
A Nero Wolfe Mystery is a television series adapted from Rex Stout's classic series of detective stories that aired for two seasons on the A&E Network. Set in New York City in the early 1950s, the stylized period drama stars Maury Chaykin as Nero Wolfe and Timothy Hutton as Archie Goodwin...
, was cast as Saul Panzer in the pilot. Prior to the original film's broadcast, Rubinek was asked what made him want to do the project:
- Maury Chaykin and I have known each other for almost 30 years and so we know what each other's doing, and I've also been an aficionado of Rex Stout's. ... By total coincidence, I started doing book tapes. I must have done seven or eight book tapes reading Rex Stout novels. I've always known Maury would be great casting as Nero Wolfe... And as it turned out, there's a character called Saul Panzer, who is one of Wolfe's operatives. ... At one point, Saul has to go undercover and play an immigrant. ...
- Rex StoutRex StoutRex Todhunter Stout was an American writer noted for his detective fiction. Stout is best known as the creator of the larger-than-life fictional detective Nero Wolfe, described by reviewer Will Cuppy as "that Falstaff of detectives." Wolfe's assistant Archie Goodwin recorded the cases of the...
was a great humanitarian, and he did a tremendous amount of charity work, and he was very compassionate towards immigrants to the United States. It's not out of keeping with Stout's personality that he would have written about victimization of immigrants who are being blackmailed. The center of the story is about that. And don't forget that he's writing in the fifties, when there was a lot of reaction against immigrants after the Second World War coming into America, and it wasn't pleasant. I would imagine it's not so different from the eighties when the Vietnamese were coming into America, and there was a lot of reaction against that. There's always a period during American history where the American public might react against who we're letting into the country, and I think he had a great deal of compassion for that, for people who are stateless. I was born in a refugee camp myself, and my family are Holocaust survivors, and I was naturalized as a Canadian citizen before I became an American citizen, so it's a part of the story that I kind of connected to.
The Golden Spiders is an A&E Network
A&E Network
The A&E Network is a United States-based cable and satellite television network with headquarters in New York City and offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, London, Los Angeles and Stamford. A&E also airs in Canada and Latin America. Initially named the Arts & Entertainment Network, A&E launched...
Production in association with Jaffe/Braunstein Films, Ltd. Shot in Toronto, the film features production design by Lindsey Hermer-Bell
Lindsey Hermer-Bell
- Career :Born in Johannesburg, South Africa, Lindsey Hermer-Bell moved to Canada in 1977. She received a bachelor's degree in architecture from the University of Toronto, and began her career as designer on the 1983 HBO drama Between Friends...
and cinematography by Michael Fash. The adaptation of Rex Stout's novel is the final credit of Paul Monash
Paul Monash
-Life and career:Paul Monash was born in Harlem, New York, in 1917, and grew up in The Bronx. His mother, Rhoda Melrose, acted in silent films. Monash earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and a master's degree in education from Columbia University...
, a veteran screenwriter and film producer. "I have no need to work on things I don't care to," Monash told an interviewer about his work on The Golden Spiders. "This, I wanted to do."
Cast
- Maury ChaykinMaury ChaykinMaury Alan Chaykin was an American-born Canadian actor. Best known for his portrayal of detective Nero Wolfe, he was also known for his work as a character actor in many films and on television programs.-Personal life:...
as Nero Wolfe, private investigator - Timothy HuttonTimothy HuttonTimothy Tarquin Hutton is an American actor. He is the youngest actor to win the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, which he won at the age of 20 for his performance as Conrad Jarrett in Ordinary People . He currently stars as Nathan "Nate" Ford on the TNT series Leverage.-Early life:Timothy...
as Archie Goodwin, Nero Wolfe's assistant and narrator of the story - Bill SmitrovichBill Smitrovich-Personal life:Bill Smitrovich was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, the son of Anna and Stanley William Zmitrowicz, a tool and die maker. Bill is a graduate of the University of Bridgeport and holds an MFA from Smith College . He is married to Shaw Purnell from Pittsburgh, PA...
as Inspector Cramer of Manhattan Homicide West - Mimi Kuzyk as Laura Fromm, socialite and philanthropist
- Colin FoxColin Fox (actor)Colin Fox is a Canadian actor. His acting credits include playing Jean Paul Desmond and Jacques Eloi Des Mondes in Strange Paradise , as well as voice work in various animated series, and in other roles in film, television and on the stage...
as Fritz Brenner, Nero Wolfe's chef and major domo - Saul RubinekSaul RubinekSaul Rubinek is a Canadian actor, director, producer and playwright, known for his work in TV, film and the stage.-Early life:...
as Saul Panzer, freelance detective working for Nero Wolfe - Larissa LaskinLarissa LaskinLarissa Laskin is an American television actress whose credits include the A&E original film, The Golden Spiders: A Nero Wolfe Mystery .-External links:...
as Jean Estey, Mrs. Fromm's secretary - Gary Reineke as Dennis Horan, attorney representing the Association of European Refugees
- Beau StarrBeau StarrBeau Starr is an American actor who has starred in movies and on television. He is known for his film role as Sheriff Ben Meeker in the 1988 hit horror movie Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers; he reprised his role in the 1989 sequel Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers.Starr was born...
as Lips Egan, organized crime figure - Elizabeth Brown as Claire Horan, wife of Dennis Horan
- Fulvio CecereFulvio Cecere-Early life:Born to Italian parents, he attended Southwestern University School of Law in Los Angeles, but after one year he realized that acting, not law, was his true calling. He took acting classes at UCLA and starred in a wide array of television and feature film parts over the next few years...
as Fred Durkin, freelance detective working for Nero Wolfe - Nancy Beatty as Mrs. Anthea Drossos, Pete Drossos' mother
- R.D. Reid as Sergeant Purley Stebbins of Manhattan Homicide West
- Philip CraigPhilip CraigPhilip R. Craig was a writer known for his Martha's Vineyard mysteries.-Biography:He was born in Santa Monica and raised on a cattle ranch near Durango, Colorado. In 1951 he attended Boston University intending to become a minister, and got a degree in 1957...
as James Maddox, Mrs. Fromm's attorney and executor of her estate - Gerry Quigley as Lon Cohen, journalist
- Rothaford Gray as Peckham, Mrs. Fromm's butler
- Robert ClarkRobert Clark (actor)Robert Clark is an Americanactor. After building up years of experience in singing, stage and limited television work in the 1990s, he has gone on to receive critical and public recognition for his roles in various small screen productions, most notably The Zack Files and Strange Days at Blake...
as Pete Drossos, a 12-year-old boy who lives in Wolfe's neighborhood - Norma Clarke as the receptionist at the Association for European Refugees
- Nicky GuadagniNicky GuadagniNicky Guadagni is a Canadian actress who has worked on stage, radio, film and television.-Career:Originally from Montreal, Nicky Guadagni majored in drama at Dawson College and went on to train at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. Her first role after graduation was playing Miranda, with...
as Angela Wright, executive secretary of the Association of European Refugees - Hrant AlianakHrant AlianakHrant Alianak , also billed as Harant Alianak or Grant Aljanak, is an Armenian-Canadian actor and playwright. In 1988 he was nominated for the Genie Award "Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role" for his role in the 1987 film Family Viewing. He played Pete in the 1995 movie with Adam...
as Mr. Gerstner, proprietor of Gerstner Jewelers - Brian Miranda as Irving Gerstner, a 12-year-old boy
- Trent McMullenTrent McMullenTrent McMullen is a Canadian actor known for his portrayal of freelance detective Orrie Cather in the A&E TV original series, A Nero Wolfe Mystery , and the series pilot, The Golden Spiders: A Nero Wolfe Mystery . In 2010 McMullen starred in Ed Gass-Donnelly's second feature film Small Town Murder...
as Orrie Cather, freelance detective working for Nero Wolfe - Peter MensahPeter MensahPeter Mensah , is an English/Ghanaian actor, best known for his roles in Tears of the Sun and 300, and more recently on the Starz original series, Spartacus: Blood and Sand and Spartacus: Gods of the Arena.-Early life:Mensah comes from an academic family...
as Mort Erwin, a thug - James Purcell as Walter Neary, deputy police commissioner
- Jack Newman as Bernard Levine, clothing store owner
- Dwayne McLean as Matthew Birch, special agent of the Immigration and Naturalization Service
- Robert Bockstael as Paul Kuffner, Mrs. Fromm's publicist
Reception
A&E initially planned that The Golden Spiders would be the first in a series of two-hour mystery movies featuring Nero Wolfe. The high ratings (3.2 million households) garnered by the film, along with the critical praise accorded Maury Chaykin as Nero Wolfe and Timothy Hutton as Archie Goodwin, prompted A&E to order a weekly one-hour drama series — A Nero Wolfe MysteryA Nero Wolfe Mystery
A Nero Wolfe Mystery is a television series adapted from Rex Stout's classic series of detective stories that aired for two seasons on the A&E Network. Set in New York City in the early 1950s, the stylized period drama stars Maury Chaykin as Nero Wolfe and Timothy Hutton as Archie Goodwin...
— into production.
Reviews and commentary
- Don Dale, Style WeeklyStyle WeeklyStyle Weekly is an alternative weekly newspaper published in Richmond, Virginia, United States. The paper is distributed for free and covers a variety of topics on popular culture, entertainment, and the arts. It is owned by Landmark Media Enterprises, the same company that owns the...
(February 28, 2000) — If you’ve never read any of Rex Stout’s Nero Wolfe mysteries, here’s your chance to meet one of the most unusual and finely drawn characters in detective fiction. If you have read any of the 70 or so books that Stout wrote between the mid-30s and 1975, when he died — and if you treasured each and every one, as most Stout/Wolfe fans do — here’s your chance to see your favorites come alive. - Jerry Krupnick, The Star-LedgerThe Star-LedgerThe Star-Ledger is the largest circulated newspaper in the U.S. state of New Jersey and is based in Newark. It is a sister paper to The Jersey Journal of Jersey City, The Times of Trenton and the Staten Island Advance, all of which are owned by Advance Publications.The Newark Star-Ledgers daily...
(February 28, 2000) — The Golden Spiders is a delightful mix of tangled webs and intriguing complications. ... All this comes complete with a nifty '50s setting, great cars and clothes and characters. - David Cuthbert, The Times-Picayune (March 1, 2000) — The language is pure Wolfe and its delivery, by the superb actor Maury Chaykin, is smooth and measured, with just the requisite bite. ... Smart, witty and eminently watchable.
- Steven Oxman, VarietyVariety (magazine)Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
(March 1, 2000) — Superb acting, stylish design and perfect pacing from director Bill Duke more than compensate for the convoluted storyline. Timothy Hutton, Maury Chaykin and a stellar ensemble deliver one juicy moment after another. ... The real pleasure here is not the plot, but the playing. Chaykin is wonderfully petulant as Wolfe, and Hutton shows a surprising comedic charm that reveals an as-yet-undiscovered range. Even better, the performances are more than the sum of their parts: The testy chemistry between the two leads multiplies the amusement. - Danny Heitman, The Advocate (March 2, 2000) — Because so much of the story unfolds through Socratic exchanges between Wolfe and Archie, The Golden Spiders is long on talk and short on action. It's even wordier than it needs to be, thanks to some self-conscious narration by Hutton which tells us things that the camera should show us instead. ... The production values match A&E's typically high standards, with period detail that persuasively evokes Eisenhower-era New York.
- Robert P. Laurence, Copley News ServiceCopley PressCopley Press was a privately held newspaper business, founded in Illinois, but later based in La Jolla, California. Its flagship paper was The San Diego Union-Tribune.-Pulitzer Prizes:...
(March 2, 2000) — Timothy Hutton is Archie, wearing the gumshoe's smart-aleck smirk and swagger as comfortably as an old shirt. ... Canada's Maury Chaykin, generously portly as he is, nevertheless is physically a bit light for the role of the massive Wolfe. But he captures the detective's idiosyncrasies, his arrogance, his smug pomposity, even his utter self-absorption. Most important, he invests Wolfe with a depth of passion and an intensity of emotion that are not always obvious in Stout's novels. He is possibly the most convincing Wolfe ever. - Robert Bianco, USA TodayUSA TodayUSA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
(March 3, 2000) — Though the books are enormously popular, they've resisted successful dramatization — for reasons made clear by A&E's The Golden Spiders: A Nero Wolfe Mystery ... Whatever problems Spiders may have inherited from Stout's book are compounded by the script and direction, which give the movie all the forward propulsion of a glacier. - Martin Renzhofer, The Salt Lake TribuneThe Salt Lake TribuneThe Salt Lake Tribune is the largest-circulated daily newspaper in the U.S. city of Salt Lake City. It is distributed by Newspaper Agency Corporation, which also distributes the Deseret News. The Tribune — or "Trib," as it is locally known — is currently owned by the Denver-based MediaNews Group....
(March 3, 2000) — Timothy Hutton and Maury Chaykin star in this charming tale of suspense ... The heart of the movie comes from the chemistry between Chaykin and Hutton. - Jonathan Storm, The Philadelphia InquirerThe Philadelphia InquirerThe Philadelphia Inquirer is a morning daily newspaper that serves the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, metropolitan area of the United States. The newspaper was founded by John R. Walker and John Norvell in June 1829 as The Pennsylvania Inquirer and is the third-oldest surviving daily newspaper in the...
(March 3, 2000) — The case itself has a hole or two, the resolution is somewhat abrupt, but the characters, the charm, the very aura, are as sumptuous as the artistic cuisine prepared by Wolfe's chef, Fritz, that has helped balloon the detective to one-seventh of a ton. ... A&E has no firm plans, but a spokesman says the network hopes to make more Nero Wolfe mysteries. It had better. - Rob Lowman, The Daily News of Los AngelesLos Angeles Daily NewsThe Los Angeles Daily News is the second-largest circulating daily newspaper of Los Angeles, California. It is the flagship of the Los Angeles Newspaper Group, a branch of Colorado-based MediaNews Group....
(March 4, 2000) — A&E has finally found a detective to compete with Hercule Poirot of the BBC. ... While Spiders is a well-plotted tale with an Agatha Christie-style ending, the joy is in the eccentricities of the characters. Chaykin and Hutton make a wonderful team. Chaykin blusters over silly things, but only betrays the slightest emotion when he is obviously touched. Hutton shows a light comedic flair that he hasn't been able to use much in his career. - James D. Watts, Tulsa WorldTulsa WorldTulsa World is the daily newspaper for the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma, is the primary newspaper for the northeastern and eastern portions of Oklahoma, and is the second-most widely circulated newspaper in the state, after The Oklahoman. It was founded in 1905 and remains an independent newspaper,...
(March 4, 2000) — It's the best thing the network has done in the mystery field in years, one of those rare movies that does superb justice to its source. ... The film captures the feel of the book — Archie's breezy narration, the lushness of Wolfe's surroundings, the overly romanticized view of New York City. And the cast, under Bill Duke's direction, is impeccable. - Jim Bawden, Toronto StarToronto StarThe Toronto Star is Canada's highest-circulation newspaper, based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its print edition is distributed almost entirely within the province of Ontario...
(March 5, 2000) — The setting for The Golden Spiders is New York, 1953, and the period details, from the women's bright lipstick to the vintage automobiles, are just right but never obtrusive. - David L. Beck, San Jose Mercury NewsSan Jose Mercury NewsThe San Jose Mercury News is a daily newspaper in San Jose, California. On its web site, however, it calls itself Silicon Valley Mercury News. The paper is owned by MediaNews Group...
, (March 5, 2000) — The differences between Sherlock Holmes and Nero Wolfe go deeper than thin vs. fat, cocaine vs. beer, London vs. New York, beekeeping vs. orchids. Much deeper. Wolfe is the one who has never had a decent movie made about him. Until now. A&E's The Golden Spiders gets it right: tone texture, visuals and all. And it does it in the same way Jeremy Brett's Holmes series did: by respecting the originals. - Alan Kellogg, Edmonton JournalEdmonton JournalThe Edmonton Journal is a daily newspaper in Edmonton, Alberta. It is part of the Postmedia Network.-History:The Journal was founded in 1903 by three local businessmen — John Macpherson, Arthur Moore and J.W. Cunningham — as a rival to Alberta's first newspaper, the 23-year-old...
(March 5, 2000) — The first Nero Wolfe film worthy of the moniker. It's a historic moment of sorts, a treat for fans as well as a suitable entree for the uninitiated. If there's any justice, this will mark the beginning of a long series of Wolfe mysteries. The right hands have finally been found. - Bruce McCabe, The Boston GlobeThe Boston GlobeThe Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
(March 5, 2000) — Spiders is a golden opportunity to meet Wolfe, played impeccably by Maury Chaykin, Goodwin, played drolly by Timothy Hutton, and a marvelous ensemble of suspects and police operatives criss-crossing back in 1950s Manhattan. The tersely witty, briskly-paced telefilm surprises and delights right up to the obligatory climax in which the whole gang gathers in Wolfe's living room for some dramatic finger-pointing. - Jean Prescott, The Sun HeraldThe Sun HeraldThe Sun Herald is a U.S. newspaper based in Biloxi, Mississippi, that serves readers along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. It is owned by The McClatchy Company, one of the largest newspaper publishers in the United States....
(March 5, 2000) — The narration conveys to viewer as well as reader a larger-than-life quality. And with respect and apparent affection, screenwriter Paul Monash has animated the population of this particular Stout story and done it with realism, not caricature. - Marilyn StasioMarilyn StasioMarilyn Stasio is a New York City area author, writer and literary critic. She has been the "Crime Columnist" for The New York Times Book Review since about 1988, having written over 650 reviews as of January 2009. She says she reads "a few" crime books a year professionally and many more for...
, The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
(March 5, 2000) — For all the thought and research that Chaykin has put into his portrayal of the brilliant and maddening Nero Wolfe, the actor feels that he has "just scratched the surface" of his enigmatic character. ... If A&E decides to expand this original movie into a series, maybe he'll even get a chance to wear yellow silk pajamas, a sight we're all longing to see. - Gene Amole, Rocky Mountain NewsRocky Mountain NewsThe Rocky Mountain News was a daily newspaper published in Denver, Colorado, United States from April 23, 1859, until February 27, 2009. It was owned by the E. W. Scripps Company from 1926 until its closing. As of March 2006, the Monday-Friday circulation was 255,427...
(March 7, 2000) — Sunday night's Golden Spiders TV drama refreshed all my Nero Wolfe memories. It was outstanding. Maury Chaykin was the perfect Wolfe. Timothy Hutton was an excellent, wise-cracking Archie Goodwin. Director Bill Duke had each detail of the set precisely accurate. Now that A&E has produced a perfect Wolfe mystery with 1930s ambience, it would be a rotten, lowdown, dirty shame if the network didn't produce other Wolfe mysteries with the same cast and director. - John LeonardJohn Leonard (American critic)John Leonard was an American literary, television, film, and cultural critic.-Biography:John Leonard grew up in Washington, D.C., Jackson Heights, Queens, and Long Beach, California, where he graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School...
, CBS Sunday Morning (March 12, 2000) — The Golden Spiders, lovingly adapted by Paul Monash and lovingly directed by Bill Duke, is perfect pitch, from the casting to the period detail of New York in the late '30s. - William RabkinWilliam RabkinWilliam Rabkin is an American television producer, television writer and author.He has written for a number of notable television series namely Spenser: For Hire, Murphy's Law, Hunter, Baywatch, Diagnosis Murder, A Nero Wolfe Mystery, Monk and many other series.Nearly all of his television work has...
, screenwriter for A Nero Wolfe MysteryA Nero Wolfe MysteryA Nero Wolfe Mystery is a television series adapted from Rex Stout's classic series of detective stories that aired for two seasons on the A&E Network. Set in New York City in the early 1950s, the stylized period drama stars Maury Chaykin as Nero Wolfe and Timothy Hutton as Archie Goodwin...
— I'd seen Tim Hutton playing mostly sensitive parts, and he was very good at it. But even though you tell yourself you're too smart to typecast people, that's exactly what I did with him. Then I saw Golden Spiders, and here he was doing something very different. As Archie, he had this Dick Powell-playing-Philip MarloweMurder, My SweetMurder, My Sweet is a 1944 American film noir directed by Edward Dmytryk, and starring Dick Powell, Claire Trevor, and Anne Shirley. The film was released in the United Kingdom under the title Farewell, My Lovely, which is the title of the 1940 Raymond Chandler novel it is based on, and also the...
quality, a '40s leading man quality — sassy and fresh, kind of obnoxious but always in a likable way. - Brian Courtis, The AgeThe AgeThe Age is a daily broadsheet newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854. Owned and published by Fairfax Media, The Age primarily serves Victoria, but is also available for purchase in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and border regions of South Australia and...
(November 1, 2002) — Paul Monash's pleasing adaptation of Rex Stout's New York classic detective stories of the 1930s and 1940s wins us with its detail and a couple of terrific performances. ... It's gourmet fare. Don't miss it.
A&E Home Video
The Golden Spiders, the feature-length pilot for the series A Nero Wolfe MysteryA Nero Wolfe Mystery
A Nero Wolfe Mystery is a television series adapted from Rex Stout's classic series of detective stories that aired for two seasons on the A&E Network. Set in New York City in the early 1950s, the stylized period drama stars Maury Chaykin as Nero Wolfe and Timothy Hutton as Archie Goodwin...
, is included on two of A&E's DVD box sets —"Nero Wolfe: The Complete Classic Whodunit Series" and "Nero Wolfe: The Complete Second Season." The film was also released independently on VHS and DVD.
| Title | Media Type | Release Date | Approximate Length | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nero Wolfe: The Complete Classic Whodunit Series |
Region 1 DVD Eight-disc box set |
April 25, 2006 | 24 hours, 56 minutes + extras |
ISBN 076708893X |
| The Golden Spiders: A Nero Wolfe Mystery |
Region 1 DVD+R (A&E Store exclusive) |
October 2004 | 94 minutes | ISBN 0767067193 |
| Nero Wolfe: The Complete Second Season |
Region 1 DVD Five-disc box set |
June 28, 2005 | 13 hours, 20 minutes |
ISBN 076705508X |
| The Golden Spiders: A Nero Wolfe Mystery |
VHS videotape (NTSC) |
May 30, 2000 | 100 minutes | ISBN 0767025512 |
FremantleMedia Enterprises
The Golden Spiders was distributed by Pearson Television InternationalFremantleMedia
FremantleMedia, Ltd. is the content and production division of Bertelsmann's RTL Group, Europe's second largest TV, radio, and production company...
. The film saw its first international DVD release in August 2008, when it was included in "Nero Wolfe – Collection One", offered for sale in Australia by FremantleMedia
FremantleMedia
FremantleMedia, Ltd. is the content and production division of Bertelsmann's RTL Group, Europe's second largest TV, radio, and production company...
Enterprises.
| Title | Media Type | Release Date | Approximate Length | Numeric Identifier |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nero Wolfe — Collection One | Region 4 DVD Three-disc set |
August 13, 2008 | 276 minutes | ISBN 9316797427038 |
| A Nero Wolfe Mystery — Serie 1 | Region 2 DVD Three-disc set |
December 11, 2009 | 270 minutes | EAN 9315842036140 |
External links
- The Golden Spiders: A Nero Wolfe Mystery at the Internet ArchiveInternet ArchiveThe Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
- "A&E Will Adapt Nero Wolfe Mystery Classic, The Golden Spiders"; Business Wire, July 6, 1999
- Small-screen version of the great man, consultant Winnifred Louis' reflections on a visit to the set of The Golden Spiders (September 1999)
- Dale, Don, "Reclusive Sleuth: Rex Stout’s eccentric sleuth Nero Wolfe is brought to life in A&E’s The Golden Spiders"; Style WeeklyStyle WeeklyStyle Weekly is an alternative weekly newspaper published in Richmond, Virginia, United States. The paper is distributed for free and covers a variety of topics on popular culture, entertainment, and the arts. It is owned by Landmark Media Enterprises, the same company that owns the...
, February 28, 2000 - Cuthbert, David, "Famous detective Nero Wolfe takes on murder in The Golden Spiders"; Times-Picayune (New Orleans), March 1, 2000
- Oxman, Steven, The Golden Spiders: A Nero Wolfe Mystery; Variety, March 1, 2000
- Watts, James D., "The Golden Spiders: A Nero Wolfe Mystery shines on A&E Network"; Tulsa World, March 4, 2000
- Watts, James D., "Nero Wolfe: An Appetite for Crime"; Tulsa World, March 5, 2000
- Stasio, Marilyn, "A Perfectionist Pursues the Perpetrators"; The New York Times, March 5, 2000
- Amole, Gene, "A&E Isn't Just Crying Wolfe"; Rocky Mountain News, March 7, 2000
- Leonard, John, "Stamp of approval for the Nero Wolfe mystery, The Golden Spiders"; CBS Sunday Morning, March 12, 2000
- The Golden Spiders: A Nero Wolfe Mystery at The Wolfe Pack, official site of the Nero Wolfe Society