Das Geheimnis der schwarzen Witwe (1963)

In London, a man has been killed for the second time with a projectile shaped like a black widow spider. The hard-drinking reporter Wellby, from the newspaper “London Sensations,” wants to find out more. He discovers that both victims had been members, 12 years earlier, of an expedition to Mexico led by Alfons Avery, who died during the expedition after being bitten by a black widow spider. The expedition’s other members were Morton, Robins, Selwood, Cartwright, Bryan, Bromfield, and Osbourne (Wellby’s boss). As he investigates further, Wellby encounters the mysterious Mr. Boyd, who always seems to appear when his help is needed. From the eccentric and sharp-witted librarian Mr. Fish, Wellby learns that the members of Avery’s expedition returned rich and jointly founded the newspaper publishing company where Wellby works as a reporter. At the antique shop of one of the members, he meets the beautiful Clarisse Miller and falls in love with her, but soon discovers that her real name is Clarisse Avery and that she is the daughter of the expedition leader who died. The expedition members are killed one after another with the projectiles, while suspicion repeatedly falls on different suspects. The expedition members suspect one another, while Clarisse, as the newspaper’s potential sole heir, becomes an unpredictable factor. In fact, she wrote the threatening letters that preceded the murders, but only to pressure the victims into revealing the circumstances of her father’s death. The mysterious Mr. Boyd, who could also be the culprit, reveals that he works for Scotland Yard. When only two expedition members remain alive, Clarisse threatens them with a gun and learns that, after they found an Aztec treasure, one of the members shot her father. The group, however, did not know who had fired the shot. To keep the treasure, they covered up Avery’s murder and told the authorities that he had died in an accident caused by a spider bite. The two men now decide to confess to the crime at Scotland Yard, but Helen Osbourne gives herself away as the murderer when, out of greed, she kills the last remaining shareholder in the newspaper in front of her husband and Clarisse. Clarisse flees, and William Osbourne, unwilling to accept his wife’s motives, intends to call Scotland Yard, but she kills him. Clarisse escapes to Wellby’s houseboat, but Helen Osbourne anticipated this and is already there. She forces Clarisse to sign a confession stating that she is the murderer. Mr. Fish comes in looking for Wellby, but manages to escape before Helen can shoot him and immediately calls Scotland Yard. Taking Clarisse hostage, Helen tries to flee in a motorboat, but Inspector Boyd and Wellby pursue her. Helen is killed while Clarisse is being rescued.