The Web

At a big city train station, Martha Kroner greets her father Leopold after his release from prison, where he served a five-year term for counterfeiting bonds. Kroner is disappointed that his former associate, wealthy businessman Andrew Colby, has not come to welcome him home. Unknown to Kroner, Colby's henchman, Charles Murdock, watches him from the shadows. Meanwhile, Bob Regan, a brash young attorney, bursts into Colby's office to demand that Colby reimburse his client, green grocer Emilio Canepa, for running over his push cart. Impressed by Regan's fortitude, Colby invites him to his home that evening. There, Colby tells Regan that Kroner blames him for his imprisonment and has threatened his life. Colby then offers Regan $5,000 to act as his bodyguard before he leaves for Paris in two weeks. After Regan accepts his offer, Colby gives him a gun from his collection, and Regan goes to the office of police lieutenant Damico, an old friend of his father's, to request a permit to carry the weapon. Upon returning to Colby's house, Regan engages Colby's elegant secretary, Noel Faraday, who lives with her boss, in conversation. A gunshot then rings out, and Regan races up the stairs to Colby's bedroom where he sees Kroner, shakily holding a gun in his hand. Regan fires, killing Kroner, and later at police headquarters, Colby testifies that as Kroner threatened his life, Regan shot in self-defense. Although the district attorney drops the investigation, Damico calls Regan aside and informs him that Kroner stole $1,000,000 in bonds that have never been recovered. Damico then implies that Kroner's death may be connected to the missing bonds. After Regan returns to Colby's house, Colby consoles him about the shooting and then dismisses him. When Regan invites Noel to dinner that night, however, Colby urges her to accept. Before departing, Regan returns Colby's gun, and once he has left the room, Colby asks Noel to dine with Regan and persuade him to disclose his conversation with Damico. Colby then gingerly picks up the weapon with a pencil, making sure not to touch it, and slips it into his desk drawer. At dinner, when Noel questions Regan about his talk with Damico, Regan accuses her of carrying out Colby's inquisition. Insulted, Noel insists he take her home, and there, Colby invites Regan to play a game of poker. To entice Colby, Regan tells him that Damico believes that he hired Regan to kill Kroner, setting up the murder to look like an act of self-defense. In response, Colby implicitly warns Regan to drop the topic. When Regan returns home that night, he finds Kroner's daughter waiting for him, gun in hand. After Martha accuses him of deliberately killing her father, Regan disarms her. She then asserts that her father never threatened Colby and that Colby had in fact invited Kroner to his house that night. Shocked by Martha's words, Regan confides to Damico that he thinks Colby set him up to kill Kroner, and Damico replies that only Colby can exonerate him. Hoping to clear himself, Regan peruses the newspaper files on Kroner's counterfeiting charges and then goes to interview James Nolan, the reporter who covered the case. When Nolan tells Regan that a missing engraver named Victor Bruno probably counterfeited the bonds, Regan begins to search for Bruno. After Regan tricks Noel into providing a physical description of Bruno as a short, balding man with thick glasses, he tricks Colby into revealing Bruno's whereabouts by telling him that he noticed a short, bald man watching Colby's house. Later, Noel comes to Regan's apartment to accuse him of pumping her for information about Bruno. Regan defends his actions by explaining that he believes Colby planned the counterfeiting himself and offered Kroner a share of the profits to take the blame. After Kroner was released from prison and demanded his money, Colby had him killed. Murdock, who has followed Noel to Regan's apartment, reports the meeting to Colby, who assumes that Noel has betrayed him. To trick Colby into divulging Bruno's address, Regan has Canepa impersonate Bruno and phone Colby to demand that he deliver $10,000 and two tickets to Mexico. Colby, who had murdered Bruno years earlier, sees through the ruse but agrees to meet the caller's terms. That night, Colby asks Noel to remove an envelope containing $10,000 from his safe, buy two tickets to Mexico and deliver them to Bruno. After she leaves, Colby pulls the gun with Regan's fingerprints from his drawer, shoots Murdock and then notifies the police that Noel and Regan broke into his safe and killed Murdock. Arrested for homicide and grand theft, Regan and Noel are brought to Colby's house, the scene of the crime, for questioning by Damico. When Colby condemns Noel for the theft, she realizes that she has gravely misjudged his character and develops a newfound respect for Regan. Soon after, the medical examiner enters the room and announces that Murdock is still alive but is unconscious and cannot be moved. As the assembled group waits for Murdock to regain consciousness and identify his assailant, Colby sneaks into his room to kill him. Waiting for him is Damico, who calmly informs him that Murdock is indeed dead and that the report of his survival was just a ruse to trick Colby into revealing himself as the true murderer. Exonerated at last, Noel and Regan consider using Colby's tickets to travel to Mexico together.