The Cobweb 1955

Dr. Stewart McIver, [Richard Widmark], has stepped in to run a long-standing psychiatric institution, taking over from the aging medical director Dr. Douglas Devanal, [Charles Boyer]. McIver must tend to a diverse roster of disturbed patients, from the suicidal-leaning Steven (Stevie) Holte, [John Kerr], to the self-loathing Mr. Capp, [Oscar Levant]. His workload leaves his wife, Karen McIver, [Gloria Grahame], feeling sidelined and restless.

When the clinic needs new drapes for its library, Victoria Inch, [Lillian Gish], orders plain, unattractive ones. Karen privately decides to buy a more expensive and colorful set instead, earning the approval of Regina Mitchell-Smythe, [Mabel Albertson], but without telling her husband. The project becomes more ambitious when Dr. McIver invites the patients, especially Stevie, to design and create the drapes themselves.

Personal clashes erupt: Devanal, who has a drinking problem, carries on an affair with his secretary Miss Cobb, [Adele Jergens], and even makes a pass at McIver’s wife. McIver finds himself increasingly drawn to Meg Faversen Rinehart, [Lauren Bacall], a member of his staff. Miss Inch plots to expose Devanal’s misdeeds at the next board meeting and warns McIver in veiled terms, while Edna Devanal, [Fay Wray], misreads the situation and believes McIver is behind the bid to undermine her husband.

Stevie, newly cleared for a date with Sue Brett, [Susan Strasberg], is devastated to discover that the drapes installed are not the ones his artwork required. He disappears, triggering a search party and sending McIver into fear that he may have chosen to end his life. At the following board meeting, Dr. Devanal submits his resignation, and the institution braces for change.

Back home, the McIvers face their own fragility and resolve to repair their marriage, only to learn that Stevie has survived his suicide attempt and is found safe.