TV REVIEW : ‘The Red Spider’ Gets Caught in a ‘40s Web

“The Red Spider” (Channels 2 and 8 at 9 p.m. tonight) combines a realistic glance at the seamy side of contemporary New York with pungent dialogue that might seem more authentic in a ‘40s film noir. While it isn’t completely convincing, it’s superior to most of its competition in the TV cop genre.

James Farentino plays a lonely, driven precinct commander, investigating the murder of a fellow officer. The perpetrator appears to be a prostitute. But why would she leave the victim with an insignia that looks like a little red spider?

Writer Paul King, using characters created by William J. Caunitz, comes up with a distinctive narrative twist. But his dialogue is even more unusual. Overwritten by conventional TV standards, it nevertheless intrigues, so much so that sometimes you’re left pondering just what a particular metaphor meant, while the movie goes on without you.

“There are no stars in this department,” the police chief tells the prying deputy D.A., “just character actors. And we don’t do pantomime.” Huh?

There is a star in this movie; Farentino capably commands the screen as well as his department. With one exception (Jennifer O’Neill as that deputy D.A.), the rest of the cast is equally credible, despite an ending that’s hard to swallow on several counts.

Director Jerry Jameson and cinematographer Brian West have a good eye for New York at night. Jameson’s ear isn’t quite as attentive; a few crucial lines come across as mush on the sound track.