It was inevitable that one of my first Universal reviews in this new column would be a classic Universal horror picture.
One of the things people forget when revisiting a film like this, be on Amazon Prime, or Svengoolie on Me-TV, or at a revival film series at a local cineplex is these movies were made for kids. At matinees.
So it shouldn’t be a shock that the movie moves along at a breakneck pace. It should be no shock that the love story is subdued in lieu of action (though the leading lady is a knockout for the boys in the audience a little bit older and able to appreciate such details). The characters are stock. The device by which the spider grows and gets out is a little creaky…
But the effects were state of the art for its time. Universal knew this was a B picture…heck, the lead is John Agar, a Chicago born actor that came from a family that sold ham. Think about that. An actor. Coming from a family of ham. His most notable role, frankly, was as the husband of Shirley Temple and from what I read, he wasn’t too invested in that role.
The effects, though, despite some of the goofy looking giant robot spider stuff, mostly was mattes of a real ugly, scary tarantula on small sets and overlayed on the action. Frankly, they almost hold up. They certainly look better than some of the CGI junk we see on the SyFy channel these days.
Leo G. Carroll (TV’s Topper and Chief from The Man from U.N.C.L.E.) is a mad scientist type that develops a super nutrient that causes little tiny animals to become big, scary monsters. The titular spider escapes after a mishap in the lab and the customary chaos ensues.
Until I had revisited this, I forgot how much this film shares with one of my favorites, Tremors. The small town setting in a desert, the mysterious loss of cattle and endless debating of the creature by the characters would have fit right into Perfection. I would not be surprised that this film highly influenced that incredible film.
Probably most people know, this is one of two Jack Arnold directed Universal thrillers to feature an unbilled cameo by Clint Eastwood. The longer part was in Revenge of the Creature, the sequel to one of the finest Universal horror films, The Creature from the Black Lagoon. In a turn of fate, Clint Eastwood has used the lead of Tarantula, Mara Corday, in cameos in a number of his films recently in his career. Funny how things turn over the years!
You should check this flick out. It really is the template for a giant monster run amok film and it really holds up nicely over the weight of over 65 years.