TARANTULA

Tarantula on the rampage!

TARANTULA (1955). Director: Jack Arnold. Colorized. 

When lab assistant "Steve" Clayton (Mara Corday) comes to work with Professor Deemer (Leo. G. Carroll) in a small desert community, she has no idea what she's getting into, and neither does the local doctor, Matt Hastings (John Agar), who falls for her. They have no clue that Deemer has been injecting animals with a synthetic nutrient that contains a radioactive isotope, and that during a fire caused by another assistant, a tarantula has escaped into the desert. Before long skeletons of cattle and humans are being found alongside huge pools of what turns out to be spider venom! 

Get out of town! Look what's coming!

Tarantula is one of the best fifties giant bug movies, done with enthusiasm and skill, and boasting some good acting, a nerve-wracking score, good FX work, and very chilling sound effects. The movie is horrific but it doesn't need to show chewed up corpses or limbs flying through the air; it gets it points across without them. A stand-out sequence is when the two prospectors or campers sort of cling to each other as the mandibles of the arachnid descend upon them, and we mustn't forget the sight of the stupendous spider just waiting on the top of a hill before it moves downward towards some horses and the unfortunate rancher who owns them. Then there's the spider advancing on Professor Deemer's house and peeking in, mouth parts working, on "Steve" before it demolishes the entire house. And the spider moving across the valley floor as the terrified inhabitants can only helplessly watch its inexorable progress. 

Edwin Rand, Corday, Agar, Paiva

Agar, Carroll and Corday are stalwarts who play the roles straight and are all the better for it. Nestor Paiva of The Mole People is especially good as the town's sheriff, and Hank Patterson ("it's gettin' to be a fast world" he says as he observes how quickly Steve and Matt make each other's acquaintance) adds some welcome humor as the hotel clerk, Josh. Others in the cast include Ross Elliot [The Adventures of Superboy] as a reporter, Raymond Bailey (Mr. Drysdale of The Beverly Hillbillies) as a scientist named Townsend, and Clint Eastwood in a bit as a pilot. There have been many movies about giant spiders since the long-ago release of Tarantula, but most of them are campy and grisly stinkers  This remains the best monster arachnid movie. NOTE: This is not to be confused with Bert I. Gordon's Earth vs. the Spider, which is fun but not quite as good.

Verdict: Once that humongous spider starts moving, watch out! Even creepier in color!  ***.