Tarantula (1955)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Director:

Jack Arnold

Writers:

Robert M. Fresco (screenplay) and
Martin Berkeley (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

14 December 1955 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Even Science was stunned!

Plot:

A spider escapes from an isolated desert laboratory experimenting in giantism and grows to tremendous size as it wreaks havoc on the local inhabitants.

Plot Keywords:

Laboratory | Day | Tarantula | Arizona | Giantism

Cast

John Agar	...	Dr. Matt Hastings
Mara Corday	...	Stephanie 'Steve' Clayton
Leo G. Carroll	...	Prof. Gerald Deemer
Nestor Paiva	...	Sheriff Jack Andrews
Ross Elliott	...	Joe Burch
Edwin Rand	...	Lt. John Nolan
Raymond Bailey	...	Townsend
Hank Patterson	...	Josh
Bert Holland	...	Barney Russell
Steve Darrell	...	Andy Andersen

Also Known As:

The Giant Tarantula (USA) (informal title)

Runtime:

80 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

UK:PG (re-rating) (2006) | UK:X (original rating) | Germany:12 (re-rated) (video) | West Germany:18 | Australia:PG | USA:Approved (PCA #17651) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Dead Man's Point, Lucerne Valley, California, USA

Company:

Universal International Pictures (UI)

Trivia:

The tarantula was an actual live spider. Air jets were used to make it move in the desired way over a miniature landscape.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: In one shot of the tarantula crawling over the mountains, the matte is cut incorrectly, so that one of the spider's legs seems to disappear in mid-air.

Quotes:

Dr. Matt Hastings: But what if circumstances magnified one of them in size and strength, took it out of its primitive world, and turned it loose in ours?
Prof. Townsend: Then expect something that's fiercer, more cruel and deadly than anything that ever walked on earth!

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Son of Svengoolie: Tarantula (1955) (#1.79)" (1981)

Tarantula: First Impressions

I was eight when I saw Tarantula on the not-so-big screen. My youthful fear of death led me to a greater concern for the disease caused by the "nutrient" than by a very large spider. It contains a classic moment found in many 50's big monster "movies." Two guys are left behind in a car (which, of course, is in bad need of a tune-up and won't start) with a couple of puny rifles. They, of course, provide an evening meal for the spider. This was probably most people's first exposure to napalm as well.