“Insect venom. In the large economy size.”
The opening of “Tarantula” is a desolate windswept desert. Staggering through that desert is a misshapen creature distorted by something hideous. It’s a foreboding of bad things to come. (Of course the pajamas take a little eeriness away from it.) That’s OK. There’s lots of good creepy to come.
Professor Deemer (Leo G Carroll) is working on a nutritional supplement using radioactive isotopes which of course is poison. The nutrient causes creatures to grow at an accelerated rate and to an enormous size. One of the creatures, a tarantula, escapes out into the desert and, being a very hungry growing boy, starts eating cattle, sheep and people.
Dr. Matt Hastings (John Agar) is the town doctor. Suspecting that something the professor is working on is the cause of the strange deaths in the area he investigates what Deemer is working on.
Stephanie ‘Steve’ Clayton (Mara Corday) is the new assistant to Professor Deemer. Hastings is not only interested in Deemer's experiments but in Steve as well. When Deemer falls ill Steve calls Matt for help. When Matt gets to the Deemer place he finds Deemer dying of the same disease the first victim had. A rare form of acromegaly. With Matt and Steve trying to make him comfortable Deemer relays the story of how their nutrient triggered a nightmare, and a giant tarantula.
"Tarantula" was released in 1955 and was directed by Jack Arnold. This is one of the best “Big Bug” movies of the 50’s. What makes it great is that the tarantula is an actual tarantula shown on a back screen to make him look huge. The effect is frightening and not just a little creepy. With this technique the movie makers can show the tarantula in scenes where he is climbing, and running. An effect that is harder to do with a puppet. Close up views of the tarantula face are of course puppets but scenes of it from a distance are the real McCoy. With a musical score by Herman Stein the whole feel of the movie is sinister and evil.
There are a lot of gotcha moments and the sound that the tarantula makes is, at the very least, bizarre. It’s a great addition to a Saturday afternoon spook fest and a must for your collection.
Some interesting tidbits: This is the second film with Clint Eastwood. He plays the jet squadron leader. His first was "Revenge of the Creature" 1955. He is uncredited in both. The spider used in the movie is the same on that appears in "The Incredible Shrinking Man" 1957. Air jets were used to make it move in the desired way over a miniature landscape.