The Spider Returns (1941)

The evil and masked "Gargoyle" is sabotaging all of America's industrial plants. It is up to the Spider to save the country.

Director:

James W. Horne

Writers:

Morgan Cox (story), Lawrence Taylor (story),

Stars:

Warren Hull, Mary Ainslee, Dave O'Brien

Cast

Cast overview:
Warren Hull	...	Richard Wentworth / The Spider / Blinky McQuade
Mary Ainslee	...	Nita Van Sloan
Dave O'Brien	...	Jackson, Wentworth's Aide
Joseph W. Girard	...	Police Commissioner Kirk (as Joe Girard)
Kenne Duncan	...	Ram Singh, Wentworth's Hindu Chauffeur (as Kenneth Duncan)
Corbet Morris	...	McLeod
Bryant Washburn	...	Westfall
Charles Miller	...	Mr. Van Sloan
Anthony Warde	...	Henchman Trigger
Harry Harvey	...	Stephen

Storyline

Columbia's 14th serial (between "White Eagle" and "The Iron Claw") and the second serial based upon the character in the pulp magazine from Popular Publications "The Spider Magazine." Some sources, evidently based on their knowledge that L. Ron Hubbard and Norvell Page wrote stories for that magazine, have incorrectly credited them as being writers of this serial. The only serial that L. Ron Hubbard wrote was 1938's "The Secret of Treasure Island" filmed by Columbia, and the only connection Page has is that he wrote stories about the character in the magazine. Chapter One, "The Stolen Plans", has a gang of saboteurs, led by The Gargoyle, a mysterious and powerful agent for an unnamed country, playing havoc with National Defense projects. Socialite Richard Wentworth (Warren Hull), alias the Spider, returns to continue his crusade against the underworld. Wentworth calls a meeting of the nation's biggest business men, but the Gargoyle's men disrupt it with a tear-gas bomb. Chasing after ...

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Plot Keywords:

serial | gargoyle | airplane | meeting | gang | 

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Taglines:

SPINNING HIS WEB OF CUNNING TO TRAP FIFTH COLUMNISTS...in the most timely of all chapter-plays! (original poster)

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Crime | Mystery

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 May 1941 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Volta da Aranha

Company Credits

Production Co:

Larry Darmour Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

300 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Chapter Titles: 1. The Stolen Plans (PCA #7048) 2. The Fatal Time-Bomb ((PCA #7049) 3. The Secret Meeting (PCA #7050) 4. The Smoke Dream (PCA #7051) 5. The Gargoyle's Trail (PCA #7052) 6. The X-Ray Eye (PCA #7053) 7. The Radio Boomerang (PCA #7054) 8. The Mysterious Message (PCA #7055) 9. The Cup of Doom (PCA #7056) 10.The X-Ray Belt (PCA #7057) 11.Lips Sealed by Murder (PCA #7058) 12.A Money Bomb (PRCA #7059) 13.Almost a Confession (PCA #7059) 14.Suspicious Telegram (PCA #7060) 15.The Payoff (PCA #7060)

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Connections

Referenced in Earth vs. the Spider (2001)

User Reviews

It's a send-up

The Spider Returns was directed by old Buster Keaton and Laurel & Hardy director James Horne, who used it to send up the serial genre. It's the villains who come in for the most ridicule.

The henchmen are inept, sometimes spectacularly so. At one point they are wear paper party hats and blow noisemakers, girls on their laps, and the Gargoyle enters and has a tantrum: "These wild parties must cease!" he says -- well, emotes would be a better word.

Horne made another humorous serial, Terry and the Pirates, in which it's the hero who gets the razz. The Green Archer also has comedy elements, with the head villain having fit after fit as his henchmen botch every assignment. Hey, somebody had to point out these genre flaws, and Horne was just the guy to do it. These serials are a good change of pace for fans of the form, and, since Horne started his career doing serials, he was up to doing the action sequences effectively as well.