Earth vs. the Spider (1958)

Teenagers from a rural community and their high school science teacher join forces to battle a giant mutant spider.

Director:

Bert I. Gordon

Writers:

László Görög (screenplay), George Worthing Yates (screenplay),

Stars:

Ed Kemmer, June Kenney, Eugene Persson

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ed Kemmer	...	Professor Art Kingman
June Kenney	...	Carol Flynn
Eugene Persson	...	Mike Simpson (as Gene Persson)
Gene Roth	...	Sheriff Cagle
Hal Torey	...	Mr. Simpson
June Jocelyn	...	Mrs. Jack Flynn
Mickey Finn	...	Sam Haskel
Sally Fraser	...	Mrs. Helen Kingman
Troy Patterson	...	Joe
Skip Young	...	Sam the Bass Player
Howard Wright	...	Jake
Bill Giorgio	...	Deputy Sheriff Pete Sanders
Hank Patterson	...	Hugo the Janitor
Jack Kosslyn	...	Mr. Fraser
Bob Garnet	...	Pest Control Man

Storyline

When a man doesn't come home one night his daughter and her boyfriend go out searching and encounter a giant spider in a cave near the man's wrecked car. Coming back with the Sheriff, the spider is seemingly killed by DDT spraying, and the body then hauled for storage in the high school gymnasium. However, a loud dose of rock music by a teenage garage band revives the arachnid and sends it rampaging through the town.

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Plot Keywords:

high school | cave | ddt | teacher | giant spider | 

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Taglines:

Bullets...won't kill it! Flames...can't burn it! Nothing...can stop it!

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Genres:

Horror | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

September 1958 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Spider

Filming Locations:

Backlot, Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

American International Pictures (AIP)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

73 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This was filmed as "The Spider". Prior to completion, the title was changed to "Earth vs. The Spider" and that was used for the main title on the film itself. When The Fly became a blockbuster for 20th Century Fox, American International decided to ride on their success by changing the title back to simply "The Spider" on all advertising material. The main title on the film itself was never changed.

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Goofs

The web is obviously made of rope and looks more like a cargo net, as it's not woven in anything resembling the pattern of an actual spider's web.

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Quotes

Mr. Kingman: Well, speaking of spiders - are you sure rifles are just the thing? Insects have a pretty simple nervous system, sherriff. You could plug holes in one all day and never hit a vital spot. If you want to be on the safe side, call the pest control people in Springdale and have 'em send out all the DDT they can find.

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Connections

References The Amazing Colossal Man (1957)

User Reviews

Tarantula-"Lite"

With the exception of a few A titles Sci-fi was mostly considered kids stuff especially in the 50's. The studios had such low expectations that even a gem like Forbidden Planet was used as a premium for cornflakes boxtops.

That being the case it was profitable to crank out as many as possible as cheap as possible with as much action as the budget would allow and that was the only criteria. It worked because kids hungry for any kind of monster and teens needing a good background for the drive-in flocked to these B pictures so much that you could expect one to open a couple of weeks or so.

It's not like anybody got suckered into these things as well.I don't know how many previews I saw at the drive-in or matinée even if the monster looked fake or stinky in the trailer I still wanted to go see it. For the most part I had a good time and I still love these B creature Features from the fifties. This one in particular is highly re-watchable.

Unfortunately I can't say much for their current counterparts it seems like the bad bug movies of today are mostly just bad and not fun like these were. Recently I watched Ice Spider,Lord Of The Spiders and Scorpius Giganticus on the sci-fi channel and they all blew so bad I could barely finish them.

The special effects here are bad but they're fun because they're bad plus they fit right in with the naiveté and unsophistication of the times and Bert I Gordon didn't skimp on them either. Once the monster showed up you got tons of bad special effects right up until the climax . Today we know so much more about effects and budgeting and story structure and science and credible actions that it seem a shame that so many sci-flicks are blatantly disregarding this without giving us the fun of old school. It's a lose lose situation.

Currently this is on DVD with War Of The Colossal Beast and I recommend it highly as a cheap disc worthy of a rainy night filled with cherry Cokes and Sloppy Joes