Kingdom of the Spiders (1977)

Director:

John 'Bud' Cardos

Writers:

Richard Robinson (screenplay) and
Alan Caillou (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

November 1977 (USA)

Genre:

Sci-Fi | Horror

Tagline:

A new species of horror is born.

Plot:

Investigating the mysterious deaths of a number of farm animals, vet Rack Hansen discovers that his...

Plot Keywords:

Spider | Tarantula | Hotel | Death | Farm

Awards:

3 nominations

Cast

William Shatner	...	Dr. Robert 'Rack' Hansen
Tiffany Bolling	...	Diane Ashley
Woody Strode	...	Walter Colby
Lieux Dressler	...	Emma Washburn
David McLean	...	Sheriff Gene Smith
Natasha Ryan	...	Linda Hansen
Altovise Davis	...	Birch Colby
Joe Ross	...	Vern Johnson
Marcy Lafferty	...	Terry Hansen
Adele Malis-Morey	...	Betty Johnson (as Adele Malis)
Roy Engel	...	Mayor Connors
Hoke Howell	...	Earl Forbes
Bill Coontz	...	Clyde
Whitey Hughes	...	The Baron
Jay Lawrence	...	Deputy
Bettie Bolling	...	Mildred Cobb
Anita Merritt	...	Waitress (as Juanita Merritt)
Nadia Caillou	...	Screaming Woman
Valla Rae McDade	...	Screaming Woman
Jon-Jon	...	Injured Boy

Directed by
John 'Bud' Cardos

Writing credits
Richard Robinson		(screenplay) and
Alan Caillou		(screenplay)
Jeffrey M. Sneller		(original story) and
Stephen Lodge		(original story)

Produced by
Henry Fownes	....	executive producer
J. Bond Johnson	....	associate producer
Igo Kantor	....	producer
Jeffrey M. Sneller	....	producer

Cinematography by
John Arthur Morrill		(director of photography) (as John Morrill)

Film Editing by
Igo Kantor
Steven Zaillian

Set Decoration by
Rusty Lipscomb		(as Rusty Rosene)

Makeup Department
Kathy Agron	....	makeup artist
Ve Neill	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Paul Heslin	....	post-production supervisor
Joe Napolitano	....	production supervisor (as Joseph Napolitano)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
John Barnwell	....	second assistant director
Larry Kostroff	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Mickey Guinn	....	prop master
Ed Hamlin	....	construction foreman

Sound Department
James Dehr	....	sound mixer
William B. Kaplan	....	sound mixer (as Bill Kaplan)
Earl Sampson	....	boom operator
Rimas Tumasonis	....	boom operator

Special Effects by
Greg Auer	....	special effects
Jeffrey S. Farley	....	prop spider crew (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Cy Didjurgis	....	matte artist

Stunts
Richard Brown	....	stunts
Bill Coontz	....	stunts (as Bill Foster)
Bill Copeland	....	stunt flyer
Whitey Hughes	....	stunt gaffer
William Hughes	....	stunts (as Bill Hughes)

Camera and Electrical Department
Richmond L. Aguilar	....	gaffer (as Richard Aguilar)
Jeffrey D. Brown	....	second grip (as Jeffrey Brown)
Max Buffalo	....	still photographer
Jim Dunn	....	key grip (as James Dunn)
James LeBlanc	....	assistant camera (as Jim LeBlanc)
John LeBlanc	....	assistant camera
Pete Stevens	....	electrician
John D. Wheeler	....	photographer: second unit (as John Wheeler)
Michael Ohrling	....	camera operator: second unit (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Florent Retz	....	assistant editor (as Dan Retz)

Music Department
Igo Kantor	....	music supervisor
Dominic Frontiere	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
René Garriguenc	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Richard Markowitz	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Albert Sendrey	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Richard Alexander	....	driver

Other crew
Sidney D. Balkin	....	production executive: Dimension Pictures, Inc.
Jim Brockett	....	spider wrangler
Lieux Dressler	....	creative consultant
Guy Garner	....	production assistant
Jerry Hamlin	....	location coordinator
Roger Hartman	....	production assistant
Gary Keasler	....	spider wrangler assistant
Marti Litis	....	production coordinator
Karen Mattingly	....	script supervisor (as Karen Reid)
Valla Rae McDade	....	production secretary
Joe Santley	....	unit publicist
Lou Schumacher	....	spiders supplier
Elbert L. Sleeper	....	technical advisor (as Dr. Elbert L. Sleeper)

Production Companies

• Arachnid Productions Ltd.

Distributors

• Dimension Pictures (1977) (USA) (theatrical)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1980) (USA) (TV)
• Saguenay Films (1977) (Canada) (theatrical)
• DIV (Brazil) (video)
• Goodtimes Entertainment (2002) (worldwide) (DVD)
• Paradiso Home Entertainment (2005) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Shout! Factory (2010) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Coca-Cola Company, The  the producers gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of (as Coca-Cola Bottling Co.)
• Ford Motor Company  the producers gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of (as Ford Motor Co.)
• Freeze Frame  titles and opticals
• Mercedes Benz of North America  the producers gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of (as Mercedes-Benz of North America)
• Miller Brewing Company  the producers gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of (as Miller Brewing Co.)
• Ryder Sound Services  sound services
• State of Arizona  the producers gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of (as The State of Arizona)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:M | France:-12 | Netherlands:16 | Norway:15 | UK:PG | USA:PG | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Camp Verde, Arizona, USA

Company:

Arachnid Productions Ltd.

Trivia:

Donna Mills auditioned for the female lead, but couldn't do it because she was uncomfortable with spiders.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Rack Hansen and Diane Ashley arrive at Terry's farm, they get out of Rack's truck and close the doors. A moment later when they rush back with Rack's niece, Linda, the truck doors are open.

Quotes:

Walter Colby:Well, that would explain Spider Hill...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Cinema Snob: Impulse, Starring William Shatner! (#1.9)" (2009)

Soundtrack:

Spider Theme

One of the first horror movies I've seen and still one of the best

I have no idea how old I was when I first saw this movie, maybe 9 or 10 and yes, I'm happy that we don't have any biting, poisonous spiders here in Germany. The plot is better than most of this genre, it's good structured and it lacks a stupid showdown with a giant monster breeding millions of smaller beings. Instead, it's an open end an an appeal against the abuse of pesticides. Big bonus. And the tarantulas are soooooo yucky. I even think this movie is the cause for my brothers aracnophobia. One thing that upsets me in almost every of this kind of movies is that the "hero" (in this case Captain Kirk) saves a child. I like "Smilla's sense of snow" because this annoying inuit boy is thrown off the roof. Kill more kids in movies!!! Same rights for everyone!!!!