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Tarantulas: The Deadly Cargo (1977) (TV)
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Overview
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Release Date:
28 December 1977 (USA)
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Tagline:
Terror has 8 legs.
Plot:
An airplane carring coffee beans from South America has some unpleasant stowaways: a hoard of tarantulas...
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Awards:
Nominated for 2 Primetime Emmys.
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Californian oranges, Ecuadorian coffee beans and BIG hairy spiders!
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Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| Claude Akins | ... | Bert Springer | |
| Charles Frank | ... | Joe Harmon | |
| Deborah Winters | ... | Cindy Beck | |
| Bert Remsen | ... | Mayor Douglas | |
| Sandy McPeak | ... | Chief Beasley | |
| Pat Hingle | ... | Doc Hodgins | |
| Tom Atkins | ... | Buddy | |
| Howard Hesseman | ... | Fred | |
| John Harkins | ... | Sylvan | |
| Charles Siebert | ... | Rich Finley | |
| Penelope Windust | ... | Gloria Beasley | |
| Edwin Owens | ... | Frank | |
| Alex Colon | ... | Hector | |
| Lanny Horn | ... | Harry Weed | |
| Jerome Guardino | ... | H.L. Williams |
Additional Details
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Runtime:
100 min
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1.33 : 1 more
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Possibly one of the best and most suspenseful made-for-TV creature-feature flicks accomplished during the 70's decade, "The Deadly Cargo" nearly equals the menacing atmosphere of classic and more famous spider films like "Kingdom of the Spiders" and "Arachnophobia". Of course, you shouldn't expect a bloodbath, partly because it's a TV-production and partly because well, tarantulas aren't exactly capable of tearing people to pieces. But hey, at least the suspense is constant and the plot moves forward at a satisfying pace. Two sleazy coffee smugglers, one of them being Tom Atkins of "Night of the Creeps" and "Maniac Cop", fly a cargo full of Ecuadorian coffee beans and political fugitives towards California and through a thunderstorm. The cargo is infested with "Banana Spiders"; the deadliest kind of tarantulas in the world. With the plane severely damaged by the storm and the pilot wounded, it crashes down in the fields surrounding the orange-producing & exporting town of Finleyville. The spiders escape, all hell breaks loose and pretty soon the entire town lives in a state of hysteria. The script is solidly penned down, partly courtesy of Guerdon Trueblood (director of 70's favorite "The Candy Snatchers") and Stuart Hagmann's direction is surefooted. At least during the first half, the plot contains a few surprising shock-elements and unlikely victims (that'll teach them to poke animals with sticks!) The second half is very muddled and particularly the unexciting climax is a letdown. Overall a decent film that deserves a slightly better rating around here.