Tarantulas: The Deadly Cargo (1977) (TV)

Director:

Stuart Hagmann

Writers:

John Groves (writer) and
Guerdon Trueblood (writer)

Release Date:

28 December 1977 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

Terror has 8 legs.

Plot:

An airplane carring coffee beans from South America has some unpleasant stowaways: a hoard of tarantulas...

Plot Keywords:

Tarantula | Airplane | Spider | Cargo | Airplane Accident

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Primetime Emmys.

Cast

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

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

Moorpark, California, USA

Company:

Alan Landsburg Productions

Californian oranges, Ecuadorian coffee beans and BIG hairy spiders!

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.