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Black Belly of the Tarantula

Original title: La tarantola dal ventre nero
  • 1971
  • Not Rated
  • 1h 29m
IMDb RATING
6.3/10
3.5K
YOUR RATING
Barbara Bach in Black Belly of the Tarantula (1971)
A series of victims are paralyzed while having their bellies ripped open, much in the same way tarantulas are killed by the black wasp. The victims all seem to have a connection with a spa.
Play trailer1:57
1 Video
80 Photos
HorrorMysteryThriller

A series of victims are paralyzed while having their bellies ripped open, much in the same way tarantulas are killed by the black wasp. The victims all seem to have a connection with a spa.A series of victims are paralyzed while having their bellies ripped open, much in the same way tarantulas are killed by the black wasp. The victims all seem to have a connection with a spa.A series of victims are paralyzed while having their bellies ripped open, much in the same way tarantulas are killed by the black wasp. The victims all seem to have a connection with a spa.

  • Director
    • Paolo Cavara
  • Writers
    • Marcello Danon
    • Lucile Laks
  • Stars
    • Giancarlo Giannini
    • Claudine Auger
    • Barbara Bouchet
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    6.3/10
    3.5K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Paolo Cavara
    • Writers
      • Marcello Danon
      • Lucile Laks
    • Stars
      • Giancarlo Giannini
      • Claudine Auger
      • Barbara Bouchet
    • 55User reviews
    • 60Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Videos1

    Trailer
    Trailer 1:57
    Watch Trailer

    Photos80

    Barbara Bach and Barbara Bouchet in Black Belly of the Tarantula (1971)
    Black Belly of the Tarantula (1971)
    Barbara Bach in Black Belly of the Tarantula (1971)
    Barbara Bach in Black Belly of the Tarantula (1971)
    Claudine Auger and Barbara Bach in Black Belly of the Tarantula (1971)
    Ezio Marano in Black Belly of the Tarantula (1971)
    Claudine Auger and Eleonora Giorgi in Black Belly of the Tarantula (1971)
    Eleonora Giorgi and Eugene Walter in Black Belly of the Tarantula (1971)
    Giancarlo Prete in Black Belly of the Tarantula (1971)
    Carla Mancini and Eugene Walter in Black Belly of the Tarantula (1971)
    Ettore Mattia in Black Belly of the Tarantula (1971)
    Giancarlo Giannini and Silvano Tranquilli in Black Belly of the Tarantula (1971)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Giancarlo Giannini
    Giancarlo Giannini
    • Inspector Tellini
    Claudine Auger
    Claudine Auger
    • Laura
    Barbara Bouchet
    Barbara Bouchet
    • Maria Zani
    Rossella Falk
    Rossella Falk
    • Franca Valentino
    Silvano Tranquilli
    Silvano Tranquilli
    • Paolo Zani
    Annabella Incontrera
    Annabella Incontrera
    • Mirta Ricci
    Ezio Marano
    • Masseur
    Barbara Bach
    Barbara Bach
    • Jenny
    Stefania Sandrelli
    Stefania Sandrelli
    • Anna Tellini
    Giancarlo Prete
    Giancarlo Prete
    • Mario
    Anna Saia
    • Maria's friend
    Eugene Walter
    • Ginetto, the waiter
    • (as Walter Eugene)
    Nino Vingelli
    Nino Vingelli
    • Inspector Di Giacomo
    Daniele Dublino
    Daniele Dublino
    • Entomologist
    Giuseppe Fortis
    • Psychiatrist
    Guerrino Crivello
    • Informer
    Fulvio Mingozzi
    • Surgeon
    Giorgio Dolfin
    • Policeman
    • Director
      • Paolo Cavara
    • Writers
      • Marcello Danon
      • Lucile Laks
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Three Bond girls appeared in this film. They were 1. Claudine Auger, who had the female lead in Thunderball (1965). 2. Barbara Bach, who went on to have the female lead in The Spy Who Loved Me (1977). 3. Barbara Bouchet, who appeared in Casino Royale (1967). The first two appeared in Eon Bond movies, while the third appeared in a non Eon Bond movie which was a spoof.
    • Goofs
      The scientist who is arrested for drug smuggling refers to the tarantula as an insect. Spiders have 8 legs and belong to the class of arachnids. No scientist would make such an error.
    • Quotes

      Maria Zani: Why call me a nymphomaniac? That's the way it always goes!

      [screams]

      Maria Zani: Ah!

      [gasps as Paolo slaps her]

      Maria Zani: Ah!

      Paolo Zani: You're no nymphomaniac! Whore is more like it--more accurate.

    • Connections
      Featured in Celluloid Bloodbath: More Prevues from Hell (2012)

    User reviews55

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    7/10
    Blood, breasts, and three Bond babes.
    "The Black Belly of the Tarantula" is a typically grandiose title in this genre of film known as the Giallo. Giancarlo Giannini stars as Inspector Tellini, a police detective on the trail of a killer. This killer is targeting the female clients of a health and beauty salon, and employs a particularly insidious method. They inject their victims with the poison from a rare species of wasp, and this poison thoroughly incapacitates them, so that they're unresponsive but conscious when they get carved up with the killers' blade.

    Giannini is low key and likable in the lead role. His time on the job is contrasted with his more mundane home life with his wife Anna (Stefania Sandrelli), and it's actually what director Paolo Cavara *doesn't* do that makes this an interesting film of its kind. He doesn't concern himself with being overly stylish, instead opting for a slightly more matter of fact approach. Fans of this genre need not be concerned, for there is still quite a bit of female flesh to ogle and some bloody brutality to enjoy, but Cavara does an engaging job of combining the psychosexual proclivities of the maniac with a police procedural and a little bit of lightweight domestic drama.

    All of the ladies just look ravishing, of course. Claudine Auger ("Thunderball") plays salon boss Laura, Barbara Bouchet ("Casino Royale" '67) is unhappy married woman Maria Zani, and Barbara Bach ("The Spy Who Loved Me") is the receptionist, Jenny. Silvano Tranquilli offers a fine supporting performance as Maria's husband Paolo, who decides to play amateur sleuth when he falls under suspicion.

    Good pacing and a fairly tense finale help to make this a good entertainment, as well as a deliciously unconvincing dummy fall.

    Seven out of 10.
    helpful•4
    1
    • Hey_Sweden
    • May 20, 2015

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • June 9, 1972 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • Italy
      • France
    • Language
      • Italian
    • Also known as
      • Strele otrovnog pauka
    • Filming locations
      • Roma, Lazio, Italy(location)
    • Production companies
      • Da.Ma. Cinematografica
      • Production Artistique et Cinématographique (PAC)
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • Runtime
      1 hour 29 minutes
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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