Tarantula Movie Review

I know a spider that swallowed a cow…. In the ‘50s, movie theatres were infested with movies about giant ants, scorpions, grasshoppers, and mantises. This was the best of these that came after Them. Scientist Leo G. Carroll's growth formula literally gets away from him when the spider on which he is experimenting accidentally gets loose. This “crawling terror 100 feet high” wreaks havoc in the Arizona desert, until the Air Force (led by pilot Clint Eastwood) saves the day. Jack Arnold also directed Creature from the Black Lagoon, The Incredible Shrinking Man, and It Came from Outer Space.

1955 81m/B Leo G. Carroll, John Agar, Mara Corday, Nestor Paiva, Ross Elliott, Clint Eastwood; D: Jack Arnold; W: Robert M. Fresco, Martin Berkeley; C: George Robinson. VHS MCA