ALL SCI-FI Forum Index ALL SCI-FI
The place to “find your people”.
 
 FAQFAQ   SearchSearch   MemberlistMemberlist   UsergroupsUsergroups   RegisterRegister 
 ProfileProfile   Log in to check your private messagesLog in to check your private messages   Log inLog in 

Tarantula (1955)
Goto page Previous  1, 2, 3  Next
 
Post new topic   Reply to topic    ALL SCI-FI Forum Index -> Sci-Fi Movies and Serials from 1950 to 1969
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
alltare
Quantum Engineer


Joined: 17 Jul 2015
Posts: 351

PostPosted: Mon May 01, 2017 11:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

As a young kid, this movie kept me continuously cringing in my theater seat. It was so excellently scary that I had to stay for the second showing.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Gord Green
Galactic Ambassador


Joined: 06 Oct 2014
Posts: 2940
Location: Buffalo, NY

PostPosted: Tue Nov 07, 2017 10:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The interactions between the army and the giant spider were some of the best, scariest monster scenes in 50's cinema, rivaling even the magnificent FORBIDDEN PLANET Krell Id Manifestation battle scenes.

EVERTHING in this film that preceeded that concluding battle was just a "set-up" for those great scenes. They were very realistic to my young mind that was impervious to the fact that it was just a cinematic trick. I found it so much more realistic than the effects in THEM and to this day makes me look at spiders with a second glance!
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Bud Brewster
Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)


Joined: 14 Dec 2013
Posts: 17016
Location: North Carolina

PostPosted: Thu Nov 09, 2017 11:12 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Gord Green wrote:
The interactions between the army and the giant spider were some of the best, scariest monster scenes in 50's cinema, rivaling even the magnificent FORBIDDEN PLANET Krell Id Manifestation battle scenes.

That's a startling comparison, Gordon! Are you sure you don't mean the big battle in The Black Scorpion. The quick bombing run by Top Gun pilot "Dirty Harry" hardly seems as dramatic as the Forbidden Planet Id attack! Shocked
_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)


Last edited by Bud Brewster on Tue May 19, 2020 8:01 am; edited 1 time in total
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Gord Green
Galactic Ambassador


Joined: 06 Oct 2014
Posts: 2940
Location: Buffalo, NY

PostPosted: Thu Nov 09, 2017 3:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The only point is that to a ten year old's imagination the TARANTULA conclusion was cool as hell.

Remember, I saw FORBIDDEN PLANET the first time from the back seat of my families Chevy BelAire looking through a streaky windshield while TARANTULA was first seen from the third row of a huge screen theater during a Saturday afternoon fun time with a bunch of my raucous pals!

Environment can affect perceptions.

Watching it now I very much can discern the vast chasm of quality. Of course the ID monster is the superior effect, but the "bombing run" and the destruction of a very real scary spider was very effective to a ten year old's imagination! Besides, heck, I experienced spiders every day. There were very few "Monsters of the Id" prowling around our neighborhood!

The same thing was true about KILLERS FROM SPACE. I distinctly remember my father taking me to see it at the theater and finding the "ping-pong" eyed aliens absolutely frightening. Later I found them ludicrous and the giant bug effects a joke.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Bud Brewster
Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)


Joined: 14 Dec 2013
Posts: 17016
Location: North Carolina

PostPosted: Thu Nov 09, 2017 4:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

Oh, now I understand! Very Happy

Your talking about the first time you saw each film, the age you were when it happened, and the circumstances which surrounded each events.

I forget which All Sci-Fi member said it years ago, but he mentioned that when he say Forbidden Planet for the first time as a kid, he actually felt disappointed by the ID monster!

For most of the movie it was invisible, and then when it finally appeared it was just a cartoon outline! And I'll confess I don't actually have any clear memories of my first viewing of Forbidden Planet in 1956, other than the fact that I liked it!

So, I guess wasn't too dazzled by it, eh? Sad

Finally, I should point out that in my post above I did say the FX in Tarantula are impressive, and the burning spider scene looks absolutely real! Very Happy

Strangely enough, just two years after Forbidden Planet, in 1958, I saw The Space Children at the Roosevelt Drive-in — but I wasn't able to see it again until 1986, twenty-eight years later! It was simply never shown on TV in all those years.

And yet my original memories of my first viewing were remarkably detailed. That movie really dazzled me!

It might have been Wayne (orzel-w) who was disappointed with FP's invisible monster, and he also made a post a while back to say that when he finally saw The Space Children he found it so boring there was absolutely nothing about it he felt like discussing! Shocked

Guess some folks are hard to impress, eh? Rolling Eyes

_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)


Last edited by Bud Brewster on Sat May 23, 2020 8:52 am; edited 3 times in total
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
orzel-w
Galactic Ambassador


Joined: 19 Sep 2014
Posts: 1877

PostPosted: Thu Nov 09, 2017 4:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Bud Brewster wrote:
It might have been Wayne (orzel-w) who was disappointed with FP's invisible monster...

'Twas not I who was disappointed in the Id monster. I've always loved it.
_________________
...or not...

WayneO
-----------
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Bud Brewster
Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)


Joined: 14 Dec 2013
Posts: 17016
Location: North Carolina

PostPosted: Thu Nov 09, 2017 4:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

I stand corrected, sir. Cool

_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)


Last edited by Bud Brewster on Sun May 03, 2020 9:34 am; edited 2 times in total
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Bogmeister
Galactic Fleet Vice Admiral (site admin)


Joined: 14 Dec 2013
Posts: 574

PostPosted: Sat Mar 23, 2019 7:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

__________

_____________

_____________

Take heed, take heed . . . a scientist named Deemer (Leo G. Carroll) invents a serum to stimulate tissue growth via glandular activity; his lab is in the middle of the desert. Of course, his tests are on lab animals — one of these is a tarantula.

It doesn't work well on humans — Deemer's assistant is proof of this; humans just get deformed and insane — and then die. When I first watched this, it was this affect on humans that really creeped me out, not the giant arachnid. Mara Corday plays Deemer's new assistant — she gets stuck in a worsening nightmarish situation: Deemer gradually gets sick and twisted, while the giant spider eventually returns to its place of rebirth . . . can John Agar save her?

_______

I last watched this again as part of a recently-released DVD set: The CLASSIC SCI-FI ULTIMATE COLLECTION from Universal. I'd have to give the edge to THEM! as far as the best giant bug movie of the fifties — THEM! expanded in its 2nd half into a threat of worldwide proportions and there just seemed to be a lot more going on (also, James Whitmore is one of the best actors around, period, and Agar is just pretty good).

But, TARANTULA may very well be the 2nd best of that decade.

Directed by Jack Arnold, who did a few of the best of these in the fifties.



I will mention that this film has at least one truly great scene: at about the 70-minute mark, after the great beastie destroys Deemer's house and pursues the characters played by Agar & Corday, who flee in an automobile.

There's a very short pause in the action as Agar & Corday meet the approaching Sheriff's dept. on the road, in the middle of the desert. Then, the huge Tarantula appears from behind a hill in the distance.

"Jumpin' Jupiter!" the Sheriff exclaims, clearly astounded.

The Tarantula just sits there for a few moments, as if surveying the entire valley (its menu), a giant black beast perched on top of a hill. The Sheriff, his deputies, Agar & Corday just stare up in awe for a moment. The music is great here and it's a fantastic few moments.

BoG's Score: 7 out of 10


______________
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Phantom
Solar Explorer


Joined: 06 Sep 2015
Posts: 67

PostPosted: Fri May 01, 2020 7:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

This was the first big bug movie I ever saw, in early 1956, and it has remained my favorite all these years. When Leo G. Carroll hopped out of bed as the spider was bringing down the house, I nearly hopped out of my shoes.




_________________
What Is Essential Is Invisible
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Krel
Guest





PostPosted: Fri May 01, 2020 11:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Tarantulas are extremely dangerous...And messy.

My Sister lives in Scottsdale AZ, and at a certain time of the year, tarantulas migrate. Herds of tarantulas head off, to where? I have absolutely no idea. But as they cross the highways that cross their migration path, they get flattened by the dozens. So many get mushed that the highway gets extremely slippery, and it causes vehicle accidents as the cars and trucks slide out of control on the tarantula puree.

So see? They can be extremely dangerous...And messy. Laughing

David.
Back to top
Maurice
Mission Specialist


Joined: 14 Dec 2013
Posts: 460
Location: 3rd Rock

PostPosted: Sat May 02, 2020 10:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Krel wrote:
...Herds of tarantulas head off, to where? I have absolutely no idea...

Male tarantulas migrate (some as far as 50 miles) looking for mates.
_________________
* * *
"The absence of limitations is the enemy of art."
― Orson Welles
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Bud Brewster
Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)


Joined: 14 Dec 2013
Posts: 17016
Location: North Carolina

PostPosted: Sun May 03, 2020 9:38 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

There's nothing more determined than a horny tarantula! That explains why the big one in this movie attacked the house in which Miss Mara Corday was located, during the . . . . exciting climax!

No pun intended . . . Wink


_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Eadie
Galactic Ambassador


Joined: 14 Dec 2013
Posts: 1695

PostPosted: Mon May 18, 2020 4:35 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Bud Brewster wrote:
Anything stronger would blow the poor thing right off the table. Shocked

Except this one, the largest real tarantula on earth, the so-called bird eating tarantula. Female at 10 inches:




Male at 10.5 inches:


_________________
____________
Art Should Comfort the Disturbed and Disturb the Comfortable.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Bud Brewster
Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)


Joined: 14 Dec 2013
Posts: 17016
Location: North Carolina

PostPosted: Wed May 20, 2020 4:45 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

Forgive me, but a Tarantula vs Fly movie in the 1950s doesn't seem like the best idea for the studios. Sad

But a Tarantula vs Mantis sequel to those two movies makes my heart go bumpy-bump! Very Happy

Both of those creatures are viscous predators, and if these two were forced to compete for an abundant food source in the Midwest, the battle between them would be colossal!

Imagine a huge cattle drive across Arizona. But these two giant creatures attack the herd on the same day! The brave cowhands do there best to repel these hideous invaders with six guns, rifles, and lassos — buy their efforts would be fruitless! Sad

Suddenly the U.S. Army arrives in helicopters and jeeps, and they fight shoulder-to-shoulder with the cowboys to repel these two hideous creatures!

Just when it looks as if the battle is lost, the Air Force shows up to add their support! Very Happy

But the giant mantis takes to the air and gives our valiant Fly Boys a taste of nature's own version of what she can do when her life forms are challenged for air supremacy!

How this all comes out is up to you guys. I've described the conflict . . . now you folks can tell us about the outcome! Very Happy

_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Bud Brewster
Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)


Joined: 14 Dec 2013
Posts: 17016
Location: North Carolina

PostPosted: Sat May 23, 2020 11:58 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

______________________________________________

Thinking Outside the "Plot"!
______________________________________________

Gord Green, Phantom, and I have plans to watch Tarantula this evening in All Sci-Fi's Chatzy room, I got to thinking about a sequel.

I looked up info on the manner in which tarantulas reproduce and found this.
________________________________

Females deposit 50 to 2,000 eggs, depending on the species, in a silken egg sac and guard it for six to eight weeks. During this time, the females stay very close to the egg sacs and become more aggressive. Within most species, the females turn the egg sac often, which is called brooding.

This keeps the eggs from deforming due to sitting in one position too long. The young spiderlings remain in the nest for some time after hatching, where they live off the remains of their yolk sacs before dispersing.

________________________________

So, what does that have to do with this fine old 1955 movie?

Good question.

The tarantula escaped from Leo G. Carroll's lab during the fire and continue to grow, long after it had been fed the miraculous "nutrient" that Carroll had developed. Therefore, the nutrient didn't just nourish the lab specimens, it altered they're metabolism so that they grew much faster and larger than normal.

We don't know if the tarantula was male or female, but if Carroll wanted to find out if the offspring of his specimens would be born with altered metabolisms, he would have used females (at least in some cases) and artificially inseminated them to see if the offspring grew faster, like their parents did.






If that's true, then the tarantula might have been gestating at least 50 eggs — and possible 2,000! She may have walked out the door of the burning lab and then laid them in an egg sack out in the desert.

Notice in the picture below that she's trailing strands of webbing as she walks, indicating that she's ready, willing, and able to spin an egg sack when she lays the eggs! Very Happy






Then again, she may have laid them in her cage before the fire, and Carroll removed the egg sack to store it in the lab somewhere. If that's the case, Momma Tarantula is headed out the door in search of those missing eggs she placed in an egg sack before Carroll kidnapped them!

The other lab animals in the wire cages were killed in the fire, but the egg sack would have been kept in a sealed container to prevent them from hatching and escaping — which meant they might have been protected from the heat and smoke.

I'm sure you see where I'm going with this. If the baby spiders were still somewhere in the fire-damaged lab, that would explain why Momma came back to the house and started tearing it apart!







Throughout the movie she roamed around the countryside, gobbling up the cattle and the farmers while she desperately searched for her kids. When she finally managed to find her way back to the house, she somehow sensed that her young'uns were there, so she ripped up the joint, determined to rescue her brood.

Perhaps she actually found the container and ripped it open. Or she may have just broken it open accidentally during her destructive rampage, thus releasing the ghastly horde of crawling creatures.

Then again, maybe they'd already hatched and started growing rapidly, eating each other to survive until they they got big enough to break open the container and escape!

Either way, we now have a great situation for a sequel! An army of oversized, rapidly growing tarantulas, all hungry as hell and not picky about what (or who) they eat! Shocked

And this unmade, imaginary sequel could start just minutes after the first film ends. When Clint Eastwood finished frying the tarantula, he'd head back out across the desert.






Flying low he sees a strange site. At the edge of a herd of cattle, he spots several steers almost engulfed in black shapes while the poor animals desperately flee from hundreds more of the dog-size monsters, hot on their heels!

Clint circles around to give the situation a closer look . . . and he quickly realizes what this might mean. He immediately calls his base.






"Red Dog 9 to base . . . I think we've got a new problem."

So, guys, where would this story go from here? Red Dog 9 is plum out of napalm, and the herds of both spiders and cattle are scattering fast.

I think this would make a great Golden Age sc-fi movie. Cool

By the way, I found this ironic trivia item on IMDB.
________________________________

Mara Corday (Stephanie "Steve" Clayton) was the lead female in this movie, with Clint Eastwood appearing briefly at the end as Jet Squadron Leader. But in her last four movies, Clint Eastwood was the star and she had small brief roles.
________________________________

The four movies — and the roles Miss Corday played — are these.

The Rookie (1990)
Interrogator #2

Pink Cadillac (1989)
Stick Lady

Sudden Impact (1983)
Loretta - Coffee Shop Waitress

The Gauntlet (1977)
Jail Matron
________________________________

Another reason why this is interesting is that Miss Corday's 44 screen appearances included 40 movies and TV shows which occurred while she was still young and beautiful (1951 to 1961). Then she gave up acting for sixteen years and devoted herself to her husband (actor Richard Long from The Big Valley) and their children.

Mr. Long passed away in 1977.

Between 1977 and 1990 she got four small roles in movies that starred Clint Eastwood, because (according to her IMDB bio) he was her friend. Very Happy

_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)


Last edited by Bud Brewster on Wed Jan 03, 2024 1:42 pm; edited 3 times in total
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Display posts from previous:   
Post new topic   Reply to topic    ALL SCI-FI Forum Index -> Sci-Fi Movies and Serials from 1950 to 1969 All times are GMT - 5 Hours
Goto page Previous  1, 2, 3  Next
Page 2 of 3

 
Jump to:  
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum


Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group