In Desert Rock, Arizona, a disfigured man is found dead and identified by Professor Gerald Deemer (Leo G. Carroll) as his assistant and friend Dr. Eric Jacobs, who would suffer from acromegalia. The country doctor Matt Hastings (John Agar) is puzzled with the mysterious disease and decides to investigate further about acromegalia. Professor Deemer omits that Dr. Eric Jacobs and Dr. Paul Lund were researching with him a nutrient to increase the food supply in the world and they have been affected by the experiment. Soon Paul Lund, who has also been affected and is mad, breaks and sets the laboratory on fire and a huge tarantula escapes.

Meanwhile, the gorgeous Stephanie "Steve" Clayton (Mara Corday) arrives in town to work with Dr. Jacobs, and Dr. Hastings drives her to Professor Deemer's house in the desert. She is hired by Deemer and she finds that he is sick. When cattle bones are found in a farm, Hastings collects material and flies to a laboratory, where he learns that the sample is of tarantula's venom. But the scientist does not believe that one tarantula could ever produce such quantity of venom. The doctor returns to Desert Rock sure that the species is part of Prof. Deemer's experiment and the locals are threatened by the dangerous tarantula.

"Tarantula" is a typical sci-fi of the 50's and a surprisingly good film. The screenplay is very well written and the movie is supported by good direction, performances, cinematography and special effects. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Tarântula!" ("Tarantula!")

Note: On 16 Sep 2018 I saw this film again.

TARANTULA is certainly not a particularly believable film--after all, it's about a giant killer spider! So, if you can't accept this sort of premise, just skip the film--and most 1950s horror films, as such ideas are pretty much par for the course during this era! However, providing you can suspend disbelief, it's well worth seeing and is a bit better than the average film of the era.

The film begins with the discovery of a corpse that baffles the police. While they THINK they know who it is, his face is so badly distorted they aren't positive about the identification. Although the professor (Leo G. Carroll) has identified this as his co-researcher, they have the Doctor (John Agar) examine the body as well. Carroll announces that his friend died from "acromegalia" (I have always heard it referred to as "acromegaly"--I think the movie got this wrong). Agar is stumped, as this is a progressive disease and the distortions (and gigantism) caused by the disease take a very long time--not practically overnight, as Carroll asserts. But the cops are pretty content to accept Carroll's version and the case is closed.

Well, it turns out that the weird anomalies were caused by a drug that the guy injected into himself! And, for that matter, so did another of their assistants. Why they exactly did this is never quite clear, as it's a concoction they've been working on to deal with starvation and increasing the size of food crops. As for Carroll he isn't stupid enough to do this himself, but in an odd twist the crazed research assistant (now sporting the same mask used in ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE) attacks Carroll--injecting him as well as destroying the lab. Because the formula takes time to have an effect on humans, Carroll is okay for the time being.

As for his research, almost all the research animals are gone--burned in a fire caused by the crazed assistant. However, a large tarantula (because of the injection) escapes and continues to grow. Eventually, it's larger than a house and rather nasty--stripping animals and people to the bone as it eats them. An entomologist (Raymond Bailey--'Mr. Drysdale' without his toupee) talks to Agar about tarantulas and explains that this is how tarantulas eat--stripping the meat off bones. However, in reality they NEVER, EVER eat their prey life this. All spiders inject their prey with digestive juices that turn the poor creature's innards to slush--after which, the spider slurps the insides out--leaving the shell of the creature. Boy did the movie get this wrong.

Later, the spider does a ton of damage and the puny humans try to stop it with no success. Electricity, dynamite and bullets have no effect and the spiders is about to eat the town when, suddenly, Clint Eastwood and some other pilots come to the rescue with napalm! And, very abruptly (too abruptly) the thing dies and the credits roll.

The film gets kudos for excellent special effects for the spider and a story that is quite enjoyable fun. Negatives are the who "stripping victims of their flesh" as well as the amazing abruptness of the ending. Not great but good and worth a look.

The title says it all. Tarantula is about an artificially enhanced big specimen of arachnid that got loose from a government laboratory having been fed on a new nutrient that has increased his size a hundred fold. He's also got an appetite to match and the little desert creatures he fed on before just won't cut it for the big guy.

The cause of all this is scientist Leo G. Carroll who got some of his own concoction and had some growth issues of his own, the kind Rondo Hatton had. Carroll did a good job as the well meaning scientist, but I'm sure he wished he was in another Hitchcock movie.

John Agar and Mara Corday are the leads here and though his face is covered with gas mask, Clint Eastwood plays one of the pilots who finally do in the big bug.

Tarantula is a reasonably decent Fifties science fiction movie with radioactivity the cause for the grief the Tarantula causes.