Perfectly adorable

Perfect cast and a good story

everything you have heard about this movie is true.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

"Tarantula" is a combination of a science-experiment-gone-wrong movie with a monster movie. Though tame by today's standards (it shies away from any graphic violence), it still boasts nearly-excellent optical effects, nearly-seamless trick photography, and creepy "deformative" makeup. A talkative first half gives way to an eventful second. **1/2 out of 4.

"Tarantula" was one of a series of Sci/Fi/mutated monster films that were popular in the 1950s. This one is better than most.A mutated man turns up dead in the desert. He turns out to be a scientist named Jacobs. He has apparently died from an affliction that takes several years to develop but has developed it in just a few days. Town doctor Matt Hastings (John Agar) becomes suspicious. Professor Gerald Deemer (Leo G. Carroll), Jacobs associate confirms that the man had died from the dreaded disease over a period of four days.Later at Professor Deemer's lab we learn that he has been experimenting with a nutrient that accelerates the growth in animals and spiders (eeeuuu!). The professor is attacked by his other assistant Lund, who causes a fire during which a giant tarantula escapes. Before he dies, Lund injects the professor with the deadly nutrient.The comely young Stephanie "Steve" Clayton arrives to take up a post with Jacobs, however since he is dead Professor Deemer takes her on. "Steve" and Matt become attracted to each other (who knew?). Meanwhile the escaped tarantula begins to wreak havoc killing animals and whatever people cross its path. The professor was unaware that the spider had not perished in the fire you see.As the tarantula heads toward town, it stops to destroy the Professor's home...and the professor. To combat the giant spider the air force is called in and just as the jets are about to fire, I'm sure I heard the squadron leader say...Go ahead...make my day.The special effects are quite good for a low budget "B" + movie. The tarantula effects are quite convincing. John Agar, who had been married to Shirley Temple, is nothing more than a card board hero whose main purpose in the film is to ride around in his brand new '55 Ford convertible. Mara Corday is lovely as the heroine and Leo G. Carroll adds an air of sophistication as the "mad scientist".Others in the cast include Nestor Paiva as the Sheriff, Ross Elliott as the newspaper editor, Raymond Bailey as a scientist and good old Hank Patterson as the desk clerk Josh.

The archetypal '50s big bug movie, Tarantula sees a rapidly growing spider—the result of an experiment involving nutrients and radioactive isotopes—escaping from a laboratory to crawl around the countryside devouring cattle and the occasional rancher. Eventually, the eight-legged horror reaches such massive proportions that the air-force is called in to prevent it from trashing the town of Desert Rock.John Agar plays town doctor Matt Hastings, the first to suspect that it is an over-sized arachnid that is causing the trouble; Mara Corday is Hastings' love interest, beautiful lab assistant Stephanie 'Steve' Clayton; Leo G. Carroll is over a barrel as Professor Gerald Deemer, who winds up hideously disfigured by his own experiment; and Clint Eastwood saves the day as a plucky U.S. fighter pilot, his face mostly hidden behind a breathing mask, although his squint is unmistakable.Matters get very silly at times, especially with the humongous, hairy spider somehow managing to wander around the desert unseen (at one point, it peers into Mara's bedroom, the woman blissfully unaware of the huge eyes and mandibles at her window), but the hokey nature of the plot only adds to the overall enjoyment. Excellent special effects (for the day) and solid performances also go to qualify Tarantula as a must-see sci-fi/horror classic.

Better than average giant creepy crawly monster movie from the 1950s. Instead of radioactivity from an atomic bomb, this nasty creature grows due to a serum invented by a nutty scientist (Carroll). Things start happening when the scientist's lab is trashed and his rapidly growing tarantula escapes. Pretty soon, it's eating cattle and horses and then humans. A young medical doctor (Agar) and the mad scientist's new assistant (Corday) struggle to find a way to deal with this hairy killer, which eventually is the size of a small mountain, with fangs to match. The story is well played, the desert photography terrific, and the special effects not bad for the period. And no endless stock footage of tanks or artillery! There are some shots of jet fighters, but they are not over-used. The lovely Miss Corday is the biggest reason for watching this.