Product Details

• Actors: John Agar, Mara Corday, Leo G. Carrol, Nestor Paiva, Ross Elliott
• Format: PAL
• Subtitles: English, German, Czech
• Region: Region 2 (Read more about DVD formats.)
• Number of discs: 1
• Run Time: 77 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00161ISR4
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #337,833 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

When a tarantula, which has been injected with a special nutrient formula, escapes from a scientist's laboratory. it grows into a 100-foot beast that menaces the Arizona countryside. Professor Gerald Deemer (Leo G. Carroll) has been working on a special nutrient to help ease a predicted food shortage that is expected to come with the increase in human population. His experiments have been moderately successful but there have been some failures as a result. One day while he is gone, two of his colleagues inject themselves with the nutrient with disastrous results and die a few days later. One however goes mad and injects Deemer with the formula. During a struggle, a giant tarantula injected with the formula escapes its cage and grows even larger and starts to attack cattle as well as human beings.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tarantula, December 24, 2008

By 

G. D. Williams "gareth37" (USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Tarantula [Region 2] (DVD)

In 1955 a number of great films premiered in theaters across the country- Bad Day at Black Rock, The Court Martial of Billy Mitchell, East of Eden, The Far Country, Mister Roberts, The Seven Year Itch, Lady and the Tramp, and many others. Marty would take best picture.

There were a number of science-fiction films. One of these was Tarantula.

This film has an assortment of fine characters with a good script and decent special effects for the time period.

Once again the viewer is given a glimpse into the mysterious world of the atom, especially the radiation component which has tragic consequences for the human race.

A group of scientists from Oak Ridge relocate to a quiet, desert town of Desert Rock, Arizona. Outside of the city limits, they conduct their secret experiments on a non organic nutrient food concentrate. Their goal is lofty-to alleviate world hunger as the population increases beyond the earth's abilities to provide food.

There is a tragic accident, and an injected tarantula escapes from the lab. The nutrient accelerates the growth rate at an astronomical rate. The spider becomes the menace, but the real villains are the scientists who created it by altering nature's laws.

Leo G. Caroll was the dedicated Gerald Deemer from Oak Ridge who led the team. His soft spoken manner gave his character a sympathetic allure, rationality, sanity, and humanity.

John Agar's portrayal of Matt Hastings, the country doctor who attempts to solve the mystery of a man's strange death, is played with deftness. His gentle nature and calmness are attributes of a small town healer and comforter.

Stephanie "Steve" Clayton, the graduate biology student, is both beautiful and intelligent. She can also cook, clean and wash- the ideal woman of the 50's.

There is a nice chemistry between her and Hastings. A little romantic tension goes a long way in this film.

Hank Patterson's Josh is a delight. He's the comic relief. He has some of the best scenes and lines.

Some of the dialogue is priceless- "Jumping Jupiter"; "Holy Cow"; etc. You don't find this five and dime dialogue in today's film market.

The cameo of Clint Eastwood as a fighter pilot is a good piece of cinema history. The oxygen mask may have covered his face, but those eyes of his acted brilliantly.

Also, it was an unaccredited, young composer named Henry Mancini who did the music. He was under contract to Universal Pictures Music Department.

The climatic ending is a fine moment caught in time. When you view this film and especially its ending, image yourself in the audience of 1955. The ending takes on a whole new meaning when viewed from that 1955 perspective.

For this 1950's science fiction genre, this is one of the well written and acted films which tapped into the fears of society about the atom and its deadly components. Ordinary people facing extraordinary menaces, is life at its most challenging moments.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A "B" sci-fi view of unregulated science., February 11, 2011

By 

50s sci-fi Fan (Melboune Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tarantula ( The Giant Tarantula ) [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.2.4 Import - United Kingdom ] (DVD)

Tarantula is another of these '50s sci-fi B movies from the specialist Jack Arnold, where you have to look beyond what you're seeing to get the point.

In dealing with issues of world hunger from over-population and the concerns of some people about genetically modified food, the film is surprisingly contemporary.

The mild mannered and well meaning Professor Deemer (Leo G. Carroll) and his colleagues mix their new formula with a radioactive isotope to increase domestic farm animals to gargantuan size. Deemer fears future generations are at risk of food shortages...he quaintly predicts that the planet will have an over-population 3.75 billion people by the year 2000!

To demonstrate the popular 1950s fear of disaster possible from unfetted science, Deemer's colleagues in pre-narrative have injected themselves with the formula that unexpectedly drives them mad, mutates their own bodies (radiation mutation is another 1950s fear) before finally killing them. A subordinate likewise condemns Professor Deemer to death and mutation by injecting him with the formula as they scuffle among cages of various test animals. To literally illustrate 1950s fear of experiments escaping containment and wreaking havoc, one experiment, in the form of an oversized tarantula walks out the broken lab. door into the outside world.

As with most B 1950s sci-fi movies the standard of acting and character development is subordinate to the point the produces wish to make, so it would be unfair to comment on the acting of John Agar and Mara Corday.

There is no point in mentioning either that the spider reaches a height of 100' in utter defiance of the square/cube principle.

The spider comes face to face with an very young actor who went on to huge TV and movie stardom...but to say any more would create an unforgivable spoiler.

Tarantula is a B movie,after all, where suspension of disbelief is at its greatest, and intended as prelude to the movie-starring feature the audience actually came to see. Jack Arnold's thrust about nuclear radiation and scientists loosing control of the experiments and putting humanity at risk is purely allegorical. Trantula works at the level of showing popular concerns on the day and as an example of B-moviemaking.

5.0 out of 5 stars It's got legs and it knows how to use them, December 13, 2009

By 

bernie "webviator" (Arlington, Texas) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Tarantula [Region 2] (DVD)

Leo G. Carroll, "The Parent Trap" (1961), is the Professor. He was working with a formula that made things grow, really grow. He is the good guy and trying to find an answer to world hunger. There is a difference of opinion and the scuffle starts a fire. The professor gets injected and the tarantula escapes.

John Agar, "The Brain from Planet Arouse" (1957), gets to be Doctor Matt Hastings the good guy.

Clint Eastwood "Dirty Harry" (1971), is a fighter pilot and gets to bomb the tarantula.

I saw this at the movies when I was a kid. The creature had habit of leaving white stuff everywhere it did it's thing. The film broke for a commercial at that time and was advertising tooth powder. "Powder your teeth. Don't past them." Needles to say I cringe at the site of white tooth powder to this day.

So an alternate title for this movie could be "daddy-longlegs"