“Teenagers” Gene Persson and June Kenney caught in a giant spider web. Image: IMDb
The misleading thing about the title of Earth vs. The Spider (1958) is this: A giant spider does not attack the entire planet. It attacks one American town.
Naturally, it’s a relief to discover one spider can’t tackle the whole planet – at least, not as far as we know – but you also have to admit it’s a little disappointing.
Yet, the best thing about Earth vs. The Spider is it doesn’t explain how a giant spider came to Be. It simply shows up, wreaks havoc, and dares the townsfolk to deal with it. We’re thankfully spared pseudo-scientific lectures about mutant nuclear isotopes, etc.
Like all engaging monster films, the script focuses on the townsfolk and how they’re affected by the giant arachnid. There are lots of “teenagers” in this film, played by actors in their 20s and 30s.
We’re primarily concerned with two high school students (June Kenney and Gene Persson) whose relationship is Put to the Test when Kenney’s unreliable father suddenly disappears.
Kenney and Persson trace clues to a remote cave with a sign: NO TRESPASSING / DO NOT ENTER. The posted sign is, apparently, so effective no one has ever entered the cave voluntarily. Our teenagers might be the first to explore it!
However, inside the cave they discover a large spider with a taste for humans. We won’t get into the gory details, but we will say the spider is careful to leave a victim’s bones in proper skeletal formation.
The spider is menacing, indeed, and it’s left to a science teacher, a sheriff, and our plucky teens to defeat this monster.
Don’t grieve, darling. There’s homework to do! Image: IMDb
In some 1950s sci-fi/horror films, you have to overlook inconsistencies, and Earth vs. The Spider is no exception.
Look, for example, at the spider itself. Sometimes it’s black, sometimes it’s blond. The thickness of its legs also vary, but given its diet, bloating may be inevitable.
The movie’s Science Experts tell us spiders wrap their prey in a sack to eat later, but our spider pays no attention to experts. It has a Voracious Appetite, and it immediately devours people as soon as it catches them.
Unfortunately, the spider appears to be getting Smarter, and it eliminates those who pose the greatest danger. For instance, it figures out where the science teacher lives, and it goes after his wife and baby. It also makes Quick Work of a man fleeing to another city to get Help.
This is a film that is not, in any way, going to treat this monster situation seriously. There is one brief shot of a toddler, alone on a street, bleeding and crying, and just as you start to think about the gravity of the situation, the scene is cut, and we’re back to the rampaging arachnid.
There’ll be no pathos around here today.
The spider attacks the science teacher’s house. Image: IMDb
We (yours truly) feel a bit unsettled about labeling Earth vs. The Spider a So-Bad-It’s-Good film. Despite everything, it’s a truly entertaining flick, start to finish.
The effects are surprisingly good, even if they are a bit puzzling. Take, for instance, the sounds the spider makes. Sometimes it emits a creepy squeal, while other times it sounds like someone with digestive issues. But, again, that may be diet related.
According to Wikipedia, the budget for this film was $146,000 US ($1.5 million US today). Exteriors were filmed at Bronson Canyon in L.A.’s Griffith Park, and at the Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico. The scenes inside the caverns are impressive in their other-worldliness, although you wonder how these underground caves developed such fabulous interior lighting.
Earth vs. The Spider was re-named The Spider, a more accurate representation of the plot, although the title wasn’t changed on the film itself. This not the first giant spider movie ever made, but it is one of the most fun.
Earth vs. The Spider: starring Ed Kemmer, June Kenney, Gene Persson. Directed by Bert I. Gordon. Written by George Worthing Yates & Laszlo Gorog. Santa Rosa Productions, 1958, B&W, 73 mins.
I haven’t seen it, but it made me think of the classic Tarantula, which has the same flaws but has become a cult anyway. This one is note that famous but I’m sure it would be great fun to watch!
You’re right. This movie is very similar to Tarantula, which is technically the better film, in my opinion. But I have a real soft spot for Earth vs. The Spider.
Great movie! I’m a sucker for these cool giant bug movies from the 50’s, this one is very similar to Tarantula, which I prefer, but this is still a fun movie!
I couldn’t stop laughing during this review. Thank you!! Hilarious. I love it changing color and size, and the disappointment of its modest ambitions. Love movies like this. Thanks for the rec. Leah
I don’t know about the film, but from that picture the spider looks like and over grown weeping willow… 😀 I think this might be on one of the collections sets I have buried in my closet. I’ll dig through and see if I can find it.
The spider’s look does change sometimes, but it adds to the fun. (What will the spider look like in this scene?) I hope you’re able to find this film in your collection!
Bert I. Gordon’s ambitions as a filmmaker were always BIG, but his budgets and resources were often not quite up to the task. Nevertheless, I love his films. The Spider is one of his middling efforts — watchable, but not as entertainingly looney as something like The Amazing Colossal Man or Attack of the Puppet People. Gotta love that spider web, which looks like a net for a circus acrobat act!
I totally love your take on this film, I saw Kingdom of the Spiders recently with William Shatner -not literally in person- and it was pretty dull. But this sounds like so much more fun and your review had me in stitches especially about those well formed skeletons. Thanks Ruth!
“In some 1950s sci-fi/horror films, you have to overlook inconsistencies”
Overlook inconsistencies? NEVER! They are to be celebrated in an event like this, and especially in a movie like this. They are the spice that turns “bad” into “good.” Let’s be honest, There’s people out there who live to spot these things in movies, but we all have those moments where we run across things that don’t work, delight in how bad they really are, then wonder “how the hell did they miss this?”
“given its diet, bloating may be inevitable” – I laughed out loud in this part! This sound like a hilarously bad movie, so maybe I’ll watch it for a future so-bad-it’s-good blogathon. And these fake teenager are always in 1950s movies, aren’t they?
Cheers!
Le
I’m not usually a fan of using rear projection to supersize bugs and lizards into monsters, but Earth vs. the Spider is fun little film. I find it particularly amusing when the science teacher sets up the spider in the high school’s gym. Great review!
This made me laugh, especially when you chalked the varied thickness of the spider’s legs up to bloating. That’s awesome. 🙂 Thanks again for joining the blogathon, Ruth–it’s always a blast!
Silver Screenings 
I haven’t seen it, but it made me think of the classic Tarantula, which has the same flaws but has become a cult anyway. This one is note that famous but I’m sure it would be great fun to watch!
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’re right. This movie is very similar to Tarantula, which is technically the better film, in my opinion. But I have a real soft spot for Earth vs. The Spider.
LikeLike
Great movie! I’m a sucker for these cool giant bug movies from the 50’s, this one is very similar to Tarantula, which I prefer, but this is still a fun movie!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yeah, I think Tarantula is a superior movie, but I like this one better – because of its flaws.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ll skip it, but I enjoyed your review.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ha! Thank you.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I couldn’t stop laughing during this review. Thank you!! Hilarious. I love it changing color and size, and the disappointment of its modest ambitions. Love movies like this. Thanks for the rec. Leah
LikeLiked by 1 person
Haha! Yes, that’s it exactly! The spider had modest ambitions…when, really, it could have taken over the world. Hope you get the chance to see it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Awesomeness!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh yeah, this movie is 100% awesome, and I’m serious.
LikeLike
I don’t know about the film, but from that picture the spider looks like and over grown weeping willow… 😀 I think this might be on one of the collections sets I have buried in my closet. I’ll dig through and see if I can find it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The spider’s look does change sometimes, but it adds to the fun. (What will the spider look like in this scene?) I hope you’re able to find this film in your collection!
LikeLike
Awesome review of a deliriously fun film! I totally agree with you about how you can’t really call this film bad when it’s so entertaining!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Love your phrase “deliriously fun”. It truly is.
LikeLike
Bert I. Gordon’s ambitions as a filmmaker were always BIG, but his budgets and resources were often not quite up to the task. Nevertheless, I love his films. The Spider is one of his middling efforts — watchable, but not as entertainingly looney as something like The Amazing Colossal Man or Attack of the Puppet People. Gotta love that spider web, which looks like a net for a circus acrobat act!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Haha! Yes indeed, the “web” is a circus net. This is a practical web-weaving spider.
Attack of the Puppet People (cheekily referenced in this film, as you know) is on my watch list, along with Amazing Colossal Man
LikeLike
I totally love your take on this film, I saw Kingdom of the Spiders recently with William Shatner -not literally in person- and it was pretty dull. But this sounds like so much more fun and your review had me in stitches especially about those well formed skeletons. Thanks Ruth!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Kingdom of the Spiders! You haven’t reviewed that yet, have you? If not, are you reviewing soon?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nope, not yet.. but I have reviewed Night of the Lepus which is similar to your spider film with mutant rabbits on the rampage…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Heading there now.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Looking forward to you popping by as always.
LikeLiked by 1 person
“In some 1950s sci-fi/horror films, you have to overlook inconsistencies”
Overlook inconsistencies? NEVER! They are to be celebrated in an event like this, and especially in a movie like this. They are the spice that turns “bad” into “good.” Let’s be honest, There’s people out there who live to spot these things in movies, but we all have those moments where we run across things that don’t work, delight in how bad they really are, then wonder “how the hell did they miss this?”
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’re right. The inconsistencies must be celebrated, otherwise a person misses out on all the fun!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Never seen it but it sounds better than a lot of modern “so bad it’s good” films (Sharknado, I’m looking at you!)
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ha! I’ve yet to see Sharknado. Are there Sharknado sequels?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, I think so!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Glad to know there’s no shortage of Sharknado goodness.
LikeLike
There are at least five sequels to Sharknado.
LikeLiked by 1 person
No way! Man, I’ve really been missing out.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Your post had me cracking up, Ruth — I’ve got to see this one! I wish they’d show it at midnight at the TCM film festival!
Karen
LikeLiked by 1 person
That would be perfect! What a fun film for a midnight showing.
LikeLike
“given its diet, bloating may be inevitable” – I laughed out loud in this part! This sound like a hilarously bad movie, so maybe I’ll watch it for a future so-bad-it’s-good blogathon. And these fake teenager are always in 1950s movies, aren’t they?
Cheers!
Le
LikeLike
I’m not usually a fan of using rear projection to supersize bugs and lizards into monsters, but Earth vs. the Spider is fun little film. I find it particularly amusing when the science teacher sets up the spider in the high school’s gym. Great review!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Haha! I LOVE that the science teacher puts the spider on display in the gym. You know it can only lead to more bad things..
LikeLiked by 1 person
This made me laugh, especially when you chalked the varied thickness of the spider’s legs up to bloating. That’s awesome. 🙂 Thanks again for joining the blogathon, Ruth–it’s always a blast!
LikeLiked by 1 person
This is such a fun movie. It’s my fave giant spider flick!
LikeLike