A rogue scientist near a small desert town arouses the suspicion of the town's doctor when his lab assistant is found dead from a case of acromegaly, which took only four days to develop. As the doctor investigates, aided by the scientist's new female assistant, they discover that something is devouring local cattle and humans in increasingly large quantities.
Practical Effects
Giant spider puppet genuinely unsettling for 1955
Cinematography
Desert noir shadows before Spielberg borrowed them
Direction
Jack Arnold squeezing dread from a rubber arachnid
Director
Jack Arnold
John Agar
Dr. Matt Hastings
Mara Corday
Stephanie 'Steve' Clayton
Leo G. Carroll
Prof. Gerald Deemer
Nestor Paiva
Sheriff Jack Andrews
Ross Elliott
Joe Burch
Hank Patterson
Josh
Eddie Parker
Paul Lund / Eric Jacobs / Airport Workman
Bert Holland
Barney Russell
Raymond Bailey
Dr. Townsend
Steve Darrell
Andy Andersen
Clint Eastwood
Jet Squadron Leader (uncredited)
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The spider was actually a real tarantula filmed on miniature sets — no puppet for the close-ups, just a very confused arachnid.
This was Universal's answer to Warner Bros.' Them! — the studio basically said 'ants are cool but what about LEGS'.
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