| The Spider's Web | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | |
| Written by |
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| Produced by | |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Allen G. Siegler |
| Edited by | Richard Fantl |
| Music by | |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 15 chapters |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The Spider's Web is a 1938 Columbia Pictures movie serial based on the popular pulp magazine character The Spider. It was the fifth of the 57 serials released by Columbia.
"The Octopus," a masked crimelord, is bent on crippling America with a wave of terror. He demands tribute from railroad magnates and other captains of industry. [1] Richard Wentworth (Warren Hull), an amateur criminologist who is friendly with the police and is secretly "The Spider," a masked vigilante, is equally determined to destroy the Octopus and his gang. Pleasant and smiling in civilian life, Wentworth is frequently ruthless as The Spider, using his two .45 semi-automatic pistols against any public enemies who attack him. The Spider uses a knotted rope to swing about (similar to Marvel Comics' Spider-Man years later).
Wentworth also masquerades as affable underworld lowlife Blinky McQuade. Disguised as McQuade, Wentworth can infiltrate gangland as a hired gun or getaway-car driver and keep current on the mob's illegal activities.
The only people who know Wentworth's various identities are his assistants Jackson (Richard Fiske) and Ram Singh (Kenne Duncan), his butler Jenkins (Don Douglas), and his fiancée Nita (Iris Meredith).
The Octopus was a pulp villain written by Norvell Page, who also wrote most of The Spider pulp novels. He is garbed completely in white and is only ever seen by his henchmen while sitting in his throne-like chair. Unlike the pulps, where The Spider is dressed in an all-black cape, mask, suit, and wide-brimmed fedora, in the serial he is garbed in a black suit and fedora, but with white web-like markings on his lightweight cape and full face mask. The serial follows the standard formula of fights, shoot-outs, Wentworth's friends being kidnapped at various times and needing to be rescued. Each chapter ends with The Spider or his friends in deep trouble, often about to be killed, but the effect is spoiled by a trailer for the next episode which follows, showing them rescued and continuing to fight the villains. The secret headquarters of The Octopus is found by The Spider in the final chapter; he has unwittingly given himself away to Wentworth and realizing this, Wentworth must now die; but as The Spider, Wentworth is triumphant in the end, unmasking The Octopus and ending his national reign of terror.
During the serial The Spider (like Marvel Comics much later Spider-Man) uses his web line a number of times to get out of trouble. Commissioner Kirk (changed from Kirkpatrick in the pulps) suspects that Wentworth is The Spider during one chapter. The Octopus' gang, like their boss, wear robes when they gather together in his presence. The Octopus ruthlessly executes all who failed him; in case of trouble, The Octopus always uses a false arm and hand, which allowed him to conceal a pistol in his real hand hidden beneath his robes.
The Spider's Web was the first serial to be adapted from a pulp magazine. [2] The original pulp magazine stories were too violent for the motion picture production code, but The Spider's Web "did manage to suggest [their] frantic pace". [3] Some changes were made beyond toning down the violence. The Spider's costume, a hood/mask and flowing cape with a spiderweb pattern motif, was more theatrical than either the description or illustrations in the Spider's pulp magazine. Historically, The Spider's early cover appearances depict him dressed in black with a black fedora and domino mask. Beginning with the pulp's sixth issue in 1934, The Spider employed horror makeup consisting of a "fright wig", fangs, a false hooked nose, and a hunchback. Commissioner Kirkpatrick was slightly changed to Commissioner Kirk "for no good reason". [4] The serial release coincided with Superman (comics) and Green Hornet (radio) going nationwide. [5]
The film was produced by Columbia Pictures executive Jack Fier, without screen credit. The screenplay was written by serial scenarists George H. Plympton and Basil Dickey, feature-film writer Robert E. Kent, and newspaperman Martie Ramson, whose hard-boiled short stories were syndicated in 1935 and 1936. The direction was shared by action specialist Ray Taylor and veteran serial director James W. Horne.
The Spider's Web was wildly successful when first released in 1938; it was the most popular serial of that year, according to a tally published in The Motion Picture Herald and its sister publication The Film Daily, [6] and was such an exhibitor favorite that Columbia used it to launch a series of reissues in 1947. A sequel, The Spider Returns , was released in 1941; of the Spider's Web principal actors, only Warren Hull and Kenne Duncan returned in their original roles for the sequel.
Source: [7]
The Spider is an American pulp-magazine hero of the 1930s and 1940s. The character was created by publisher Harry Steeger and written by a variety of authors for 118 monthly issues of The Spider from 1933 to 1943. The Spider sold well during the 1930s, and copies are valued by modern pulp magazine collectors. Pulp magazine historian Ed Hulse has stated "Today, hero-pulp fans value The Spider more than any single-character magazine except for The Shadow and Doc Savage."
Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars is a 1938 Universal Pictures 15–chapter science-fiction movie serial based on the syndicated newspaper comic strip Flash Gordon. It is the second of the three Flash Gordon serials made by Universal between 1936 and 1940. The main cast from the first serial reprise their roles: Buster Crabbe as Flash Gordon, Jean Rogers as Dale Arden, Frank Shannon as Dr. Alexis Zarkov, Charles B. Middleton as Ming the Merciless, and Richard Alexander as Prince Barin. Also in the principal cast are Beatrice Roberts as Queen Azura, Donald Kerr as Happy Hapgood, Montague Shaw as the Clay King, and Wheeler Oakman as Ming's chief henchman. The serial was followed by Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe (1940).
John Warren Hull, known professionally as Warren Hull, was an American actor, singer and television personality active from the 1930s through the 1960s. He was one of the most popular serial actors in the action-adventure field.
Kenne Duncan was a Canadian-born American B-movie character actor. Hyped professionally as "The Meanest Man in the Movies," the vast majority of his over 250 appearances on camera were Westerns, but he also did occasional forays into horror, crime drama, and science fiction. He also appeared in over a dozen serials.
Superman is a 1948 15-part Columbia Pictures film serial based on the comic book character Superman. It stars an uncredited Kirk Alyn and Noel Neill as Lois Lane. Like Batman (1943), it is notable as the first live-action appearance of Superman on film, and for the longevity of its distribution. The serial was directed by Thomas Carr, who later directed many early episodes of the Adventures of Superman television series, and Spencer Gordon Bennet, produced by Sam Katzman, and shot in and around Los Angeles, California. It was originally screened at movie matinées, and after the first three scene-setting chapters, every episode ends in a cliffhanger. The Superman-in-flight scenes are animations, in part due to the small production budget.
The Phantom Creeps is a 1939 12-chapter science fiction horror serial starring Bela Lugosi as mad scientist Doctor Zorka, who attempts to rule the world by creating various elaborate inventions. In a dramatic fashion, foreign agents and G-Men try to seize the inventions for themselves.
The Tiger Woman (1944) is a 12-chapter film serial by Republic Pictures starring Allan Lane and Linda Stirling. The serial was re-released in 1951 under the title Perils of the Darkest Jungle and, in 1966, it was edited into the 100-minute Century-66 film Jungle Gold.
Spy Smasher is a 12-episode 1942 Republic serial film based on the Fawcett Comics character Spy Smasher which is now a part of DC Comics. It was the 25th of the 66 serials produced by Republic. The serial was directed by William Witney with Kane Richmond and Marguerite Chapman as the leads. The serial was Chapman's big break into a career in film and television. Spy Smasher is a very highly regarded serial. In 1966, a television film was made from the serial footage under the title Spy Smasher Returns.
Perils of Nyoka is a 1942 Republic serial directed by William Witney. It stars Kay Aldridge as Nyoka the Jungle Girl, a character who first appeared in the Edgar Rice Burroughs-inspired serial Jungle Girl.
Man with the Steel Whip is a 1954 Republic Western serial film. It uses considerable stock footage from the previous Republic serials "Zorro's Black Whip", "The Painted Stallion" and "Daredevils of the West."
Captain America is a 1944 Republic black-and-white 15-chapter serial film loosely based on the Timely Comics character Captain America. It was the last Republic serial made about a superhero. It also has the distinction of being the most expensive serial that Republic ever made. It stands as the first theatrical release connected to a Marvel character; the next theatrical release featuring a Marvel hero would not occur for more than 40 years. It was the last live-action rendition of a Marvel character in any medium until Spider-Man appeared in the Spidey Super Stories segment of the children's television series The Electric Company in 1974.
Batman is a 1943 American 15-chapter theatrical serial from Columbia Pictures, produced by Rudolph C. Flothow, directed by Lambert Hillyer, that stars Lewis Wilson as Batman and Douglas Croft as his sidekick Robin. The serial is based on the DC Comics character Batman, who first appeared in Detective Comics #27 in May 1939. The villain is an original character named Dr. Daka, a secret agent of the Japanese Imperial government, played by J. Carrol Naish. Rounding out the cast are Shirley Patterson as Linda Page, Bruce Wayne's love interest, and William Austin as Alfred, the Wayne Manor butler.
The Galloping Ghost is a 1931 American pre-Code Mascot serial film co-directed by B. Reeves Eason and Benjamin H. Kline. The title is the nickname of the star, real life American football player Red Grange. Serial historian Raymond William Stedman lists Lon Chaney Jr. as appearing in Ghost in a small uncredited part as a henchman, but this has never been verified.
Tailspin Tommy is a 12-episode 1934 Universal film serial based on the Tailspin Tommy comic strip by Hal Forrest. Directed by Lew Landers and produced by Milton Gatzert, the serial was the 97th serial of the 137 released by that studio. The plot of Tailspin Tommy concerns a conflict over a government airmail contract.
The Spider Returns is a 1941 15-chapter Columbia movie serial based on the pulp magazine character The Spider. It was the fourteenth of the 57 serials released by Columbia and a sequel to their 1938 serial The Spider's Web. The first episode runs 32 minutes, while the other 14 are approximately 17 minutes each.
The Shadow (1940) was the ninth serial released by Columbia Pictures. It was based upon the classic radio series and pulp magazine superhero character of the same name.
Frederick Whitney Ellsworth was an American comic book editor and sometime writer and artist for DC Comics during the period known to historians and fans as the Golden Age of Comic Books. He was also DC's "movie studio contact", becoming both a producer and story editor on the TV series The Adventures of Superman.
New Adventures of Batman and Robin, the Boy Wonder, also known as simply Batman and Robin, is a 15-chapter serial released in 1949 by Columbia Pictures. It is a sequel to the 1943 serial Batman, although with different actors. Robert Lowery played Batman, while Johnny Duncan played Robin. Supporting players included Jane Adams as Vicki Vale and veteran character actor Lyle Talbot as Commissioner Gordon.
Spider-Man is a 1969 American superhero short film that was directed by Donald F. Glut. It is an unauthorized fan film, one of several made by Glut and the last one of its type that he created. The short was later released along with several of Glut's other shorts as a special feature of I Was a Teenage Movie Maker, a 2006 documentary about Glut. The short's plot centers around Spider-Man, who must rescue a woman from her father, the devious villain Dr. Lightning, an original character Glut created for the film.
