Terror Walks on Eight Legs with “Tarantula”- Tonight!

Tonight on MeTV- it's a mutation situation when a  radioactive isotope-spawned serum affects both men and beasts- especially a fuzzy eight-legged arachnid whose deadly venom and monstrous growth threaten  a desert community- in 1955's “Tarantula”!

Dr. Matt Hastings is called to the local morgue to view a body found in the desert- unusual due to its strange disfigurement, allegedly due to a condition known as acromegaly ( you might remember our discussion of this very real syndrome when we showed films with Rondo Hatton). A little detective work reveals that the man was an assistant to scientist Dr. Deemer, whose laboratory home is located out in the desert. Arriving at Deemer’s lab, Matt learns of the scientist's noble experiment- the creation of a super nutrient, based on- what else?- an atomic isotope, having the effect of causing rapid growth in animals, as a way to supply more food for the world's expanding population. Deemer confirms that the deceased  was an assistant who, unfortunately, had injected himself with the yet-to-be perfected nutrient serum. This caused the acromegaly that advanced rapidly and took his life.

Soon after, while Deemer is alone, more trouble appears, again caused by the serum- and among the catastrophic events comes the escape of one test subject - an over-sized tarantula that is still experiencing growth! As Matt seeks more information, he soon finds more danger- as does Deemer's latest assistant-a beautiful young lady-when the unsolved mysteries of missing cattle (and cattle ranchers) amid strange puddles of liquid, lead to a big discovery- and we DO mean BIG! Matt and the local townspeople face a massive monstrosity they must stop before it devours  the local population!

In the 1950s genre of  films featuring radiation- spawned mutant creatures, this Jack Arnold film is near the top of the list. The cast includes "Man from UNCLE" player Leo G. Carroll,  as well as leading man (and former husband of Shirley Temple) John Agar, along with stunning 1950s Playboy Playmate Mara Corday,  plus cameos by some familiar faces, including, with his familiar face pretty well obscured, Clint Eastwood! We’ll review the cast roster, reveal a couple techniques used in this film, give you a song whose origin lies with our starring creature- and- spend a few minute with an actor slightly less hairy than a tarantula-whose work you will recognize and who is a longtime Sven fan!

“Tarantula” spins a web of terror on Me-TV tonight at 10 pm eastern and pacific, 9 pm central, or, if you don't know the exact time or station we're on in your neck of the woods, check your local listings or head over to wwwmetvnetwork.com.  For those in our Chicago  viewing area, there's an encore performance of our Halloween feature from last week- Karloff in the original "Frankenstein"- at 11 am on our sister station, WCIU, the U.

If you're in the Michigan City, Indiana, area- you can meet me tomorrow, Sunday, at the Michigan City Public Library- where they will present the chilling Lugosi/Karloff classic "The Raven" at 1:30 pm. Check out the "appearances" tab on our site for more information.

Once again, let me thank all of you for the success of this year's Sven Halloween season tour- we had huge turnouts everywhere, and appreciate all the kind words and  support. I'd also like to thank everyone who sent me warm  wishes this past week, on the three year anniversary of my near-fatal cardiac arrest. I'm happy to have survived and grateful that I am in better shape today!

On to our November slate of fan favorite films- for the one tonight- we're gonna need a bigger rolled-up newspaper!