March 29- Watch Out! There Goes a Spider, man…
The Svengoolie show gets warm and fuzzy- well, at least, fuzzy- tonight with a classic 1950s feature- “Tarantula!” Directed by Jack Arnold, this “giant creature” film from 1955 starts out based on the noblest of intentions-with the population of our planet expanding, there could be a food shortage in our future
-so the good professor Leo G. Carroll is developing a nutrient that can be helpful in feeding the future human population. He’s been doing some experiments- which have produced oversized animals- and, sadly, some other mutations that he’s keeping a secret-for now…one of which causes turmoil in his lab, allowing a larger than normal tarantula to escape into the desert- where it continues to grow- and also starts attacking various livestock and humanity! Stalwart scientist John Agar, aided by lab assistant (and real life- early Playboy Playmate)
Mara Corday, tries to convince the world that the huge menace is for real-and find a way to stop the incredible towering “Tarantula!”
For those who always ask, yes, this is another Universal flick with an early cameo by Clint Eastwood- we’ll point it out to you on the show. Mara Corday became fast friends with Eastwood, and even played supporting roles in his movies when he became a big star.
Let’s go from a big star to a big ham- I don’t mean that in a disparaging manner- I’m talking about John Agar, whose family was in the meat-packing business right here in Chicago-and were famous for their Agar hams. I don’t think the company is around anymore…and haven’t been able to find any information regarding when the company left the city, or was bought out-if you know any facts about it, please pass them along to me at svengoolie@wciu.com …we’ll tell you more information about John in the film tonight…
In almost all the shots in the film- the tarantula was indeed a real spider, just magnified and super-imposed into the scenes.
This is certainly different from one of the other “giant creature” feature, “The Deadly Mantis”- in which it’s the exact opposite-a real mantis was used very sparingly!
There’s all the usual spider-Sven antics in the show tonight- including a song based on a dance that came from the tarantula’s name! Make sure you tune in –9pm on WCIU- 1am on Me-TV…and please check your listings for WMLW and WDJT 58.3 in Milwaukee, and MyMichiana in the South Bend area!
-so the good professor Leo G. Carroll is developing a nutrient that can be helpful in feeding the future human population. He’s been doing some experiments- which have produced oversized animals- and, sadly, some other mutations that he’s keeping a secret-for now…one of which causes turmoil in his lab, allowing a larger than normal tarantula to escape into the desert- where it continues to grow- and also starts attacking various livestock and humanity! Stalwart scientist John Agar, aided by lab assistant (and real life- early Playboy Playmate)
Mara Corday, tries to convince the world that the huge menace is for real-and find a way to stop the incredible towering “Tarantula!”
For those who always ask, yes, this is another Universal flick with an early cameo by Clint Eastwood- we’ll point it out to you on the show. Mara Corday became fast friends with Eastwood, and even played supporting roles in his movies when he became a big star.
Let’s go from a big star to a big ham- I don’t mean that in a disparaging manner- I’m talking about John Agar, whose family was in the meat-packing business right here in Chicago-and were famous for their Agar hams. I don’t think the company is around anymore…and haven’t been able to find any information regarding when the company left the city, or was bought out-if you know any facts about it, please pass them along to me at svengoolie@wciu.com …we’ll tell you more information about John in the film tonight…
In almost all the shots in the film- the tarantula was indeed a real spider, just magnified and super-imposed into the scenes.
This is certainly different from one of the other “giant creature” feature, “The Deadly Mantis”- in which it’s the exact opposite-a real mantis was used very sparingly!
There’s all the usual spider-Sven antics in the show tonight- including a song based on a dance that came from the tarantula’s name! Make sure you tune in –9pm on WCIU- 1am on Me-TV…and please check your listings for WMLW and WDJT 58.3 in Milwaukee, and MyMichiana in the South Bend area!
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