The Spider's Web (serial)

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The Spider's Web
Directed byJames W. Horne
Ray Taylor
Written byRobert E. Kent
George H. Plympton
Basil Dickey
Mart Ramson
Norvell Page (pulp)
Produced byIrving Briskin
Jack Fier
StarringWarren Hull
Iris Meredith
Richard Fiske
Kenne Duncan
Forbes Murray
Don Douglas
Marc Lawrence
CinematographyAllen G. Siegler
Edited byRichard Fantl
Music byMischa Bakaleinikoff
Sidney Cutner
Distributed byColumbia Pictures
Release date
10 October 1938
Running time
15 chapters
CountryUSA
LanguageEnglish

The Spider's Web (1938) is a Columbia Pictures movie serial based on the pulp magazine character The Spider. The 15-chapter adventure (first episode was double length) was directed by serial and western specialist Ray Taylor and comedy and serial veteran James W. Horne. It was the fifth of the 57 serials released by Columbia.

The film was wildly successful when first released; it was the most popular serial of 1938, according to a tally published in The Motion Picture Herald[citation needed], and was the first serial that Columbia brought back as a reprint (in 1947)[citation needed]. A sequel, The Spider Returns, was released in 1941; of the Spider's Web principals, only Warren Hull and Kenne Duncan returned in their original roles.

Plot

"The Octopus," a masked crime lord, is bent on crippling the nation with a wave of terror. He starts with the transportation system and then moves onto industry. He demands tribute from railroad magnates and other captains of industry. Richard Wentworth (Warren Hull), an amateur criminologist who is friendly with the police, is secretly "The Spider," a masked vigilante equally determined to wipe the Octopus and his gang off the face of the earth. Pleasant and smiling in civilian life, Wentworth is often ruthless as the Spider, slinging two guns against the public enemies who attack him.

Wentworth also masquerades as affable underworld lowlife Blinky McQuade. Disguised as McQuade, Wentworth can infiltrate gangland at the hired-gun level and keep current on the gang's plans.

The only people who know Wentworth's other 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 villain in a single issue pulp believed to have been written by Norvell Page who wrote most of The Spider pulp stories. He is garbed completely in white and is only ever seen sitting in a chair. Unlike the pulps, The Spider is garbed in a lightweight full length costume with web-like markings on it which resemble Spiderman's costume. The serial follows the standard formula of fights, shoot-outs, Wentworth's friends being kidnapped at various times and having 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 shows them in full health and fighting the villains. The HQ of The Octopus is found by The Spider in the last episode. He has unwittingly given himself away to Wentworth and realises that only Wentworth could know, so of course he must die.

The Spider uses his line (his web) a number of times to get out of trouble. Commissioner Kirk (changed from Kirkpatrick in the pulps) suspects that Wentworth is The Spider in one episode. The Octopus's gang wore robes too (this being because they were a cheap disguise). He ruthlessly executed all who failed him and in case of trouble, used a false arm, so concealing a gun hidden by his robes, held by his real arm.

Cast

Production

The Spider's Web was the first serial to be adapted from a pulp magazine.[1] 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."[2] Some changes were made beyond toning down the violence. The Spider costume was too flamboyant and did not match either the description or illustrations from the pulp magazine. Commissioner Kirkpatrick was slightly changed to Commissioner Kirk "for no good reason"[2] The serial release coincided with Superman (comics) and Green Hornet (radio) going nationwide.[1]

Stunts

Chapter titles

  1. Night of Terror
  2. Death Below
  3. High Voltage
  4. Surrender or Die
  5. Shoot to Kill
  6. Sealed Lips
  7. Shadows of the Night
  8. While the City Sleeps
  9. Doomed
  10. Flaming Danger
  11. The Road to Peril
  12. The Spider Falls
  13. The Manhunt
  14. The Double Cross
  15. The Octopus Unmasked

Source:[3]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Stedman, Raymond William. "5. Shazam and Good-by". Serials: Suspense and Drama By Installment. University of Oklahoma Press. pp. 122–123. ISBN 978-0-8061-0927-5.
  2. ^ a b Harmon, Jim. "8. The Detectives "Gangbusters!"". The Great Movie Serials: Their Sound and Fury. Routledge. p. 200. ISBN 978-0-7130-0097-9. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  3. ^ Cline, William C. "Filmography". In the Nick of Time. McFarland & Company, Inc. pp. 222–223. ISBN 0-7864-0471-X.

External links

Preceded by Columbia Serial
The Spider's Web (1938)
Succeeded by