I've become more and more convinced that my movie viewing habits aren't typical. It's not that I'm some sort of movie snob or anything like that, even if I do tend to carry on way too much after watching a movie that I had a strong reaction to. Instead I've realized I have no real internal censor. True, it will be for different reasons, but I'll become just as excited about a bad or silly movie as I will about a "good" movie. Perhaps some of this has to do with my upbringing. I spent more time watching afternoon matinees and late night creature features than I probably should of. Still, I can't fully use that excuse since I could of gone off and found something else to do or at least not become so enthralled with what I was watching. Perhaps, instead of having bad taste, I simply have no taste and will watch any fool thing. No matter what it is, something in me finds great enjoyment from watching movies like Tarantula.

Tarantula stars John Agar at his bland best, Mara Corday, who becomes the leading lady by default since she's the only woman in the movie, Leo Carroll as your typical mad scientist who is off practicing big, crazy movie science, and, of course, one whopping big tarantula. In the film Professor Deemer [Carroll] has developed a growth formula that causes animals to grow to monstrous proportions in a very short period of time. I have no idea what this would be good for. Deemer claims he is developing this formula in order to help feed the world but the formula is fatal to humans so it seems doubtful that meat pumped full of the stuff would be that appetizing. Also, his test subjects aren't the normal Western foodstuffs either. Really big lab rats, guinea pigs the size of cows and the aforementioned tarantula make up the bulk of his studies. Why he thought the world needed a gigantic tarantula is anyone's guess. After a fire in the lab all the animals are presumed lost, except for the tarantula who trots out the back door when nobody is looking.

[Side note: The fire started when Prof. Deemer's bank of electronic equipment caught fire during a scuffle that was taking place in the lab. As was pointed out to me, why did Deemer need that much electronics anyway? Was he working on the movie's sound-track in his spare time?]

After the fire the characters mill about for a few days while the spider continues to grow. Yes, I know it's a rural section of Arizona, but somehow nobody noticed this rapidly growing tarantula sprinting about the countryside. Come to think of it, I'm not sure how the spider managed to grow. Never mind that it's exoskeleton couldn't support it's weight after it got past a certain size, wouldn't it have to molt in order to get larger? If the tarantula somehow managed to avoid detection one would think the giant spider husks dotting the land would get some sort of attention.

None of that matters, however, when you realize that Tarantula offers you all the giant spider action you could possibly hope for or, really, possibly want. Example: at one point two of the characters are driving down the highway. After their dialogue is over they drive out of frame while the camera stays in place. A few seconds later the tarantula, now the size of a SUV, skitters across the road. What a priceless scene. Perhaps the scene is supposed to be frightening, or at least surprising, but all the scene does is raise questions. The tarantula looked like it was in quite a hurry... where exactly was it going? Since it had been a few days since it had escaped what had the tarantula been doing with all it's free time? Why didn't the people driving notice the big spider that was waiting until the road was clear to cross? Perhaps I'm asking more of that scene than it can be expected to deliver.

There's a saying that nature abhors a vacuum, and there's also a saying that if something gets big enough it has to eventually run amok. Keeping with that philosophy the tarantula finally decides that the local cows and the locals citizens make pretty tasty snacks. [Extra Spoiler: I normally wouldn't be this explicit in discussing the ending of a movie, but it's not like one watches this sort of film for the dramatic tension.] After several unsuccessful attempts to destroy it the tarantula is at the very threshold of the town. Only the arrival of a very young Clint Eastwood[!] as an Air Force pilot saves the day. Dousing the tarantula with napalm, the Clinster roasts the spider to death. I can't even begin to imagine how bad a giant burning spider carcass has to smell.

Upon reflection, perhaps the explanation for my skewed movie selection is that I like movies that feature really big things. If it's huge and tears up the scenery I seem to like it, be it Godzilla, a big monkey or other animal, or Orson Welles. Luckily there's no shortage of movies with big protaginists in them so I still have plenty of grist for this page.

Questions, comments and applications for the John Agar fan club can be sent to gleep9@hotmail.com. Head on back to either the huge Second Movie or the equally oversized Main page.