Spider Baby or, The Maddest Story Ever Told (1968)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Jack Hill

Writer:

Jack Hill (written by)

Genre:

Comedy | Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

Come into my parlor, said the spider to the...

Plot:

A caretaker devotes himself to three demented adults after their father's death.

Plot Keywords:

Death | Disease | Lawyer | Chauffeur | Dead Cat

Cast

Lon Chaney Jr.	...	Bruno (as Lon Chaney)
Carol Ohmart	...	Emily
Quinn K. Redeker	...	Peter (as Quinn Redeker)
Beverly Washburn	...	Elizabeth
Jill Banner	...	Virginia
Sid Haig	...	Ralph
Mary Mitchel	...	Ann
Karl Schanzer	...	Schlocker
Mantan Moreland	...	Messenger

Also Known As:

Attack of the Liver Eaters
Cannibal Orgy, or the Maddest Story Ever Told
Jack Hill's Spider Baby (Australia)
Spider Baby (USA) (short title)
The Liver Eaters

Runtime:

81 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:PG (DVD rating) | USA:TV-PG (TV rating) | Finland:K-14 (video premiere) | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Lasky-Monka

Trivia:

The film was adapted as a stage musical in 2004.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When the window comes down on the back of the messenger you can see a hand at each side of the window holding it down from the outside.

Quotes:

Virginia: I caught a big fat bug right in my spider web and now the spider gets to give the bug a big sting. Sting! Sting! Sting! Sting! Sting!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Fade to Black (1980)

Apparently you either love this film or hate it. I happen to love it.

I am amazed at some of the earlier comments on this board concerning this picture. One wonders why the people who hate it with such a passion bothered to contribute to the comments at all? This film is an acquired taste to be sure but I happen to like movies of this sort.

Admittedly Lon Chaney did very few things in the 60's that could be called "memorable". THE HAUNTED PALACE and WITCHCRAFT are the only things that come to mind. (Let us forget about FACE OF THE SCREAMING WEREWOLF entirely and that story about Edward D. Wood directing the scene of Chaney climbing the outside of the building is probably hooey.)

Any movie that opens with Lon singing the title song (it was released as a .45 with Bobby Pickett's 'Monsters Holiday' on the "A" side)moves on to a cameo by Mantan Moreland who pops up long enough to get himself killed and which quickly segues to Chaney as surrogate patriarch to a totally insane family can't be all bad. The Merrye Family is definitely one that you would not want to live nextdoor to. I get the feeling Rhoda Penmark from THE BAD SEED would enjoy hanging around with the 2 sisters (Beverly Washburn and Jill Banner) and Ralph (Sid Haig) can cause shudders just by entering a room.

Is this movie a cult classic? Yes! Some people will not take to it right away (qv, some of the other comments on this board) but if you go into it expecting black comedy you will not be disappointed. Sure go ahead and rent this one. It may take more than one viewing but I think, if you keep an open mind, you might learn to like it.

PS: If you want to catch one of Beverly Washburn's earliest performances check out SUPERMAN AND THE MOLE MEN. She is the little girl whose home is visited by the creatures from beneath the Earth. If you want to see more of Jill Banner, start watching reruns of 'Dragnet'.