Jun 19th   
Tarantula*       

(US 1955)                        

In the remote desert a scientist's experimental giant tarantula escapes the lab and kills most in its path.
Elementary 50s monster movie with the stock characters and plot getting through the necessary padded narrative so that the enjoyably overscaled shots of the tarantula (effectively silhouetted on desert horizons) and special effects can take over in a barnstorming finale.

Written by: Robert M. Fresco, Martin Berkeley.
Producer: William Alland.
Director: Jack Arnold.
Starring: Leo G. Carroll, John Agar, Mara Corday, Nestor Paiva, Ross Elliott, Raymond Bailey.
Photography: George Robinson, Clifford Stein.
Musical Direction: Joseph Gershenson.
Make-up: Bud Westmore.

+ a pre-stardom Clint Eastwood appears as a pilot at the film's finale

TARANTULA. A classic for 3-D and drive-ins, with a monster that was ideal material for a series of imaginative posters.