The Spider Woman Strikes Back

1946

Action / Drama / Horror / Thriller

2
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Certified Fresh 95%
IMDb Rating 5.7/10 10 500 500

corral deaf-mute acromegalic actor california poison servant

Plot summary

A young girl goes to work as a live-in caretaker for a spooky old woman. She doesn't know that every night, the woman drains some blood from her to feed her strange plant.

Director

Arthur Lubin Photo
Arthur Lubin

Top cast

Norman Leavitt Photo
Norman Leavitt as Tom
Milburn Stone Photo
Milburn Stone as Mr. Moore
Guy Wilkerson Photo
Guy Wilkerson as Lem - Rancher
Brenda Joyce Photo
Brenda Joyce as Jean Kingsley
720p.BluRay 1080p.BluRay
542.84 MB
1280*932
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
12 hr 59 min
Seeds 1
1007.67 MB
1472*1072
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
12 hr 59 min
Seeds 5

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by utgard14 5 / 10

Not great but watchable time killer

It's hard to hate anything with Gale Sondergaard in it. This subpar Universal thriller is light on thrills or chills. It's not much fun either. It does move quickly, however. As I realized the film was reaching its climax I was surprised as I thought it had only been on maybe half an hour. Outside of Sondergaard and (visually, at least) Rondo Hatton, the cast is pretty forgettable. The script is riddled with holes, too. When the villain reveals their big master plan I guarantee you'll say "Wait, what? Really? But what about..." It's that kind of movie. Still, it's watchable enough. Fans of Universal's horror classics from this period will enjoy it more than most.
Reviewed by kevinolzak 4 / 10

First seen on Pittsburgh's Chiller Theater in 1965

1946's "The Spider Woman Strikes Back" has no connection to the 1943 Sherlock Holmes feature "The Spider Woman" (a series was intended then wisely dropped). Gale Sondergaard is back of course, this time as Miss Zenobia Dollard, faking blindness as she milks her varied nurses of blood on a nightly basis (food for her poison-producing plants), making any number of excuses to explain away their absences. Brenda Joyce ("Strange Confession," "Pillow of Death," "Danger Woman"), best remembered as a very chaste Jane in five Sol Lesser Tarzan entries, makes for a dull heroine indeed, slow to catch on as to why she's developed a habit of sleeping in late, with former Creeper Rondo Hatton reduced in stature as mute manservant Mario, billed on the posters as 'The Monster Man,' doing little except skulk around in the dark, plus a bit of sign language (there is an indication that he may have some interest in this current nurse, but nothing comes of it). Kirby Grant is a colorless hero, and dependable Milburn Stone is wasted as an agricultural expert. Gale Sondergaard later acknowledged this film's reputation as a campy cult classic, but it never lives up to such high ideals; watchable, but far too slack in its pacing. Either overrated or underrated, this SHOCK! title made an astounding 8 appearances on Pittsburgh's Chiller Theater (only the fourth Universal to debut in the fall of 1965, last appearing in 1983).
Read more IMDb reviews

No comments yet

Be the first to leave a comment