Spider-Man (1977 film)
Spider-Man is a 1977 American made-for-television superhero film that had a theatrical release outside the US, which serves as the pilot to the 1978 television series titled The Amazing Spider-Man. It was directed by E. W. Swackhamer, written by Alvin Boretz and stars Nicholas Hammond as the titular character, David White, Michael Pataki, Jeff Donnell and Thayer David.
Spider-Man | |
---|---|
Australian theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | E. W. Swackhamer |
Produced by | Charles W. Fries Daniel R. Goodman Edward J. Montagne |
Written by | Alvin Boretz |
Based on | |
Starring | Nicholas Hammond David White Michael Pataki Lisa Eilbacher |
Music by | Johnnie Spence |
Cinematography | Fred Jackman, Jr. |
Edited by | Aaron Stell |
Production companies | Danchuck Productions Marvel Television |
Distributed by | Columbia Pictures Television |
Release date |
|
Running time | 88 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Box office | $9 million[1] |
It is the first Spider-Man film by Columbia Pictures, which also released under the Sony Pictures Releasing as Spider-Man trilogy (2002–2007), the two Amazing Spider-Man films (2012–2014) and the Marvel Cinematic Universe Spider-Man films (2016–present), as well as the animated film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, released in 2018. Two sequels, Spider-Man Strikes Back and Spider-Man: The Dragon's Challenge, were released in 1978 and 1981, respectively.
Plot
Peter Parker (Nicholas Hammond), a freelance photographer for the Daily Bugle, is bitten by a radioactive spider and discovers he has gained superpowers, such as super-strength, agility and the ability to climb sheer walls and ceilings. When a mysterious Guru (Thayer David) places people under mind-control - including a doctor and lawyer - to rob banks and threatens to have ten New Yorkers commit suicide at his command unless the city pays him $50 million, Peter becomes the costumed hero Spider-Man to stop the crook's fiendish scheme. Things take a bad turn when the villain hypnotizes Peter Parker and his friend Judy into being some of the ten people to jump off a building on command. With some luck, Peter is able to break free and then stop the Guru in his tracks.[2]
Cast
- Nicholas Hammond – Peter Parker / Spider-Man
- David White – J. Jonah Jameson
- Michael Pataki – Captain Barbera
- Hilly Hicks – Joe "Robbie" Robertson
- Lisa Eilbacher – Judy Tyler
- Jeff Donnell – May Parker
- Robert Hastings – Monahan
- Ivor Francis – Professor Noah Tyler
- Thayer David – Edward Byron
Production
The famed sequence in which Spider-Man crawls across an office ceiling and jumps to the wall was accomplished using a complex set of rigging and cables hidden in tracks in the ceiling. Stunt grips lifted stuntman/stunt coordinator Fred Waugh to the ceiling, and he then scuttled down the hallway using a slider track while the wire pressure pulled him upwards.[3] The scene in which Spider-Man swings from building-to-building was extremely expensive and dangerous, and required two days of rigging; to avoid having to repeat this, the stunt was filmed from multiple camera angles to create extra footage which could be used in future episodes of the TV series.[3][4]
Release and reception
The film premiered on CBS on September 14, 1977. It received a 17.8 rating with a 30 share, making it the highest performing CBS production for the entire year.[3] Overseas, the film was theatrically released and distributed by Columbia Pictures.[5] In the UK particularly, Spider-Man received both a standalone release and a reissue as the first film in a double-bill with Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger. It received a VHS / Laserdisc release as a straight-to-video film in 1980.[6][7][8][9]
Sequels
Spider-Man Strikes Back, a composite of the two-parter episode "Deadly Dust" of the contemporary television show The Amazing Spider-Man, screened in European theatres on 21 December 1978. After that a second sequel named Spider-Man: The Dragon's Challenge was also made and released in Europe and Australia.
References
- Hofius, Jason (2010). Age Of TV Heroes: The Live-Action Adventures Of Your Favorite Comic Book Characters. TwoMorrows Publishing. p. 95. ISBN 978-1605490106.
- The Encyclopedia of Superheroes on Film and Television, 2d ed. page 41
- Mangels, Andy (October 2010). "Spinning the Story of the Amazing Spider-Man". Back Issue!. TwoMorrows Publishing (44): 44–48.
- Moore, Trent (May 24, 2017). "The original, 1977 Spider-Man movie suit is hitting the auction block". SYFY WIRE.
- Rowan, Terry. Character-Based Film Series Part 3. Lulu.com. p. 177. ISBN 9781365021312 – via Google Books.
- "Awfully Good: The Amazing Spider-Man (1977)". www.joblo.com. April 30, 2014.
- DeCandido, Keith R. A. (August 24, 2017). "With Great Power Comes Great Boredom — Spider-Man (1977) and Dr. Strange (1978)". Tor.com.
- "The 6 Weirdest Versions of SPIDER-MAN We've Ever Seen on Screen". Nerdist.
- "Every Spider-Man Movie Ever, Ranked". CBR. July 16, 2017. Archived from the original on 2018-07-19.