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Curse of the Black Widow

January 01, 1970

Curse of the Black Widow is a 1977 American made-for-television horror film directed by Dan Curtis and starring Tony Franciosa, Donna Mills, Patty Duke, Vic Morrow and June Allyson. It originally aired on ABC on September 16, 1977 and was re-released in 1979 as Love Trap.

Curse of the Black Widow
Promotional film poster
GenreCrime
Horror
Mystery
Sci-Fi
Written byRobert Blees
Directed byDan Curtis
StarringTony Franciosa
Donna Mills
June Allyson
Vic Morrow
Music byBob Cobert
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producerDan Curtis
ProducersSteven North
Steven P. Reicher (associate producer)
Production locationsPiru Mansion - 829 & 837 Park Road, Piru, California
CinematographyPaul Lohmann
EditorLeon Carrere
Running time97 minutes
Production companiesABC
ABC Circle Films
Dan Curtis Productions
Original release
NetworkABC
ReleaseSeptember 16, 1977 (1977-09-16)

Plot edit

For the past four years, Los Angeles has been terrorized by a series of mysterious murders, in which several men have been found dead with huge puncture wounds in their chests. The latest happens when private detective Mark Higbie is visiting a bar. A dark-haired woman with a German accent needs help with her car, and one of Higbie's friends goes out to help her. The woman makes a pass at him, but is turned down. Minutes later, the man is found dead.

Mark does some digging and finds out that Lieutenant Gully Conti, who is leading the investigation, knows who the culprit is, but is covering up details. He soon finds out why; all of the victims have had their bodily fluids sucked out of them, and the wounds are filled with spider venom. Each time, a mysterious woman named Valerie Steffan was in the area. Gully suspects that the twins, Leigh and Laura Lockwood, are somehow involved. Leigh hires Mark, concerned about the police focusing on her. It turns out that she dated all of the men who have died so far.

Mark eventually gets in touch with a former bartender who saw one of the murders, who tells him that at least one man was killed by a man-sized black widow spider. Checking further, he finds out that Leigh and Laura's father died in a plane crash several years ago, and one of the girls was nearly bitten to death by spiders. Mark finds out that the plane landed in an old vineyard owned by the Lockwoods, and meets an aging Native American who found the girls. The Native American says that according to an old legend, some women are affected by an ancient curse passed through the female line. During the full moon, these women turn into giant spiders in times of stress, kill their victims, encase them in webbing and feed on them. These women have a red hourglass-shaped birthmark on their abdomens, similar to those found on black widow spiders. They are practically indestructible in spider form; the only thing that can kill them in that form is fire. The twin who was bitten by the spiders is the one affected by the curse.

Mark calls Laura and finds out Leigh is on her way. Laura tells him that Leigh is the one who was bitten, and Mark tells her to get out as fast as she can. As Laura is in the midst of packing, she suddenly has violent convulsions and visions of two of the men who died. It turns out that Laura is really the killer. She has long suffered from multiple personality disorder; Valerie is the expression of her feelings of inadequacy compared to Leigh. Valerie is also the only one who knows how to use Laura's curse. It turns out that Valerie has made several advances toward Leigh's boyfriends; when they turn her down, she turns into a spider and kills them. The only other people who know the secret are their mother, and their former nanny, Olga. Their mother has been in a catatonic state since seeing Valerie kill Leigh's fiancé.

Leigh arrives and finds her mother in a panic. Suddenly, Valerie walks in, taunts Leigh and her mother by telling her about the things Laura never had the courage to say to Leigh. She also talks about how Leigh stole Laura's boyfriend, Gianni. She explains that Laura tried to win him back by seducing him, and unfortunately, Gianni ended up raping Laura and getting her pregnant. This caused Valerie to retaliate and kill Gianni, which was what their mother witnessed; she was babbling about Laura killing an Italian boy when Leigh found her, and it made her go crazy. Laura then turns into a spider. Horrified, their mother falls out of the window to her death. Valerie encases Leigh in webbing. Olga arrives minutes later and realizes Laura has to die. She goes to an old farmhouse to find Laura cowering on a stall. Laura admits that Valerie killed their mother, and hurt Leigh as well. As Olga pulls out a pistol, Valerie takes over, turns into a spider and kills Olga.

Mark finds the place deserted and goes to the farmhouse. He finds Leigh, alive but terrified. Just then, Valerie arrives in spider form. Mark empties his pistol into her, to no avail. He hurls a lantern at Valerie, and she catches fire. Leigh and Mark escape, while Valerie sets the farmhouse ablaze as she thrashes about on fire. The farmhouse burns to the ground and the police consider the ordeal to be over.

Sometime later, Mark is at Leigh's beach house for dinner, while Jennifer is shown playing on the beach with her dog. Leigh explains that Jennifer is adjusting to living with her, though she still has occasional nightmares, but with diminishing frequency. She has returned to school and is making new friends. She tells Mark that although Jennifer does not really look like her, sometimes she reminds her of Laura. Jennifer asks to go for one more swim before dinner, at which time she turns and waves to Mark and Leigh on the balcony, revealing a red hourglass-shaped birthmark on her abdomen, the same one that Laura had, indicating that Laura was her mother and that she has inherited the "curse of the black widow".

Cast edit

Reception edit

Broadcast edit

Curse of the Black Widow was first broadcast on ABC on September 16, 1977.[1][2] ABC would later re-broadcast the film in 1979, under the alternate title Love Trap.[3]

Critical response edit

Curse of the Black Widow received a mixed response from critics upon its original broadcast, with some criticizing the film's inadequate special effects and script. Videohound's Golden Movie Retriever's Jim Craddock rated the film a mixed score of two out of four bones.[4] Mick Martin and Marsha Porter awarded the film two out of four stars, criticizing the film's script as being "recycled".[5] In his book Television Fright Films of the 1970s, David Deal commended the film's cast, cinematography, and "old fashioned sense of fun". Deal then went on to note that, while the film was reasonably entertaining, its "meandering story" and 'forced sense of legitimacy' proved detrimental to its overall success.[6]

The film was not without its supporters, however. Cavett Binion from Allmovie called the film, "[a] wonderfully cheesy TV movie-of-the-week".[7] Fraser A. Sherman felt that the film was reasonably well-made and favorably compared it to director Curtis' previous work, The Night Stalker, while also criticizing some of Curse's over-the-top and unanswered plot elements.[8]

See also edit

Citations edit

  1. ^ Sherman 2015, p. 44.
  2. ^ Deal 2015, p. 27.
  3. ^ Young 2000, p. 126.
  4. ^ Craddock 2004, p. 207.
  5. ^ Martin & Porter 2003, p. 246.
  6. ^ Deal 2015, p. 26.
  7. ^ Binion, Cavett. "Curse of the Black Widow (1977) - Dan Curtis". Allmovie.com. RhythmOne. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
  8. ^ Sherman 2015, p. 45.

Bibliography edit

  • Craddock, Jim (July 9, 2004). VideoHound's Golden Movie Retriever: 2005. Thomson/Gale. ISBN 978-0-7876-7470-0.
  • Deal, David (January 27, 2015). Television Fright Films of the 1970s. McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-0-7864-5514-0.
  • Martin, Mick; Porter, Marsha (2003). DVD and Video Guide 2004. Ballantine Books. ISBN 978-0-345-44994-8.
  • Fraser A. Sherman (September 3, 2015). Cyborgs, Santa Claus and Satan: Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films Made for Television. McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-1-4766-1101-3.
  • R. G. Young (2000). The Encyclopedia of Fantastic Film: Ali Baba to Zombies. Applause. ISBN 978-1-55783-269-6.

External links edit

January 01, 1970
curse, black, widow, 1977, american, made, television, horror, film, directed, curtis, starring, tony, franciosa, donna, mills, patty, duke, morrow, june, allyson, originally, aired, september, 1977, released, 1979, love, trap, promotional, film, postergenrecr. Curse of the Black Widow is a 1977 American made for television horror film directed by Dan Curtis and starring Tony Franciosa Donna Mills Patty Duke Vic Morrow and June Allyson It originally aired on ABC on September 16 1977 and was re released in 1979 as Love Trap Curse of the Black WidowPromotional film posterGenreCrimeHorrorMysterySci FiWritten byRobert BleesDirected byDan CurtisStarringTony FranciosaDonna MillsJune AllysonVic MorrowMusic byBob CobertCountry of originUnited StatesOriginal languageEnglishProductionExecutive producerDan CurtisProducersSteven NorthSteven P Reicher associate producer Production locationsPiru Mansion 829 amp 837 Park Road Piru CaliforniaCinematographyPaul LohmannEditorLeon CarrereRunning time97 minutesProduction companiesABCABC Circle FilmsDan Curtis ProductionsOriginal releaseNetworkABCReleaseSeptember 16 1977 1977 09 16 Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Reception 3 1 Broadcast 3 2 Critical response 4 See also 5 Citations 6 Bibliography 7 External linksPlot editFor the past four years Los Angeles has been terrorized by a series of mysterious murders in which several men have been found dead with huge puncture wounds in their chests The latest happens when private detective Mark Higbie is visiting a bar A dark haired woman with a German accent needs help with her car and one of Higbie s friends goes out to help her The woman makes a pass at him but is turned down Minutes later the man is found dead Mark does some digging and finds out that Lieutenant Gully Conti who is leading the investigation knows who the culprit is but is covering up details He soon finds out why all of the victims have had their bodily fluids sucked out of them and the wounds are filled with spider venom Each time a mysterious woman named Valerie Steffan was in the area Gully suspects that the twins Leigh and Laura Lockwood are somehow involved Leigh hires Mark concerned about the police focusing on her It turns out that she dated all of the men who have died so far Mark eventually gets in touch with a former bartender who saw one of the murders who tells him that at least one man was killed by a man sized black widow spider Checking further he finds out that Leigh and Laura s father died in a plane crash several years ago and one of the girls was nearly bitten to death by spiders Mark finds out that the plane landed in an old vineyard owned by the Lockwoods and meets an aging Native American who found the girls The Native American says that according to an old legend some women are affected by an ancient curse passed through the female line During the full moon these women turn into giant spiders in times of stress kill their victims encase them in webbing and feed on them These women have a red hourglass shaped birthmark on their abdomens similar to those found on black widow spiders They are practically indestructible in spider form the only thing that can kill them in that form is fire The twin who was bitten by the spiders is the one affected by the curse Mark calls Laura and finds out Leigh is on her way Laura tells him that Leigh is the one who was bitten and Mark tells her to get out as fast as she can As Laura is in the midst of packing she suddenly has violent convulsions and visions of two of the men who died It turns out that Laura is really the killer She has long suffered from multiple personality disorder Valerie is the expression of her feelings of inadequacy compared to Leigh Valerie is also the only one who knows how to use Laura s curse It turns out that Valerie has made several advances toward Leigh s boyfriends when they turn her down she turns into a spider and kills them The only other people who know the secret are their mother and their former nanny Olga Their mother has been in a catatonic state since seeing Valerie kill Leigh s fiance Leigh arrives and finds her mother in a panic Suddenly Valerie walks in taunts Leigh and her mother by telling her about the things Laura never had the courage to say to Leigh She also talks about how Leigh stole Laura s boyfriend Gianni She explains that Laura tried to win him back by seducing him and unfortunately Gianni ended up raping Laura and getting her pregnant This caused Valerie to retaliate and kill Gianni which was what their mother witnessed she was babbling about Laura killing an Italian boy when Leigh found her and it made her go crazy Laura then turns into a spider Horrified their mother falls out of the window to her death Valerie encases Leigh in webbing Olga arrives minutes later and realizes Laura has to die She goes to an old farmhouse to find Laura cowering on a stall Laura admits that Valerie killed their mother and hurt Leigh as well As Olga pulls out a pistol Valerie takes over turns into a spider and kills Olga Mark finds the place deserted and goes to the farmhouse He finds Leigh alive but terrified Just then Valerie arrives in spider form Mark empties his pistol into her to no avail He hurls a lantern at Valerie and she catches fire Leigh and Mark escape while Valerie sets the farmhouse ablaze as she thrashes about on fire The farmhouse burns to the ground and the police consider the ordeal to be over Sometime later Mark is at Leigh s beach house for dinner while Jennifer is shown playing on the beach with her dog Leigh explains that Jennifer is adjusting to living with her though she still has occasional nightmares but with diminishing frequency She has returned to school and is making new friends She tells Mark that although Jennifer does not really look like her sometimes she reminds her of Laura Jennifer asks to go for one more swim before dinner at which time she turns and waves to Mark and Leigh on the balcony revealing a red hourglass shaped birthmark on her abdomen the same one that Laura had indicating that Laura was her mother and that she has inherited the curse of the black widow Cast editTony Franciosa as Mark Higbie Vic Morrow as Lt Conti Donna Mills as Leigh Lockwood Patty Duke as Laura Lockwood Valerie Steffan credited as Patty Duke Astin June Lockhart as Mrs Lockwood June Allyson as Olga Sid Caesar as Lazlo Cozart Jeff Corey as Aspa Soldado Max Gail as Ragsdale Roz Kelly as Flaps Michael DeLano as Carlo Lenzi Bryan O Byrne as Oakes zoo watchman Tracy Curtis as Gymnast Irene Cagen as Rita credited as Irene Forest Bruce French as Summers hospital administrator Mari Gorman as Sophie Elizabeth Grey as Charlene H B Haggerty as Marion Popeye Sykes Crofton Hardester as Gianni Howard Honig as Harker Rosanna Locke as Jennifer Robert Nadder as Hank morgue attendantReception editThis section needs expansion You can help by adding to it June 2018 Broadcast edit Curse of the Black Widow was first broadcast on ABC on September 16 1977 1 2 ABC would later re broadcast the film in 1979 under the alternate title Love Trap 3 Critical response edit Curse of the Black Widow received a mixed response from critics upon its original broadcast with some criticizing the film s inadequate special effects and script Videohound s Golden Movie Retriever s Jim Craddock rated the film a mixed score of two out of four bones 4 Mick Martin and Marsha Porter awarded the film two out of four stars criticizing the film s script as being recycled 5 In his book Television Fright Films of the 1970s David Deal commended the film s cast cinematography and old fashioned sense of fun Deal then went on to note that while the film was reasonably entertaining its meandering story and forced sense of legitimacy proved detrimental to its overall success 6 The film was not without its supporters however Cavett Binion from Allmovie called the film a wonderfully cheesy TV movie of the week 7 Fraser A Sherman felt that the film was reasonably well made and favorably compared it to director Curtis previous work The Night Stalker while also criticizing some of Curse s over the top and unanswered plot elements 8 See also editEarth vs the Spider 2001 film Citations edit Sherman 2015 p 44 Deal 2015 p 27 Young 2000 p 126 Craddock 2004 p 207 Martin amp Porter 2003 p 246 Deal 2015 p 26 Binion Cavett Curse of the Black Widow 1977 Dan Curtis Allmovie com RhythmOne Retrieved May 4 2020 Sherman 2015 p 45 Bibliography editCraddock Jim July 9 2004 VideoHound s Golden Movie Retriever 2005 Thomson Gale ISBN 978 0 7876 7470 0 Deal David January 27 2015 Television Fright Films of the 1970s McFarland amp Company ISBN 978 0 7864 5514 0 Martin Mick Porter Marsha 2003 DVD and Video Guide 2004 Ballantine Books ISBN 978 0 345 44994 8 Fraser A Sherman September 3 2015 Cyborgs Santa Claus and Satan Science Fiction Fantasy and Horror Films Made for Television McFarland amp Company ISBN 978 1 4766 1101 3 R G Young 2000 The Encyclopedia of Fantastic Film Ali Baba to Zombies Applause ISBN 978 1 55783 269 6 External links editCurse of the Black Widow at AllMovie Curse of the Black Widow at IMDb nbsp Curse of the Black Widow at Rotten Tomatoes Curse of the Black Widow at the TCM Movie Database Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Curse of the Black Widow amp oldid 1221544477, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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