| Spider-Man | |
|---|---|
 Australian theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | E. W. Swackhamer |
| Written by | Alvin Boretz |
| Based on | Spider-Man by Stan Lee Steve Ditko |
| Starring | Nicholas Hammond David White Michael Pataki Lisa Eilbacher |
| Cinematography | Fred Jackman |
| Edited by | Aaron Stell |
| Music by | Johnnie Spence |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures Television |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 90 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $9 million[1] |
Spider-Man is a 1977 American made-for-television superhero film that had a theatrical release abroad, 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.
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] It received a VHS 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. https://books.google.se/books?id=5pSt_4L0Y4IC&printsec=frontcover&hl=sv#v=onepage&q&f=false.
- ↑ The Encyclopedia of Superheroes on Film and Television, 2d ed. page 41
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Mangels, Andy (October 2010). "Spinning the Story of the Amazing Spider-Man". Back Issue! (TwoMorrows Publishing) (44): 44-48.
- ↑ http://www.syfy.com/syfywire/original-1977-spider-man-movie-suit-hitting-auction-block
- ↑ Character-Based Film Series Part 3; page 177
- ↑ http://www.joblo.com/movie-news/awfully-good-the-amazing-spider-man-1977
- ↑ https://www.tor.com/2017/08/24/with-great-power-comes-great-boredom-spider-man-1977-and-dr-strange-1978/comment-page-1/
- ↑ https://nerdist.com/spider-man-6-weirdest-versions/
- ↑ https://www.cbr.com/every-spider-man-movie-ever-ranked/ https://archive.is/j6Jrd
External links[]
| Live-action theatrical films based on Marvel Comics | ||
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| Unproduced | Silver & Black • Gambit • Marvel Cinematic Universe projects | |
| Film franchises | Marvel Cinematic Universe (films (Phase One • Phase Two • Phase Three • Phase Four)) • Sony Pictures Universe of Marvel Characters | |
| Related | Marvel Studios | |
| Live-action television programs based on Marvel Comics | ||
|---|---|---|
| TV series | Current | Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (since 2013) • Runaways (since 2017) • Cloak & Dagger (since 2018) |
| Former | Spidey Super Stories (1974–77) • The Incredible Hulk (1978–82) • The Amazing Spider-Man (1978–79) • Spider-Man (1978–79) • Night Man (1997–99) • Mutant X (2001–04) • Blade: The Series (2006) • Agent Carter (2015–16) • Powers (2015–16) • Daredevil (2015–18) • Jessica Jones (2015–19) • Luke Cage (2016–18) • Legion (2017–19) • Iron Fist (2017–18) • The Defenders (2017) • Inhumans (2017) • The Gifted (2017–19) • The Punisher (2017–19) | |
| Upcoming | ||
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| TV films | Spider-Man • The Incredible Hulk • The Return of the Incredible Hulk • Dr. Strange • Captain America • Captain America II: Death Too Soon • The Incredible Hulk Returns • The Trial of the Incredible Hulk • The Death of the Incredible Hulk • Power Pack • Generation X • Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. • Man-Thing | |
| See also | Marvel Television • List of Marvel Cinematic Universe television series • List of unproduced television projects based on Marvel Comics | |
Template:E.W. Swackhamer