'The Curse of the Black Widow' - if it's not a camp classic, then it should be

Based on the popularity of last week's post on the motion picture, The Women, I'm thinking of posting a weekly bit on classic camp movies we can all watch while we are stuck at home during this pandemic. Tonight is one of my favorites.

The Curse of the Black Widow comes from 1977, a time before cable when television movies ruled the day. Just about several times a week, ABC, CBS or NBC would feature an original movie, which could be a comedy, drama, or horror. And a lot of actors made bank starring in those movies. Several of them will probably be featured here in the future. But very few should grab your attention like this movie, which was also known as Love Trap.

The summary is simply nuts. A detective (Anthony Franciosa) is investigating a bunch of mysterious murders in which the victims blood was drained and replaced with venom. He finds out that the murders center around fraternal twin heiresses (Patty Duke and Donna Mills). And here is the kicker (by the way, I will be including spoilers, but you really shouldn't watch these movies for the plot) - due to a incident when they were born, one of the twins has the power to transform into an indestructible giant black widow spider who can only be harmed by fire. Which twin is it? The one with the most acting range. Out of Duke and Mills, who has an Oscar and two Emmys? You figure it out.

Those eyes are dangerous.

By the way, did I mention that the twin who can turn into a giant spider has a split personality in which she takes the guise of a woman with a very bad French accent. This is due to an inferiority complex she has because her sister keeps taking her boyfriends. Then there is the plotline of their mother who is insane because she saw her daughter turn into a giant spider. Then there's the nanny who knows the secret because she saw it too. And the shocking ending which you can see coming from miles away.

The video above is a scene which typifies the camp behind The Curse of the Black Widow. Right after the audience finds out which twin is the spider, the other twin finds their mother, who she thought was dead all of these years, and also discovers her sister's power. Now this is a 1970s television so it doesn't hardly have the budget to show a woman transforming into a giant spider. Instead, the movies shows her eyes glowing and then the shock on peoples' faces while watching the transformation. As it is,what transpires next, even though it's supposed to be tragic, ends up being unintentionally hilarious. My guess is that June Lockhart, the actress who played the mother, said "honey, y'all ain't paying me enough to jump out of no damn second floor window."

And I almost forgot - there is a gay character in the movie. He's at the beginning. Listen closely to the banter between him and Franciosa. He doesn't get killed because he is only in one scene. Lastly, we do finally see the spider in its full form at the end. And yes, it's very cheap looking. But by then, is anyone surprised?

The Curse of the Black Widow is available for watching on youtube.