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.