La araña negra

I love the original pulp stories, the best of which were scribed by Norvell Page. In the pulps, Wentworth was a grim, brutal (and borderline deranged) killer of criminals, and Nita was almost as steely as her fiance. The menaces were epic (crooks poisoning canned food, for example) and Wentworth's revenge swift and terrible, making for one of the most violent pulps of the period.

There's none of that darkness in this serial. As other reviewers have noted, the music is a bit too upbeat, and Warren Hull's portrayal of Wentworth is a bit too cheery. And Iris Meredith is a bit too wholesome for an accurate reading of society girl turned vigilante Nita Van Sloan.

But there's much to recommend The Spider's Web. The pace is breakneck, The Octopus is a great villain and there's a wonderful Death Ray used by the baddies to down aircraft.

If you've never seen a movie serial from the 1930s or 1940s, you may well watch the first episode then give up, thinking, "What the blue blazes am I watching?" But if, like me, you grew up watching these chapterplays at the Saturday morning matinees, then give this one a chance ... it's one of the best.