Il ragno nero

To truly understand and appreciate this serial, you'll have to be familiar w/ the Spider's pulp history. Action is plentiful, from intense shootouts, to realistic fistfights, to dramatic car chases, this serial has it all. The storyline/plot was brilliantly written and easy to follow. Warren Hull portrays the Spider as if he was in the pulp magazines. He was fearless, as both Richard Wentworth and the Spider, when confronting the enemy, especially during shootouts, where he would stand wide open as an easy target and using his double colt automatics. That I found true to the character, for he was not a stable man. This serial is on par w/ Quentin Tarantino's "Reservoir Dogs" and most of John Woo's movies. There are scenes, where it seems that there is a rope waiting for the Spider to climb on or swing on from every building, that is not a coincidence, for in the pulp magazines, the Spider does carry a (thin) rope w/ him for those purposes. My only disappointment, is w/ Columbia Pictures low quality visuals, and brutal editing jobs. (i.e. The Spider cold-bloodedly gunned down two men, as they were waking up from a beating-Chapter 5. The Spider's Hindu Mercenary friend, throwing a knife at an intruder-Chapter 14). You will see the intent of the actions, but not the following, only the end result is shown. Just use your imagination for those scenes, otherwise, this is a great serial. The Spider's webbed mask and cape, was the inspiration for the creation of the Amazing Spiderman, by comic books Great, Stan Lee. For more info on the Spider, I recommend Tim Truman's graphic adaption, "The Spider: Master of Men" Chapters 1-6, from Eclipse Books(1991-1992).