Curse of the Black Widow (1977) / Fire Maidens of Outer Space (1956)

This 1977 made for TV movie was goofy but also a lot of fun. Tony Franciosa plays Mark, a private investigator who gets hired by Leigh Lockwood (Donna Mills) to find out who killed her fiance. The police are being secretive about the murder, and he slowly uncovers that it’s linked to other murders in the past, some being related to Leigh and her sister Laura (Patty Duke).

Everything that Mark discovers leads him to the belief that the murders are the result of a giant spider, as the victims are all found with 2 large puncture wounds, drained of blood, and covered with spiderwebs. There’s also a mysterious woman named Valerie who seems to be directly connected to these murders; everywhere she goes, people die.

The movie is very entertaining, filled with humor, colorful characters, and well done murders. The killer is also outrageous, with her heavy accent, and glowing eyes when she transforms into a giant spider. I also laughed that the spider’s roar is a remix of Rodan’s roar from the Godzilla movies. I caught this creature feature on YouTube.

Next up was the 50’s sci-fi yarn Fire Maidens of Outer Space. A rocket ship is sent to the 13th moon of Jupiter because of the belief that its atmosphere is similar to that of Earth. A crew of 5 men take the 3 week trip. Once they land on the planet, they discover a race of scantily clad women and their sole male leader. He tells the scientists that he and the girls are the ancestors of Atlantis. They live in a locked fortress to keep them protected from a monster that lurks outside.

The captain of the mission becomes involved with a blonde named Hestia, and she begins to help him and his comrade to escape from the fortress, as they are being drugged in an effort to keep them there, as the women were all promised husbands. The other 3 guys stay behind and try to find a way into the fortress to rescue their comrades. It results in a showdown with the monster, who follows them into the fortress.

The movie is hilariously bad, filled with multiple random dancing numbers to goofy music, completely unrealistic science (a rocket taking just 3 weeks to reach Jupiter’s moon), a monster that’s basically a guy in dark, tight fitting clothes with a mask, and the fire maidens, who are all dressed in mini skirts and woo all the men with their feminine wiles.

If you’re a fan of old flicks like Missile to the Moon and Horrors of Spider Island, then you’re sure to enjoy Fire Maidens of Outer Space, as it shares similar plot points with those 2, such lots of women and goofy monsters. I’ve always been curious about this one and I’m glad I finally got to see it, as it was a lot of fun. It was available to stream on YouTube as well.

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