We’re on another run of movies, so for a third day in a row you see a promo poster, this time for The Spider Woman Strikes Back. Though the title suggests a prequel, the movie is a stand-alone. The title was chosen because top-billed Gale Sondergaard had appeared in the Sherlock Holmes movie The Spider Woman in 1943. It’s called branding. Well, today it’s called branding. We don’t know what it was called back then.
Plotwise, aspiring domestic Brenda Joyce moves to a town called Domingo to work for a woman named Zenobia, played by Sondergaard, who needs live-in help after being blinded during a trip to Central America. Sondergaard, who has not in fact been blinded, surreptitiously drugs Joyce with a glass of milk each night, then drains her blood in order to feed it to a large, seemingly sentient plant. She could probably get away with this indefinitely, except for two problems. First, Joyce begins to refuse milk or any other pre-bedtime snack, which leaves her undrugged to wander the estate at night. And second, the farmers in Domingo start having trouble with their land due to an intrusion of invasive weeds that kill the cattle that eat them. One way or another Zenobia’s evil existence is going to get complicated.
At just under an hour long The Spider Woman Strikes Back feels like an episode of something rather than a full feature, but its simple story and swift movement work fine leading up to its tidy conclusion, so there’s little chance you’ll think the time spent watching this little creepshow wasn’t worth it. As a side note, it’s one of many vintage movies that featured Rondo Hatton, who suffered from acromegaly that caused parts of his face to grow. He became in demand in horror and suspense movies. You’ve probably seen his photos already. The Spider Woman Strikes Back had a special premiere in February 1946 before going into national release today the same year.
