Lori Stine of The Living Room at Gleason poses with the remains of the giant spider made famous in a 1975 drive-in flick. She's holding a picture of the spider before time and the elements took a toll. |
Hidden Places: Remembering the giant spider invasion July 12, 2008 Cicadas lay dormant for 17 years, before emerging from their burrows for a brief frenzy of song.
Luna moths live only a few days, fueled by lust rather than food, since they lack mouths.
Neither species can hold a candle to Gleason’s giant spider.
After 33 years in the brush of the rural berg, the star of the 1975 cult classic “The Giant Spider Invasion” is emerging from its lair for rebirth as a Gleason tourist attraction.
The news certainly piqued the interest of the crew, despite the fact that they generally avoid all things arachnid.
That’s a habit shared by many.
“I hate spiders,” Lori Stine of The Living Room, a Gleason design and decorating business that is now home to the movie star, admits. “I’m just looking at this as another project but it will be fun bringing it alive.”
Some history first, and it’s not the boring sort.
Back in the 1970s and 80s, movie director Bill Rebane churned out 12 low-budget flicks designed for the southern drive-in theater crowd from his studios located on Highway J between Irma and Gleason. They were mostly horror flicks, the kind kids in a 1960-something Bel Air could use as an excuse for some snuggling. Many used Merrill, Tomahawk and Gleason as backdrops.
Most were forgettable but one, “The Great Spider Invasion,” has become a cult classic, thanks largely to DVDs and video sales along with an appearance on TV’s Mystery Science Theater 3000. (You know the one, a man and his two robot sidekicks doing running commentary on the flick being run on the big screen.)
Made for $300,000, the equivalent of $1.2 million today, the “Great Spider Invasion” has grossed $22 million to date, putting it among the top films of 1975. This in a year that gave us such dogs as “Jaws,” “Tommy,” “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” and “Rocky Horror Picture Show.”
The movie, complete with the prerequisite topless shots and plenty of gore, was a loosely based tale of giant spiders invading the earth through a portal from another dimension. Included in the cast were Alan Hale Jr., coming off his “Gilligan’s Island” fame as the Skipper, and Barbara Hale, who starred as Della Street in numerous “Perry Mason” episodes and TV movies.
But the real star was the spider.
Irma welder Carl Pfantz created the beast that Lori Stine and her sister, Kris Hill, are restoring for display. Another one, a motorized version crafted on the chassis of a VW Beetle, chased crowds through Gleason and Merrill. That version used the headlights for eyes and had movable legs manipulated by six svelt kids inside the automobile. The spiders’ frames were covered in chicken wire and black fake fur.
Bill used locals as extras in his film, probably because they came cheap (think free) and were plentiful. Lori was chased in Merrill and a whole contingent from Antigo, including the crew’s fearless leader Fred, were on hand for the Gleason destruction.
The scenes were fueled, not by fear, but by PBR.
“Back then the drinking age was 18,” Lori recalls. “Everyone was standing around holding a beer. It was a lot of fun.”
Gleason historian and a bit of a movie-maker himself, Bill Dexter also remembers the merrymaking. His former bar, the Village Tap, can be seen as the hairy beast slinks down main street in search of its next victim. He recalls the whole thing as a little bit silly.
“I thought they were all crazy,” he chuckles.
“It’s remarkable how popular it really is,” he adds, suggesting that in an age where state lawmakers are courting Johnny Depp and other stars and glitter types for big money flicks, Gleason was already a semi-Hollywood hub some 30 years ago.
Rebane kept the spiders around his studio for several years but when the business went belly up (kinda like a spider) in the 1980s, his props were junked. The VW critter found its way to Al Stremp’s woodlot, where it was pulled out a couple of Sundays ago for an appearance in the Tomahawk Independence Day Parade. It may eventually be sold on eBay, where Bill predicts it could bring big bucks.
Derek Archer got possession of the non-motorized version and that found its way to The Living Room and the now-proclaimed “Spider Sisters.”
The siblings are mulling the best way to restore the insect, which is now only a conglomeration of welded metal. The fake fur is long gone and must be replaced with a more durable material, such as rubber roofing. Covered pipes will likely form the legs.
“We’ll set the legs in place when we determine how it will be crawling over the rocks,” Lori explains. “We hope to have it on display by Labor Day.”
The Living Room is coordinating fund-raising efforts for the arachnid’s restoration, and movie DVDs and postcards are available for sale.
Lori and Kris are also compiling a scrapbook and already have a series of articles from Merrill area newspapers focusing on the movie’s production. Anyone with memorabilia to share or who is interested in making a donation is invited to stop in for a visit at the store or to call them at 873-4100.
There are also plans to screen “The Giant Spider Invasion,” showing the star in all its glory, as a fund-raiser during Gleason Daze next month. The film will also be playing as part of a Rebane film festival of sorts at Merrill’s Cosmo Theater Crazy Days on Aug. 6.
And stay tuned, Bill isn’t ruling out a sequel. If Sylvester Stallone can revisit Rambo and Rocky, the giant spider might be ready for a resurrection as well. Can it be a coincidence VW Beetles are making a comeback as well?
(Imagine that dear readers, another giant spider running up and down Gleason’s main drag, and this time, maybe with a few pals. Tips to the crew suggest the discovery of a pair of eggs in the woods where the former spider stood. Or was it, perhaps, simply a clever toss of few ripened melons?)
All movie stars, it seems, undergo a facelift now and again, and at age 33, Gleason’s giant spider is no different. With a bit of work, he (or she?) will be ready for another few decades of scares from the land of make-believe. After all, its real world counterpart, the tarantula, can live 30 years or more.
Unless, of course, one of those big silos adorning the barns that dot the landscape is a cleverly designed can of Raid.
Hidden Places is a weekly feature that examines some of the more unique, historical and unknown locations in, around and above the northwoods and occasionally farther afield. The crew is always looking for ideas and willing tour guides and very occasionally a guest columnist. Contact Lisa or Debbie at the Antigo Daily Journal, 623-4191, or e-mail us at hiddenplacescrew@hotmail.com.
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