''Spider-Man '' is a 1969 American superhero short film that was directed by

Donald F. Glut Donald F. Glut (; born February 19, 1944) is an American writer, motion picture film director, and screenwriter. He is best known for writing the novelization of the second ''Star Wars'' film, ''The Empire Strikes Back''. Filmmaker Amateur car ...

. It is an unauthorized fan film, one of several made by Glut and the last one of its type that he created. The short was later released along with several of Glut's other shorts as a special feature of ''I Was a Teenage Movie Maker'', a 2006 documentary about Glut. The short's plot centers around

Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in the Si ...

, who must rescue a woman from her father, the devious villain Dr. Lightning, an original character Glut created for the film. Filming took place in Glut's apartment home as well as at

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, and Glut achieved the wall-climbing scenes by turning the camera sideways. He also utilized other effects such as

stop-motion animation Stop motion is an animated filmmaking technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exhibit independent motion or change when the series of frames ...

and backwards photography, as well as the use of miniature figures. Glut initially screened the film at the home of

Michael Nesmith Robert Michael Nesmith or Mike Nesmith, (December 30, 1942 – December 10, 2021) was an American musician, songwriter, and actor. He was best known as a member of the pop rock band the Monkees and co-star of the TV series ''The Monkees'' (1966� ...

, a friend of his, and later persuaded a projectionist into showing the short at a theater showing student shorts from the

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Plot

The short opens with

using his webbing to grab a ''Daily Bugle'' newspaper with a headline about a disfigured scientist becoming a villain by the name of Dr. Lightning. The film then cuts to Randy Robertson and Dr. Lightning's daughter, who hopes that by exposing her father he will return to the rational, non-evil man he used to be. Her attempts are for naught, as she's kidnapped by her father's henchman Rekov and taken away to a nearby canyon, but not before Rekov shoots Randy in the shoulder. Spider-Man appears moments later and upon seeing that Randy will live, goes to rescue the young woman. Once in the desert Spider-Man confronts Dr. Lightning and Rekov. A struggle breaks out and in the chaos Dr. Lightning shoots and kills his henchman with a ray gun. He then flees, but not before Spider-Man can attach a homing beacon to his car. Spider-Man manages to locate the villain's car and tries to stop him by trapping his car with his webbing, only for Dr. Lightning to shoot the webbing, which causes the car to drop into the canyon and explode. Spider-Man returns to the villain's daughter and informs her of his death, stating that now she and the world are safe.

Cast

as Peter Parker / Spider-Man * Jim Harmon as Rekov * Rick Mitchell as Randy Robertson * Bill Obbagy as a bystander * Bob Rosen as Dr. Lightning * Donna Shannon as Dr. Lightning's daughter

Reception

Critical reception for the film since its release in 1969 has been mostly positive, and

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has compared it to a

Ray Dennis Steckler Ray Dennis Steckler (January 25, 1938 – January 7, 2009), also known by the pseudonym Cash Flagg, was an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor best known as the low-budget auteur of such cult films as '' The Incredibly St ...

film with lower production values. Geeks of Doom rated the short favorably, poking fun at it while also favorably commenting on what special effects Glut was able to accomplish with "a lot of free time, some expendable toys, and a few handy firecrackers."

Comics Alliance ComicsAlliance was an American website dedicated to covering the comic book industry as well as comic-related media, and is owned by Townsquare Media. The site has been nominated for multiple awards including a 2015 Eisner Award win in the catego ...

expressed a similar opinion, writing "Even though it was clearly made on what could charitably be referred to as a pretty low budget, Glut’s ''Spider-Man'' has an awful lot of charm." The Reelz Channel also reviewed the short, remarking that it was "earnest, though still unintentionally hilarious".

References

External links

* * {{Spider-Man in popular media American science fiction short films Spider-Man fan films 1969 films Films shot in Los Angeles Short films based on Marvel Comics 1960s English-language films 1960s American films