The Spider's primary photo
  • The Spider (1931)
  • Passed
    59 min | Action, Crime, Mystery
The Spider (1931)
Passed
59 min | Action, Crime, Mystery

At the end of his magic show at the Tivoli theater, Chatrand the Great announces over a radio broadcast that he is trying to establish the identity of an amnesia victim, his assistant "Alexander." Found unconscious with a head wound two ...See moreAt the end of his magic show at the Tivoli theater, Chatrand the Great announces over a radio broadcast that he is trying to establish the identity of an amnesia victim, his assistant "Alexander." Found unconscious with a head wound two years earlier in the streets of Washington, Alexander, now a mind reader in the act, cannot remember anything about his previous life. Beverly Lane, whose brother Paul disappeared two years earlier, listens intently to her radio, but her uncle, financier John Carrington, calls the announcement a cheap publicity stunt. When Beverly insists on going to the theater, Carrington accompanies her. Before his performance, Chatrand, upon seeing Beverly through the stage curtains, recognizes her from a picture in the locket Alexander carries. He has always wanted to meet the woman in the picture. During the act, Chatrand blindfolds Alexander and has him describe objects belonging to members of the audience and answer their questions. When Chatrand asks Alexander to describe Beverly's locket, which is identical to Alexander's, Carrington protests and struggles with Chatrand. Sonya, Chatrand's assistant, pulls a light switch. In the dark, a hand wearing a spider ring fires a gun, and Carrington falls. The police soon arrive and keep the audience from leaving, as a man from the audience, Dr. Blackstone, attends to Carrington. After Inspector Riley finds a gun beside Alexander, who is unconscious, Chatrand removes Alexander's mask. Beverly then embraces him and identifies him as her lost brother. Chatrand brings Alexander out of his trance, and upon seeing Beverly, Alexander exclaims, "He tried to kill me; I had to do it!" Treating this as a confession, Riley has Alexander and Beverly taken to the theater manager's office, while he keeps Chatrand under observation. Chatrand, however, escapes into a casket and then through a trap door. Alexander tells Beverly that two years earlier Carrington attempted to steal all their money, and that when Carrington tried to kill him, he fell, precipitating his amnesia. Chatrand then finds out that Carrington had been receiving telephone calls from someone who lost a great deal of money to him. When Riley learns that Carrington has died, he arrests Alexander for first-degree murder. Chatrand, however, convinces Riley to let him conduct a seance before the audience is allowed to leave to try to make the murderer betray himself. During the seance, as Chatrand's image appears before the audience, and Carrington, speaking through Chatrand, threatens to name his murderer, a shot breaks the mirror which is conveying the image. Chatrand next has Alexander, in the guise of a mind reader, attempt to "find" the mind of the murderer. After he reveals a number of dark secrets in the minds of some audience members, Alexander says that the murderer wears a spider ring, and he names the row in which the murderer is sitting. As he is about to reveal the murderer's seat number, a shot rings out. Dr. Blackstone, who hysterically says that Carrington deserved death for ruining a savings bank and turning his family and thousands of others into paupers, is apprehended. Chatrand, who suffered a wound to his arm, is attended to by Beverly, who has grown fond of him. See less
Read more: Plot summary
Directors
Kenneth MacKenna | William Cameron Menzies (as William C. Menzies)
Writers
Fulton Oursler (play) | Lowell Brentano (play) | Barry Conners (screenplay) | Philip Klein (screenplay)
Composer
Cinematographer
James Wong Howe (photography) (as James Howe)
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Status
Edit Released
Updated Sep 23, 1931

Release date
Sep 27, 1931 (United States)

Contacts

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Cast

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57 cast members
Name Known for
Edmund Lowe
Chatrand Chatrand   See fewer
Lois Moran
Beverly Lane Beverly Lane   See fewer
George E. Stone
Dr. Blackstone Dr. Blackstone   See fewer
Earle Foxe
John Carrington John Carrington   See fewer
Manya Roberti
Estelle Estelle   See fewer
Howard Phillips
Alexander Alexander   See fewer
Purnell Pratt
Inspector Riley Inspector Riley   See fewer
Jesse De Vorska
Goldberg Goldberg   See fewer
Ruth Donnelly
Mrs. Wimbledon Mrs. Wimbledon   See fewer
C.A. Beckman
Cop (uncredited) Cop (uncredited)   See fewer
Joseph Belmont
Audience Member (uncredited) Audience Member (uncredited)   See fewer
Violet Bird
Audience Member (uncredited) Audience Member (uncredited)   See fewer
Ward Bond
Cop (uncredited) Cop (uncredited)   See fewer
Raymonda Brown
Usherette (uncredited) Usherette (uncredited)   See fewer
Charline Burt
Audience Member (uncredited) Audience Member (uncredited)   See fewer
Doris Campbell
Audience Member (uncredited) Audience Member (uncredited)   See fewer
Marguerite Caverley
Usherette (uncredited) Usherette (uncredited)   See fewer
Joyce Compton
Butch's Girl Friend (uncredited) Butch's Girl Friend (uncredited)   See fewer
Irene Dale
Audience Member (uncredited) Audience Member (uncredited)   See fewer
Boyd Davis
Audience Member (uncredited) Audience Member (uncredited)   See fewer
June De Vaney
Audience Member (uncredited) Audience Member (uncredited)   See fewer
M.S. Forrester
Audience Member (uncredited) Audience Member (uncredited)   See fewer
Eleanor Frances
Audience Member (uncredited) Audience Member (uncredited)   See fewer
Rupert Franklin
Audience Member (uncredited) Audience Member (uncredited)   See fewer
Dick French
Audience Member (uncredited) Audience Member (uncredited)   See fewer
Peggy Graham
Audience Member (uncredited) Audience Member (uncredited)   See fewer
Jenny Gray
Audience Member (uncredited) Audience Member (uncredited)   See fewer
Pat Haley
Electrician (uncredited) Electrician (uncredited)   See fewer
Charles Hammond
Audience Member (uncredited) Audience Member (uncredited)   See fewer
Frank Henry
Audience Member (uncredited) Audience Member (uncredited)   See fewer
Samuel E. Hines
Audience Member (uncredited) Audience Member (uncredited)   See fewer
Warren Hymer
Schmidt (uncredited) Schmidt (uncredited)   See fewer
John Lester Johnson
Nubian Slave (uncredited) Nubian Slave (uncredited)   See fewer
Robert P. Kerr
Stagehand (uncredited) Stagehand (uncredited)   See fewer
Lee Kinney
Usherette (uncredited) Usherette (uncredited)   See fewer
Helene Lambert
Audience Member (uncredited) Audience Member (uncredited)   See fewer
Walter Lawrence
Audience Member (uncredited) Audience Member (uncredited)   See fewer
Caryl Lincoln
Audience Member (uncredited) Audience Member (uncredited)   See fewer
Helen Long
Audience Member (uncredited) Audience Member (uncredited)   See fewer
Kenneth MacKenna
Cashier (uncredited) Cashier (uncredited)   See fewer
Ruth Magden
Audience Member (uncredited) Audience Member (uncredited)   See fewer
Margaret Mayo
Audience Member (uncredited) Audience Member (uncredited)   See fewer
Dorothy McLaughlin
Audience Member (uncredited) Audience Member (uncredited)   See fewer
Jimmy McPherson
Audience Member (uncredited) Audience Member (uncredited)   See fewer
George Milo
Audience Member (uncredited) Audience Member (uncredited)   See fewer
Doris Morton
Usherette (uncredited) Usherette (uncredited)   See fewer
William Pawley
Butch (uncredited) Butch (uncredited)   See fewer
Morris Selvage
Audience Member (uncredited) Audience Member (uncredited)   See fewer
Marie Stapleton
Audience Member (uncredited) Audience Member (uncredited)   See fewer
Jerome Storm
Audience Member (uncredited) Audience Member (uncredited)   See fewer
Charles Sullivan
Newspaper Vendor (uncredited) Newspaper Vendor (uncredited)   See fewer
Anders Van Haden
Cop (uncredited) Cop (uncredited)   See fewer
Charles Wheelock
Audience Member (uncredited) Audience Member (uncredited)   See fewer
Anita Wilson
Audience Member (uncredited) Audience Member (uncredited)   See fewer
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