Kingdom of The Spiders

(Editor's Note: This is an evolving blog post. It was most recently updated about 2 pm, October 28. The latest news appears at the bottom of the post--BELOW the Spider Guy thing.)

Above is the bottom portion of a poster promoting the 1977 B-Movie entitled "Kingdom of The Spiders."  (The whole poster is thumbnailed below.) Look closely, that's an artist's rendition of Camp Verde's Main Street shown in the poster!

Anybody who knows anybody in Old Camp Verde knows someone who knows somebody who was an extra in the movie.   The movie has gained a modest new bit of notoriety since it was brought back to light early this year in DVD form.

Back in late July, the Camp Verde Bugle carried a snippet from someone who touted the idea of a "Kingdom of The Spiders Reunion" this coming Saturday out behind the Camp Verde Town Hall. We commented on the story this morning and then began enjoying a "blast from the past" today as we dug into the movie's history.  Click here for the Wiki on the movie.

We have three primary items that have tied us to this movie.  We knew one of the screenwriters for the script. In fact, Susun worked for Alan and his wife for seven years.  She became a Dear Friend of the Family and I got to go along for the ride.  Click here for the Wiki on Alan.

Secondly, for years we mistakenly believed that an piece of airplane fuselage at the McGuireville Exit was part of the movie set.  We helped perpetuate this rural legend.  McGuireville is Home of The Goat Ropers and the old dead airplane on top of a auto repair shop really added some suave and debonair ambiance to the place, especially with a backstory like Kingdom of The Spiders!

And, third, we actually watched the movie way back in the VHS tape days!   The movie isn't much.  Well, maybe that's an exaggeration.  The movie is nothing, really.  But it has a endearing quality that's common to campy films of yesteryear, especially when you can recognize the movie locations, props and sets.  Besides, the whole story line is so perfectly "Camp Weirdy" in the first place.  It kind of goes with the turf, if you know what we mean.

One of the reasons it has ticked up a few notches on the Retro Radar is because William Shatner (Remember that guy from something called Star Trek?) plays the lead role.  We embedded a YouTube of Shatner's Top Ten Ridiculous moments in the movie at the end of this blog post.  Enjoy!

Journalism Pro Steve Ayers is doing a story in tomorrow's Camp Verde Bugle about the weekend Reunion. We suspect there will be a followup story as well.  Consequently, this blog post is certain to be amended numerous times in the next few days. Click here for the original July 29th snippet in the CV Bugle.

The Camp Verde Bugle carried a great story by Reporter Steve Ayers in the Wednesday, October 27th issue. You can click here to read it. Basically, Steve Goetting, the promoter of the Spider's Reunion knows what he is doing. He's played a pivotal role in keeping alive the Camp Verde Pecan & Wine Festival. That was a tough nut to crack! (Pun intended.) So, a Spiders Reunion ought to be a piece of cake for this guy. If there's anything more then a tepid response to the first reunion, we strongly suspect it will become an respect rite of annual passage in Good Ol' Camp Weirdy. You have to realize some background perspective here. Camp Verde is pretty small TODAY. Back in the late 1970's the word "smalltown" was a classic understatement...or perhaps an exaggeration, depending on your viewpoint. Back in the last 70's there was only a hard core cadre of pioneer ancestors who still called Camp Verde home. The population then was minuscule compared to today. Chances are the number of local extras used in the movie comprised the bulk of the sleepy-eyed town's able-bodied population. If there were maybe 100 extras in use, that could have been at least 50% of Camp Verde's active adults (sic). What a hoot!  Stay tuned.

Ace Reporter Steve Ayers continues to flesh out the Spider Thing!  His latest story is all about the wild and crazy set in the middle of Camp Verde and how the airplane pilot was arrested.   It's an awesome story.  Click here to check it out.