Before there were the big-budget action-packed movies, Spider-Man crawled onto the big and small screens in several live-action attempts.
“Spider-Man” (1969): Amateur filmmaker Donald F. Glut’s film centered on Spider-Man; Glut also played the title role, supported by Jim Harmon and Bill Obbagy. Spidey, who never appears out of costume, fights a ray-gun-wielding mad scientist named Dr. Lightning. Glut’s last superhero film is unofficially the first live-action adaptation of Spider-Man.
The movie is available on the DVD “I Was a Teenage Movie Maker” (a complete collection of his amateur films). Glut went on to write for the shows “Land of The Lost” and “Transformers.”
“The Amazing Spider-Man” (1977): A short-lived action show with plenty of creative, camera-shot “special effects,” starred Nicolas Hammond in the red and blue long underwear. The series had good ratings, but viewers complained about low-budget production values and poor writing, which did not follow the comic’s spirit. CBS gave the show the ax along with “Wonder Woman” in an effort not to be labeled “the superhero network.” Several episodes were released as full-length films outside the U.S.
“Spider-Man” (1978): A Japanese TV show – think Godzilla-like giant costumes and miniature sets – produced by the Toei Co. Toei had a deal with Marvel that they could do anything with the webslinger for a four-year period. Spidey looked the same, but the story- line had nothing to do with the Marvel character. The show had a huge impact on animé by popularizing the trend to use mecha (giant robots) to defeat other giants being controlled by a human.
“Spidey Super Stories” (1974): Introduced during The Electric Company’s fourth season, these stories were segments on the PBS educational series. Spider-Man – played by Danny Seagren – only communicated with other cast members with cartoonish word balloons and never appeared as his alter-ego, Peter Parker. Stories usually revolved around him foiling mischievous characters’ attempts at petty crimes such as burglary. The segments were spun off into a comic book and the segment’s theme song related, “Spider-Man, where are you coming from? Nobody knows who you are.”
“Spider-Man: The Musical” (in production): In addition to his forays on the small and silver screens, Spider-Man will soon swing and sing on the Broadway stage in an upcoming musical. Featuring music and lyrics by U2’s Bono and The Edge, the stage show will be directed by Tony winner Julie Taymor (“The Lion King”).
