Name: The Tarantula
Released: 1916
Cast: Edith Storey, Antonio Moreno, Charles Kent, Eulalie Jensen, L. Rogers Lytton

Cast & Crew

Film Details

Release Date

Jul 17, 1916

Premiere Information

not available

Production Company

Vitagraph Co. of America; A Blue Ribbon Feature

Distribution Company

V-L-S-E, Inc.

Country

United States

Technical Specs

Sound

Silent

Color

Black and White

Film Length

5 reels

Synopsis

In an exclusive New York men's club, veteran member Van Allen tells Beauty Smythe, who is having an affair with another man's wife, that "the wages of sin are death." He proceeds to recount the tale of his nephew, Teddy Steele, who went to Cuba and, although already married, toyed with the affections of an innocent girl named Chonita Alvarado. During their idyllic romance, she discovers that Steele is deathly afraid of tarantulas. Steele returns to his family in the United States and a now pregnant Chonita is driven from her father's house. She lives in poverty with her aunt and, after her baby dies, circumstances force her to become a dancer in a sleazy night club in Havana, a job that eventually leads to an engagement in New York in a Broadway show. Steele comes to one of her shows brimming with romantic intentions, but Chonita's heart is filled with revenge. She gives Steele a jeweled box, and, when he passes out in an alcoholic stupor, a spider inside escapes from the box and kills him. Chonita returns to Havana, marries her faithful suitor Pedro, and is forgiven by everyone.