first edition Hardcover
(c.1985) · Mankato MN
by Green, Carl R., and William R. Sanford; adapted from a screenplay by Garrett Fort [see notes]
Mankato MN: Crestwood House. Near Fine. (c.1985). First Edition. Hardcover. (pictorial boards/no dust jacket, as issued) [minor wear to extremities only]. (Movie Monsters) Series (B&W photographs) INSCRIBED ("To _____ / Just crawlin' around") and SIGNED by actor John Agar, star of the 1955 sci-fi classic in which a small Arizona town is terrorized by a giant tarantula. A highly simplified adaptation of the movie (although one would hardly claim that the film is overly complex), designed for elementary schoolkids. Quite apart from its uniqueness as an autographed item (I really can't imagine that too many copies of this were presented to Agar for his signature), for film scholars it presents a bit of a credits controversy, to wit: the title page states that the book was "adapted from a screenplay by Garrett Fort," but the LoC cataloging data on the copyright page states that it was "adapted from a screenplay by Martin Berkeley." Both IMdB and the AFI Catalog credit the film's screenplay to both Berkeley *and* one Robert M. Fresco -- no Garrett Fort in sight! (If you know the name Garrett Fort at all -- and good for you if you do! -- it will likely be from his writing credits on two classic Universal monster films: DRACULA (1931) and FRANKENSTEIN (1931). In terms of his putative contribution to TARANTULA, however, it's worth noting that (a) a scan of his dozens of screen credits do not turn up anything related to spiders, either giant or regular-size; and (b) he died in 1945. And what the hell happened to poor Robert M. Fresco? Maybe Martin Berkeley (an accomplished and prolific name-namer during the HUAC hearings) got him blacklisted. (For another angle on the Garrett Fort mystery, see our listing for the companion volume, "The Mole People.") Signed by Associated . (Inventory #: 26207)