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**_“It’s a madhouse, a madhouse!”_** This was shot at the end of summer, 1964, but not released until over three years later due to the producers going bankrupt. Its full title is “Spider Baby or, The Maddest Story Ever Told,” which is reminiscent of other oddball, overlong titles in the ’60s, such as "The Incredibly Strange Creatures ...Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies!!?" This isn’t as entertaining and it’s strapped by B&W photography but, like that one, it’s really quirky, hammy horror, rather than a comedy. Both came in the 'B' tradition of "The Brain That Wouldn't Die,” mixed with the slasher bits of "Psycho." Rob Zombie was obviously influenced by it for his “House of 1000 Corpses.” While Lon Chaney Jr in his old age and a young Sid Haig are notable, the real highlight is the female cast. Guys tend to gush over petite brunette Jill Banner as Virginia, who happened to be 17 during shooting and would turn 18 a couple of months later. She unfortunately died prematurely in 1982 at the age of 35 due to a vehicular accident involving a drunk truck driver on an off-ramp of Ventura Freeway. Interestingly, she was working for Marlon Brando at the time, developing scripts and what have you. While she certainly has her appeal, her character is so dim-witted and psycho, she’s a turn-off (for me, anyway). I prefer Carol Ohmart as Emily, who has a few stunning scenes à la “Horror Hotel,” aka “The City of the Dead.” It runs 1 hour, 21 minutes, and was shot at Smith Estate in Highland Park and other parts of Los Angeles, such as Chatsworth and Mandeville Canyon, with studio work done in Glendale. GRADE: B-