# Spider-Man (1977 film)
**Spider-Man** is a 1977 American made-for-television superhero film, directed by E. W. Swackhamer and starring [Nicholas Hammond](https://www.edgepedia.org/nicholas-hammond) as Peter Parker and his alter ego, that served as the backdoor pilot for the CBS live-action series *[The Amazing Spider-Man](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-amazing-spider-man-tv-series)* (1978–1979). It was the character's first feature-length live-action appearance, airing on CBS on September 14, 1977, and receiving theatrical release in several overseas markets through [Columbia Pictures](https://www.edgepedia.org/columbia-pictures).[1](https://www.imdb.com/news/ni65952706/) • [2](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/spider-man-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0ynje5mdq) • [3](https://13thdimension.com/dig-this-inside-look-at-the-1977-spider-man-tv-pilot/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Premiere | CBS, September 14, 1977, 8–9:30 p.m. special presentation[1](https://www.imdb.com/news/ni65952706/) |
| Director and star | E. W. Swackhamer; Nicholas Hammond as Peter Parker / Spider-Man[2](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/spider-man-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0ynje5mdq) |
| Runtime | 92 minutes (BBFC classified print: 92m 29s)[2](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/spider-man-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0ynje5mdq) |
| US ratings | 17.9 rating / 30 share, against ABC's *Charlie's Angels* at 32.6 / 50 the same night[1](https://www.imdb.com/news/ni65952706/) |
| Theatrical release | Distributed overseas by Columbia Pictures; UK cinema classification October 17, 1977[1](https://www.imdb.com/news/ni65952706/) • [2](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/spider-man-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0ynje5mdq) |
| Series it launched | *The Amazing Spider-Man*, 13 sixty-minute episodes in 1978–1979 (some listings count 14)[4](https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/amazing_spider-man_the) • [5](https://www.tvinsider.com/show/the-amazing-spider-man/) |
| Follow-up TV films | *Spider-Man Strikes Back* (1978) and *Spider-Man: The Dragon's Challenge* (1981)[6](https://www.techradar.com/how-to-watch/every-spider-man-movie-free) |
## Spoilers
### Story and cast
The film retells the familiar origin with changes. Peter Parker is a graduate student, not the teenage high-schooler of the comics, and he is bitten by a radioactive spider while conducting his own radiation experiments in a laboratory.[3](https://13thdimension.com/dig-this-inside-look-at-the-1977-spider-man-tv-pilot/) • [8](https://pocketmags.com/us/sfx-magazine/march-2026/articles/flashback) [Uncle Ben](https://www.edgepedia.org/uncle-ben) is absent entirely, so Parker's decision to become [Spider-Man](https://www.edgepedia.org/spider-man) happens largely on a whim; he gains wall-crawling, enhanced strength, and a precognitive "spider-sense," then builds web-shooters worn on his wrists over the costume.[3](https://13thdimension.com/dig-this-inside-look-at-the-1977-spider-man-tv-pilot/) • [10](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/the-amazing-spider-man-1977/details/) The plot centers on an extortionist threatening a multi-suicide unless a large ransom is paid.[11](https://cinegraph.org/movies/spider-man-1977)
Hammond, then 27 and best known for *The Sound of Music*, was cast because, in his own recollection, "they wanted a real actor, not a stuntman."[8](https://pocketmags.com/us/sfx-magazine/march-2026/articles/flashback) The supporting cast included David White as Daily Bugle publisher [J. Jonah Jameson](https://www.edgepedia.org/j-jonah-jameson), Michael Pataki as NYPD Captain Barbera, Hilly Hicks as [Robbie Robertson](https://www.edgepedia.org/robbie-robertson), Lisa Eilbacher, Thayer David as Edward Byron, and [Jeff Donnell](https://www.edgepedia.org/jeff-donnell) as Aunt May.[12](https://www.saltypopcorn.co.uk/movies/spider-man~1977) • [3](https://13thdimension.com/dig-this-inside-look-at-the-1977-spider-man-tv-pilot/) Robert F. Simon took over the Jameson role for the series.[4](https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/amazing_spider-man_the)
## Production and broadcast
CBS commissioned the film as a "backdoor pilot," a standalone movie intended to launch an ongoing series.[3](https://13thdimension.com/dig-this-inside-look-at-the-1977-spider-man-tv-pilot/) It was produced by Charles Fries Productions and Dan Goodman Productions, with CBS as the original US broadcaster.[7](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075671/companycredits/) The pilot marked the web-slinger's debut in a full live-action drama; Spider-Man had previously reached television only through the 1967 animated series and the live-action "Spidey Super Stories" segments on the educational program *The Electric Company*.[8](https://pocketmags.com/us/sfx-magazine/march-2026/articles/flashback)
The film premiered on September 14, 1977, in the 8–9:30 p.m. slot. It drew a 17.9 rating and 30 share, but ABC's *Charlie's Angels* won the Wednesday night with a 32.6 rating and 50 share.[1](https://www.imdb.com/news/ni65952706/) Despite losing its time slot, the pilot was described as a ratings success, and one retrospective account calls it the highest-performing CBS production of 1977.[3](https://13thdimension.com/dig-this-inside-look-at-the-1977-spider-man-tv-pilot/) • [9](https://comic-watch.com/television-shows/forgotten-television-the-amazing-spider-man-1977) Weeks after the debut, Columbia Pictures acquired the distribution rights to show the title as a feature film overseas.[1](https://www.imdb.com/news/ni65952706/) The British Board of Film Classification passed the 92-minute film for cinema release on October 17, 1977, under the Columbia-Warner distributor.[2](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/spider-man-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0ynje5mdq)
## Reception and limitations
Contemporary and retrospective reviews consistently point to the production's constraints. The wall-crawling effects relied on superimposition and repeated shots, and fight scenes against ordinary martial artists read as unconvincing; reviewers describe the result as campy and at times goofy, though the video effects for wall-crawling were judged better handled than the contemporary *Batman* television series.[13](https://www.razorfine.com/television-reviews/spider-man-1977/) • [14](https://www.timeout.com/movies/spider-man-1) The stunts themselves were physically performed: SFX magazine identifies Fred Waugh as the stuntman who wore the suit for the climbing work.[8](https://pocketmags.com/us/sfx-magazine/march-2026/articles/flashback) [The Hollywood Reporter](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-hollywood-reporter)'s 1977 review judged that the character was "introduced accurately" with some liberties taken.[1](https://www.imdb.com/news/ni65952706/) [Stan Lee](https://www.edgepedia.org/stan-lee), who co-created the character with [Steve Ditko](https://www.edgepedia.org/steve-ditko), later said he did not like this television adaptation.[15](https://as.com/meristation/ni-tom-holland-ni-andrew-garfield-este-fue-el-primer-spider-man-del-cine-mucho-antes-de-tobey-maguire-n/)
Official box office figures were never released, but the book *Age of TV Heroes* by Jason Hofius and George Khoury claims the production earned $9 million in overseas grosses.[16](https://www.looper.com/293825/the-original-live-action-spider-man-trilogy-you-never-saw/)
## Aftermath
After post-pilot cast changes, the series *The Amazing Spider-Man* launched on CBS on April 5, 1978. Rather than a fixed weekly slot, CBS aired episodes in clumps against other networks' hit shows, a scheduling strategy contemporaries criticized as self-defeating.[3](https://13thdimension.com/dig-this-inside-look-at-the-1977-spider-man-tv-pilot/) The Science Fiction Encyclopedia lists the complete output as one 92-minute pilot plus 13 sixty-minute episodes in 1978–1979, while other guides count 14 episodes across two seasons.[4](https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/amazing_spider-man_the) • [5](https://www.tvinsider.com/show/the-amazing-spider-man/) Two further TV movies assembled from series footage followed: *Spider-Man Strikes Back* (1978) and *Spider-Man: The Dragon's Challenge* (1981), forming a trilogy of Hammond-led films.[6](https://www.techradar.com/how-to-watch/every-spider-man-movie-free)
The pilot and series have never received a Blu-ray, DVD, or streaming release, which has kept the film largely out of circulation.[3](https://13thdimension.com/dig-this-inside-look-at-the-1977-spider-man-tv-pilot/) Hammond's films were, however, the character's first feature-length screen outings, predating [Sam Raimi](https://www.edgepedia.org/sam-raimi)'s theatrical *Spider-Man* (2002) by a quarter century.[8](https://pocketmags.com/us/sfx-magazine/march-2026/articles/flashback)
## References
1. ['Spider-Man': THR's 1977 Review, The Hollywood Reporter via IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/news/ni65952706/)
2. [Spider-man (1977), British Board of Film Classification](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/spider-man-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0ynje5mdq)
3. [Dig This INSIDE LOOK at the 1977 SPIDER-MAN TV Pilot, 13th Dimension (Rob Kelly)](https://13thdimension.com/dig-this-inside-look-at-the-1977-spider-man-tv-pilot/)
4. [Amazing Spider-Man, The, The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction](https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/amazing_spider-man_the)
5. [The Amazing Spider-Man (1977), TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/show/the-amazing-spider-man/)
6. [How to watch every Spider-Man movie, TechRadar](https://www.techradar.com/how-to-watch/every-spider-man-movie-free)
7. [Spider-Man (1977) company credits, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075671/companycredits/)
8. [Flashback: September 1977, SFX Magazine (Nick Setchfield)](https://pocketmags.com/us/sfx-magazine/march-2026/articles/flashback)
9. [Forgotten Television: The Amazing Spider-Man 1977, Comic Watch (Rob Price)](https://comic-watch.com/television-shows/forgotten-television-the-amazing-spider-man-1977)
10. [The Amazing Spider-Man (1977) details, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/the-amazing-spider-man-1977/details/)
11. [Spider-Man (1977), Cinegraph](https://cinegraph.org/movies/spider-man-1977)
12. [Spider-Man (1977) info and ratings, SaltyPopcorn](https://www.saltypopcorn.co.uk/movies/spider-man~1977)
13. [Spider-Man (1977) review, RazorFine Review](https://www.razorfine.com/television-reviews/spider-man-1977/)
14. [Spider-Man (1977) film review, Time Out](https://www.timeout.com/movies/spider-man-1)
15. [Ni Tom Holland, ni Andrew Garfield: este fue el primer Spider-Man del cine, MeriStation (AS)](https://as.com/meristation/ni-tom-holland-ni-andrew-garfield-este-fue-el-primer-spider-man-del-cine-mucho-antes-de-tobey-maguire-n/)
16. [The Original Live-Action Spider-Man Trilogy You Never Saw, Looper](https://www.looper.com/293825/the-original-live-action-spider-man-trilogy-you-never-saw/)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Franchise and series entries as standalone works › Superhero and comic-franchise film entries › Comic films before 2000*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 19, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 19, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license