Spider-Man TV Film (1977)
MovieOptionalLegacy
Nicholas Hammond’s Peter Parker gets his powers and stops a mind-controlling guru. This 1977 Marvel film sits outside the MCU timeline, so you can watch it on its own without any homework. It runs 1h 34m.
| Release date | September 14, 1977 |
|---|---|
| Runtime | 1h 34m |
| IMDb rating | 5.3/10 |
| Series | Legacy Marvel films |
| Post-credit scene | No |
Why it matters now
The pilot for CBS’s live-action Amazing Spider-Man series.
About Spider-Man (1977 TV film)
Spider-Man is a 1977 TV movie that tells Peter Parker's origin as a college student and freelance photographer for the Daily Bugle. A radioactive spider bite gives him strength and wall-crawling powers just as a mysterious guru starts hypnotizing ordinary New Yorkers, including a doctor and a lawyer, into robbing banks. Then he demands $50 million from the city. If the city doesn't pay, ten randomly chosen people will be made to kill themselves.
It aired on CBS on September 14, 1977, as the pilot for The Amazing Spider-Man. E. W. Swackhamer directed from a script by Alvin Boretz, and it runs 92 minutes. Nicholas Hammond plays Peter, David White plays J. Jonah Jameson, Hilly Hicks plays Robbie Robertson and Lisa Eilbacher plays Judy Tyler. Michael Pataki, Jeff Donnell as Aunt May and Thayer David also appear. It earned a 17.8 rating, the highest-rated CBS production of the year. Overseas, Columbia released it in theaters, where it took about $9 million.
Good to know
- It was the first live-action Spider-Man feature, and Columbia's first Spider-Man film.
- The building-to-building swing needed two days of rigging and was filmed from several angles so the footage could be reused in the series.
- Stuntman Fred Waugh did the wall-crawling with hidden cables.
- In the UK it was rereleased on a double bill with Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger.
How to watch it
Watch this first among the live-action Spider-Man projects. It's the pilot for the CBS series that began in 1978, and the follow-up films Spider-Man Strikes Back and Spider-Man: The Dragon's Challenge were later released abroad. The effects and pace are very much '70s TV, so it's best for nostalgia fans and Spider-Man completists curious about how the character looked on screen before Sam Raimi.
Where it fits in your watch
Spider-Man (1977 TV film) FAQ
Who plays Spider-Man in the 1977 TV movie?
Nicholas Hammond plays Peter Parker/Spider-Man. He continued in the role in The Amazing Spider-Man series.
Did the 1977 Spider-Man movie get a sequel?
It led to a CBS series. Overseas, Spider-Man Strikes Back (1978), a feature version of the two-part episode "Deadly Dust," followed, and so did Spider-Man: The Dragon's Challenge (1981).
Was the 1977 Spider-Man shown in theaters?
Not in the US, where it aired on CBS. Columbia released it in theaters overseas, including in the UK.
Can you skip Spider-Man (1977 TV film)?
Yes. It isn’t part of the MCU timeline.
When was Spider-Man (1977 TV film) released?
Spider-Man (1977 TV film) was released on September 14, 1977.
Is Spider-Man (1977 TV film) part of the MCU?
No. Spider-Man (1977 TV film) is a Marvel film made outside the Marvel Cinematic Universe, so it isn’t on Marvel Studios’ official timeline.
Does Spider-Man (1977 TV film) have a post-credit scene?
No, Spider-Man (1977 TV film) has no post-credit scene.
Where to watch Spider-Man (1977 TV film) in the US
| Streaming (subscription) | Not currently on a US subscription service |
|---|
Streaming availability last verified: October 16, 2026
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