This was filmed as "The Spider". Prior to completion, the title was changed to "Earth vs. The Spider" and that was used for the main title on the film itself. When The Fly (1958) became a blockbuster for 20th Century Fox, American International decided to ride on their success by changing the title back to simply "The Spider" on all advertising material. The main title on the film itself was never changed.

In one scene, one of the teenagers is seen with issue #1 of "Famous Monsters of Filmland".

Paul Blaisdell had created a small makeup appliance ("about the size and weight of a postage stamp") meant to go on the live tarantula's back to make it look like it had "eerie, catlike" eyes, but this was never used.

The last of Bert I. Gordon's "giant special effects" features from the 1950s. He would not do another until 1965's "Village of the Giants."

Released by American International in September 1958, this was the third Bert I. Gordon "giant menace" film to be released that year. "War of the Colossal Beast" (1958) and "Attack of the Puppet People" (1958) were released earlier in the year.

The town's theatre is playing a double feature of "The Amazing Colossal Man" (1957) and "Attack of the Puppet People" (1958). Both were recent Bert I. Gordon films also released by American International.

The theater where Mike works is showing a stand-up display for "The Amazing Colossal Man" outside in one scene.

Mike mentions on the phone that his father's theater is showing a new film, "Attack of the Puppet People."

Character actor Hank Patterson, was a stock actor in several Bert I. Gordon films for American International Pictures. First as "Henry" in The Amazing Colossal Man (1957), then as the janitor in Attack Of The Puppet People (1958), also plays essentially the same character "Hugo the Janitor" in another Bert I. Gordon film, The Spider (1958). He also played a character called "Dave" in Bert I. Gordon's The Beginning Of The End (1957). In The Spider, the theater in town has The Amazing Colossal Man and Attack Of The Puppet People advertised on the marquee as a double-bill.