Don’t Go In The Water!
1954’s Creature From The Black Lagoon features one of the most iconic monsters in all of film history. The film was released in 3D, a dying format at the time, but was viewed in 2D as well. The film and its two sequels are considered the final installments in Universal’s classic monster films.
The film’s plot is rather simple. An expedition in the Amazon discovers a fossilized hand that might prove to be a link between sea creatures and land animals. The hand is webbed for swimming and has claws for digging into or tearing things apart. The expedition’s lead scientist, Dr. Maia (Antonio Moreno), heads back to Brazil to show his findings to his colleagues. There he runs into one of his best students, Dr. David Reed (Richard Carlson), and his girlfriend and fellow researcher, Kay Lawrence (Julia Adams, sometimes listed as Julie Adams).
The duo join Dr. Maia’s expedition along with Dr. Reed’s boss, Dr. Mark Willams (Richard Denning), another scientist named Dr. Edwin Thompson (Whit Bissell), and the crew of the Ria, captained by Lucas (Nestor Paiva). When the group arrives at Maia’s camp, they discover that his assistants have been murdered by some type of beast. This doesn’t stop the group for continuing to look for more fossils of the creature, and they eventually end up in the Black Lagoon.
The creature attacks the crew of the ship and expedition. It becomes fond of Kay and stalks her as she swims. Eventually the crew captures the creature but it escapes and causes more chaos. It blocks the entrance to the lagoon so that no one can escape its clutches and a great battle between the creature and the surviving members of the expedition takes place. Who lives? Who dies? You’ll have to check out Creature From The Black Lagoon in order to find out!
This film has quickly become one of my favorite Universal Monster films. The simplicity of the story, the wonderful Gillman designed by Milicent Patrick, the excellent performances by the actors, and the solid cinematography (especially the underwater shots) all make for a great film. This film also has the best music of all of the Universal Monsters films in my opinion.
Two men donned the suit of the Gillman. Ben Chapman did all of the land-based sequences and Ricou Browning was filmed in the underwater scenes. Browning is still alive as of this writing and is one of the final living cast members of any of the classic Universal films. Sadly, Julia Adams passed away in February of this year. Ginger Stanley, Julia Adams’ stunt double in the film, is also still alive.
The story of Milicent Patrick, the designer of the Gillman, is an amazing one. If you have the chance, pick up The Lady From The Black Lagoon by Mallory O’Meara. It’s a wonderful book about the struggles of Mrs. Patrick as she made her way in a world and industry dominated by men.
I was fortunate enough to get an autographed photo from Julie Adams just prior to her death. It is my one and only Universal Monsters autograph and it has quickly become one of my most cherished possessions. She wasn’t just a great actress, but a wonderful person as well.
Every time that I watch Creature, I fall more and more in love with it. While I doubt that it will ever dethrone The Wolf Man as my favorite Universal Monster film, it will always be one of the best ones in my heart.
Thank you for reading my post. It’s a tad late, but it highlights a great film. I’ll be posting Day O’Horror #6 very soon!
Ken's Alternate Universe! 