Marineland’s Newest Attraction
Ocean Harbor Oceanarium (Marineland in Florida) takes center stage in 1955’s Revenge of the Creature. A direct sequel to Creature From The Black Lagoon (1954), Revenge is often looked upon by many as one of the worst sequels in the Universal Monster catalogue. I’m actually one of the few people that likes the film. I’ll give my reasons for liking it later. For now, let’s take a look at the plot.
The film starts with a new expedition entering the Black Lagoon. Aboard a ship captained by the returning Nestor Paiva as Lucas, the group captures the creature and brings it to Florida in order to study it. Ocean Harbor Oceanarium becomes the creature’s unwanted home and it becomes the subject of study for Dr. Clete Ferguson (John Agar) and ichthyology student Helen Dobson (Lori Nelson).
Despite an age difference and advances from fellow researcher Joe Hayes (John Bromfield), Helen and Clete develop feelings for one another. Despite a species difference, the creature, or Gill-man as he is referred to in the film, also falls for Helen. He becomes obsessed with her as she and Clete continue their research.
After a number of failed attempts to escape, the Gill-man finally breaks out of the Oceanarium. People die, a car is flipped, and the creature makes a break for the ocean.
Believing that Gill-man is returning to his home in the Black Lagoon, Helen and Clete become somewhat lax about the whole ordeal despite multiple eye-witness claims of seeing the creature up and down the coast.
Eventually the Gill-man gets his hands on Helen. Clete and other researchers from the Oceanarium team up with local law enforcement in a desperate attempt to locate Helen and kill the creature. More people die and Clete and the Gill-man have a final face-off. Who wins? I’m not telling. You’ll have to watch Revenge of the Creature to find out.
I’d be a fool to say that this film is a great work of art. The many criticisms that it has received over the years are justified, but for some reason I really enjoy this film. The addition of Chris (a German Shepherd that appears in the film…..that takes place in a marine park) seems extraneous. The terrible fight sequence where Gill-man throws a young man at a palm tree and the viewer can clearly tell that the man is suspended by cables is simply a pain to watch. The excessive nods to the actual park, including an extended dolphin show sequence, are nothing more than a blatant advertisement for Marineland Florida (where most of the film was shot). All of the sea park shots reminded me of another ill-received classic, Jaws 3-D. It was a feature length commercial for Sea World in Orlando, FL.
Despite these and other shortcomings, though, this film still has a few things going for it. For starters, Revenge is the film debut for Clint Eastwood. It’s funny seeing him in this early role as an inept lab assistant. His moment is brief but humorous and gives absolutely no indication that he’ll eventually become a major box office draw.
The film also features one of the best performances by a guy in a suit. Ricou Browning (underwater scenes) returns and Tom Hennesy takes over as the creature on land in this film. Browning is especially solid in his performance. You can easily see how the creature is attracted to Helen and how it feels trapped in the aquarium. The rest of the cast also do great jobs although John Bromfield’s performance can be a bit much at times.
I’m also a fan of the Gill-man’s escape sequence. The audience gets hammered by the creature’s iconic theme as it runs through the sea park, terrorizing the innocent and smashing a skull or two along the way. The sequence plays out much like the initial dinosaur escape in Jurassic World, with screaming families and people stumbling all over the place.
I won’t tell you that this film is a must see movie, but I will say that it’s a fun way to kill an hour and twenty minutes. Watch it before heading out on the lake or prior to a visit to Sea World. It’ll put you in the perfect mood for those things.
Thanks for reading. I’ll see you all tomorrow.
Ken's Alternate Universe! 