Creature From the Black Lagoon | Richard Carlson, Julie Adams

Creature From the Black Lagoon | Richard Carlson, Julie Adams | Classic 50's horror

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Creature From the ...

	Creature From the Black Lagoon Richard Carlson, Julie Adams Universal Studios, 1992 average customer review:based on 73 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

The greatest rubber suit in the history of B-monster movies

"The Creature from the Black Lagoon" is certainly a B-movie, but that does not stop it from being a great 1950s monster movie. At the core of this film is one of the coolest "rubber suit" monsters of all time. The creature was the last of the Universal monsters and whereas the rest of the pantheon was getting recycled in monster mashes like "The Ghost of Frankenstein," here was something refreshingly different in several key regards. "The Creature from the Black Lagoon" was set in an entirely different locale. Instead of dealing with castles and haunted houses in Europe we are looking at a boat sailing up the Amazon River. Instead of the monster appearing out of the mist, this one suddenly appears out of the murky water. Think about it: instead of things happening horizontally they are now happening vertically. In the jungle the danger usually comes from above, but this time it appears from below. Because it is a hot day in the steamy Amazonian jungle instead of a cold European night, the damsel in distress gets to wear a simple but compelling white bathing suit.

But even dressed in such attire she is not as compelling as the creature, whose costume was designed by Milicent Patrick. Jack Pierce's legendary makeup for Boris Karloff's monster in "Frankenstein" is still the high water mark for such things and the makeup and costume for "The Mummy" was awesome, but neither of those was a rubber suit like what we have here. This is just a great design of a humanoid creature with major fish-like elements. Ben Chapman was the Gill-Man, as the creature was called, when he was out of water and Ricou Browning for the underwater sequences. Director Jack Arnold took things so seriously that Browning had to hold his breath for up to four minutes during those underwater shots because any bubbles he emitted would not go out through the gills like they would on a real Gill-Man. Plus, cinematographer William E. Snyder gives us excellent shots both above and below the water: this movie knows they have a great suit and they show it off for all it is worth. I mean, come on, Gort is kewl, but that costume is as simplistic as the creature's is complex and it ain't made of rubber, so there.

The story of this 1954 film, which I first saw in a theater decades later in the 3-D format, begins when Dr. Carl Maia (Antonio Moreno) discovers a fossilized hand with webbing between its fingers. While he returns to civilization to announce his discovery and put together another expedition with American scientists the creature destroys the camp and kills the natives. Returning back up the river are David Reed (Richard Carlson), Dr. Mark Williams (Richard Denning), Dr. Thompson (Whit Bissell), and the lovely Kay (Julia Adam), who things she is just a scientist who looks good in a bathing suit but who is really just monster bait. Unable to find any more remains at the original location, the group decides that the rest of the fossil must have washed downstream and become convinced that it will conveniently end up in the mysterious Black Lagoon. The native say that no one ever returns from that place, which only has one entrance (someone must have returned if they know that much, but I quibble).

Reed and Williams think they are involved in a love triangle with Kay, but Williams does not have a chance and the creature is Reed's real competition (and the creature is more animated than Reed). The scientists want to get the creature and bring it back alive, but the creature has other ideas and in the grand tradition of pretty much most Universal monster movies the men have to rescue the pretty woman from the poor, misunderstood monster. I know on some level this is just rehashing "King Kong," with several elements presaging "Jaws," but I have no problem taking this story on its own delightful terms.

If you pay attention you can tell what were supposed to be the neat 3-D effects in "The Creature from the Black Lagoon," but what you will really be impressed by is the underwater photography, which is actually where this film was rather cutting edge for its day. After the surprising success of the original (it made over $1 million in its original release), a pair of less than stellar sequels were produced, "Revenge of the Creature" in 1955 and "The Creature Walks Among Us" in 1956. But that is true of every Universal movie monster except for the Frankenstein series, where "The Bride of Frankenstein" is actually superior to the original. So just check out this classic black & white monster movie and leave the sequels to gather dust.

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Classic 50's horror

Monday, January 24, 2005 / 5 of 5 / Classic 50's horror.
One of the seminal horror classics out of the fifties, the Creature still impresses. The underwater photography is murkily beautiful, and the shots of the creature mirroring the female scientist/swimmer underwater as she swam tap into deep fears the way Jaws did, something just below the surface. Scientists travel up the Amazon to a `black lagoon' in an effort to find more to the mystery of a fossilized webbed and clawed hand recently excavated. What they didn't figure on was a relative of the owner of that hand still traipsing around. The blaring score that accompanies the creatures appearances is sufficient warning, but he manages to surprise and kill the majority of the party while carting off the beauty. A lot of fun, recommended.

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Better than I thought it would be, now one of my favorites.

First of all, I am fairly new to these classic monster movies. I have seen Dracula before but that was it. I knew that the Creature dvd was out of print and considerably rare, so when I stumbled upon it for $25 I knew I had to give it a shot. I am glad because it turned out to be a great movie, a true classic to be sure.

The story revolves around a scientist who discovers the hand of some unknown creature in the rocks. Knowing it was a water based creature, he heads back to get an expedition together to further explore his finding. The thought was that this creature could be the link between man and aquatic animals. When two scientists dive into the black lagoon they encounter the creature, and one of the scientists becomes determined to kill the creature in order to get the credit for this find. Later Kay, played by Julie Adams, goes for a swim in the lagoon and becomes the object of the creature's desires. That is all I will say about the plot, but you need to see this classic for yourself because it has such a great story, great acting, and the underwater scenes look terrific.

I love this movie now, and I am sure any fan of classic monster movies will too, that is if you havent seen it already. I was lucky enough to find this for a reasonable price but since it is out of print it is in high demand, selling for around $60 and up on Amazon/Ebay. Also there are some great extras on the disc, such as the 40 minute Back to the Black Lagoon which goes behind the scenes for The Creature and two sequels made after it. There are also theatrical trailers and posters which are interesting to see. Since I liked this so much I will view The Monster Legacy set, but I am sure the Creature will rank right at the top with the best of them. Get this if you can, you won't be sorry you did.

(...)

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THE GILL-MAN OF THE AMAZON.....

Probably the most celebrated monster film of the 50's (it even had a small role in "The Seven Year Itch"), "Creature from the Black Lagoon" deserves re-issue along with it's two sequels "Revenge of the Creature" and "The Creature Walks Among Us". The legendary tale of an ill-fated expedition up the Amazon after the discovery of a humanoid claw fossil remains a favorite for so many reasons. The Gill-Man monster suit and the leading lady Julie Adams are two reasons in my book. The Creature still looks good on film and Adams was the perfect heroine in her short-and-halter top oufits and, of course, that white swim suit. The underwater scenes of the Creature swimming underneath her in the lagoon have stayed in my memory all these years. Director Jack Arnold created a lasting film that may not hold up as well as it once did, but it's a treasure for sci-fi/horror fans all over the world. Richard Carlson and Richard Denning provided the stalwart male drama and heroics but the Creature's pursuit of Julie Adams is what gives this classic that strange sort of sex appeal that lies underneath the terror. It's a beautifully photographed b&w thrill ride for those of us who never get tired of watching it. Out of print? For now maybe. But he'll be back. And maybe with his sequels...

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reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, page 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14

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