The CREATURE from the BLACK LAGON
The Creature from the Black Lagoon, at age 15 million years old, is the last survivor of its species - a mixture of amphibian and man. When his habitat in the Amazon is disturbed, he attacks those who try to capture it.
The Creature from the Black Lagoon is one of Hollywood's original and memorable monsters. The makeup for the Gillman was created by Universal's Bud Westmore and Jack Kevan. The Westmore family's influence upon film and television continues today.
The Creature from the Black Lagoon was influenced by H. P. Lovecraft, who wrote tales of strange creatures who never evolved from amphibians. Lovecraft wrote of a mythical town called Innsmouth (The Shadow over Innsmouth, Everett, PA: Visionary Publishing Co., 1936) , where greenish, watery-eyed creatures raised their collars to hide the gills that protruded from their necks.
According to Universal Studios, the "Creature is either the last remnant of a 15 million year old species, or has itself survived since the Devonian age. Substantially taller than the average human male, although never accurately measured. Approximately 300 pounds. The African lungfish, which lives underwater during mating season, but breathes surface air when its lake habitat dries up."
Prompted by archaeologist Dr. Carl Maia's (Moreno) discovery of a strange, half-man, half-amphibian skeletal hand from the Devonian period, a team of scientists descend upon the Amazon. Led by scientist David Reed (Carlson), fellow scientist and girlfriend Kay (Adams), and their jealous benefactor Dr. Mark Williams (Denning), they soon discover that the fossil they seek is alive and well and hopping mad from their intrusion in his territory.
Originally shot in 3-D, Creature needs no gimmick to be a great monster movie. Featuring a still-used formula, the film allows our unsuspecting players to drift into the Creature's lair to be picked off one-by-one until the monster's weakness is found.
Creature also uses the classic "love triangle" subplot, with hero Carlson and mercenary Denning vying for the affections of Julia Adams. However, Universal's specialty, the sympathetic monster, creates a fourth side to the triangle, turning the old cliche on its head. The last of an ancient race of gill men, the Creature certainly has mating on his mind, and his aquatic ballet with an unsuspecting Adams makes us feel for him as we would other classic heartsick grotesques like Quasimodo or Cyrano. Creature's portrayal of romance is surprisingly adult -- Carlson and Adams never descend into the cutesy couples' dialogue typical of genre films of the time. Additionally, although Denning's jealous Dr. Williams tries to wedge his way between the lovers, it is clear by today's standards that he is overcompensating for some shortcoming -- just watch him handle that speargun! The underwater photography, groundbreaking for its era and budget, still rival anything seen today. All in all, this film is a Monster Masterpiece, and was so successful it spawned two sequels, Revenge of the Creature and The Creature Walks Among Us.
This one used to scare me as a kid...(skate). Im a lover of CLASIC HORROR MOVIES and as long as i can remember this is one of the best. As Frankie (surf) and I were wrighting these pages, I was FREAKED that there was a section of today's generation that was (how to say) out of the REAL TRADITIONAL horror scene. It's only matter of time for surf to understand.... for you others...... It might just NEVER BE APPRECIATED.