The Creature From The Black Lagoon

THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON-1954-This “creature classic” from Universal-International (originally filmed in 3-D) takes place in the Upper Amazon (after a brief intro on how the world began) where the fossilized remains of an over sized claw are found. Two researchers, David Reed (Richard Carlson) a serious level headed science guy and Mark Williams (Richard Denning), a crabby hard nose who's more concerned with financial success, head an expedition to check out the find. They bring along Reed's fiancee Kay (Julie Adams) too. Nestor Paiva is Lucas, the guy who steers their “barge”.Whit Bissell is Dr. Thompson, another victim, I mean researcher. Little do they suspect that the creature who's remains they are looking for is still alive and has killed two local native helpers. 

Their first dig doesn't turn out so good so Reed has a plan to visit the uncharted “Black Lagoon”. After only seeing a scaly claw for a few scenes, The Creature finally emerges when Reed and Williams go scuba diving. When Kay goes for a swim, the creature checks her out. On another scuba dive, the duo have a closer encounter with “the gill man” where Williams spears him. Later, after it's obvious his intentions lay with Kay, they use a native drug to capture him and put him in a bamboo cage. That doesn't last long and he breaks out and does some plastic surgery on Thompson. When they try to leave the creature blocks their path. In their efforts to clear a path Williams is killed. Just when it looks like they'll escape the creature grabs Kay and takes her back to his pad, I mean cave. Before he can do in Reed the Gill Man dies in a hail of bullets...or does he? 

TCFTBL is one of the great monster movies of the '50's. The creature itself deserves to be right up there with all the other “famous monsters” like Frankenstein & Dracula. The year before this director Jack Arnold made another movie in 3-D the Sci-Fi themed IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE (also starring Carlson). Producer William Alland was a former member of Orson Welles' Mercury Theater. He played the reporter trying to find out the meaning of “rosebud” in CITIZEN KANE. He'd also produced IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE and produced later Arnold efforts including the sequel THE REVENGE OF THE CREATURE, TARANTULA and THE SPACE CHILDREN. Co-screenwriter Harry Essex had penned IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE and later worked a lot in TV. In 1971 he made his own version of an undersea creature, the whacked out OCTO-MAN. Ricou Browning portrayed the creature underwater, while Ben Chapman was the creature on land. The same year as CREATURE star Carlson directed his own Sci-Fi movie RIDER TO THE STARS. There's a also a memorable musical score by the un-credited trio of Hans Salter, Herman Stein and Henry Mancini.

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