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| Stunning portrait of the Gill Man |
CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON (1954). Director: Jack Arnold.
Colorized.
A group of scientists go the Amazon to search for more fossils from a presumably extinct creature, possibly the missing link. Dr. Reed (Richard Carlson), his girlfriend, Kay (Julie Adams) Dr, Maia (Antonio Moreno), Dr. Thompson (Whit Bissell), and the ambitious project head Dr. Williams (Richard Denning) should have known something was up after they find the torn bodies of Maia's crew, but they proceed to the "black lagoon" where this creature hangs out anyway, upon the advice of ship's captain, Lucas (Nestor Paiva). Williams wants to capture the creature and bring it back to civilization for study, but as this clawed and dangerous animal begins to decimate the members of the party, this seems more and more unlikely ...
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| the gill man is fascinated by Kay swimming above |
Creature from the Black Lagoon gets points for being something decidedly different from the other Universal monsters. Although at times the creature looks perhaps more comical than frightening, he is still a formidable figure.
Creature is often illogical -- and forget about the "science" of the piece -- but that doesn't matter up against the tension and atmosphere that the film often generates. The best scene has the lonely gill man (why does no one wonder if he has a mate or if there are others of its kind in the vicinity?) swimming underneath Kay and reaching out to nearly touch her, a strangely erotic moment.
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| Denning, Paiva, Adams, Carlson |
The acting is credible even if no one in the film has much of a reaction to the horrible deaths of the hired men, and the characters only seem to show emotion towards the end when one of their number is mauled. The colorization process is generally good on the version I watched, giving the film a new dimension, and helping with the often murky underwater scenes. The blasting musical score, from a variety of sources, helps put over some of the slower sequences. There were two sequels to this film, although neither were as good, and a projected remake never materialized. Originally shown in 3-D.
Verdict: Entertaining classic horror flick with a very lively and unusual monster. ***.
One of my favorites growing up. Have seen it several times. Shirley Temple's ex-husband John Agar was easy on the eyes, and the Creature was compelling. Remember when Marilyn felt sorry for him in The Seven Year Itch? "He was kinda scary, but he wasn't all bad." (Then her skirt blew up...)
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John Agar was nice-looking, but he wasn't in "Creature from the Black Lagoon," although I'm sure you're not alone in thinking he was, LOL! It's just the sort of thing he should have been in! However he was in the sequel, "Revenge of the Creature," so that's where the confusion comes from. I've gotta revisit 7 Year Itch one of these days!
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