PopHorror Let's Get Scared
For the most part, the Universal monster films I saw as a kid (Saturday afternoons when I was a wee lad on WUAB 43 out of Cleveland, Super Host!!) were pretty engrossing to my pre-adolescent mind. Lugosi’s Dracula was creepy, as was Karloff’s muted menacing in Frankenstein, but the full blooded Technicolor versions that Hammer churned out were more frightening than any black & white film for me. That is, until I saw the bulging eyes, the rubbery fish lips, the pulsing gills, and the razor sharp claws of The Creature From The Black Lagoon! This lumbering beastly from the deep terrified my young mind in any color!!
Thus began my love affair with the Black Lagoon’s most famous denizen. Ever since that first viewing, way back then, The Creature From The Black Lagoon has held a lofty position in my all time favorites. The esteemed classic turned a frightening 70 years old in March! It’s such a great take on the classic monster movie tropes: the marginally sympathetic creature (hey! They DID invade HIS space!), the femme fatale who will ultimately spell doom for the monster (the gorgeous Julia Adams as Kay Lawrence), the lantern jawed hero who saves the damsel in distress (Richard Carlson as Dr. David Reed), and of course, the Ahab to the creature’s Moby Dick (Richard Denning as Dr. Mark Williams).
Along the way you get the wisecracking sidekick (Nestor Paiva as Capt. Lucas) and of course, the gillman himself (Ricou Browning in the water, and Ben Chapman on dry land).
Masterfully directed by Jack Arnold (The Incredible Shrinking Man), The Creature From The Black Lagoon pioneered so many techniques in underwater camera work, costume acting, and special effects make-up that it would fast become the archetype for monster movies for decades to come. Browning particularly, with virtually no acting experience previously, utilized his swimming/diving talents (and reportedly risked his life more than once) to make the “man in a rubber suit” come alive with ferocious realism. Augmented by a beautifully written script (by Harry Essex, Arthur Ross and Maurice Zimm) and a jarringly perfect scored from the team of Henry Mancini, Hans Salter and Herman Stein, the film was the last great Universal horror film in the studio’s long, and storied run.
Of course, being a damn near perfect film, there’s going to be a desire to “cash in”, and The Creature From The Black Lagoon was no exception with Universal. Rushed into production before the OG was even out of cinemas was Revenge of the Creature (1955), shortly followed by The Creature Walks Among Us (1956). There’s also, predictably, long been talks of re-boots, re-makes, and re-imaginings for decades, with such luminaries as: John Carpenter, Peter Jackson, Ivan Reitman, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Evans, and Guillermo Del Toro set to star or direct. None ever materialized (although Del Toro has said his The Shape of Water was his re-worked homage), although every few years, Universal leaks something about a new version, but the lukewarm reception to their Mummy re-boot has likely sank any new The Creature From The Black Lagoon updatings.
The Creature From The Black Lagoon has, obviously, been released on various VHS, DVD, Blu-ray and 4K Ultra editions, with most containing the glorious (and very effective) anaglyph 3-D version. For completists, definitely look for Universal’s Legacy Collection, for all 3 films lovingly restored and collected for an entertaining weekend binge! And for the film historian in you, definitely check out The Creature From The Black Lagoon episode of The Borgo Pass Horror Podcast, the two very knowledgeable hosts: Jim Towns and Livio Merino take a microscope to virtually every frame of this beloved classic, crazy informative stuff!
The Creature From The Black Lagoon endures in the hearts and minds of horror fans because in both story telling, and technique, it’s a landmark accomplishment in filmmaking, with a legacy permanently engraved into the popular psyche, and one of the most recognizable monsters in fright film history!
