creature_from_the_black_lagoon 1954

Creature from the Black Lagoon is a 1954 American monster film directed by Jack Arnold, and starring Richard Carlson, Julia Adams, Richard Denning, Antonio Moreno, and Whit Bissell. The eponymous creature was played by Ben Chapman on land and Ricou Browning in underwater scenes. The film was released in the United States on March 5 1954.

Creature from the Black Lagoon was filmed and originally released in 3-D requiring polarized 3-D glasses, and subsequently reissued in the 1970s in the inferior anaglyph format (this version was released on home video by MCA Videocassette, Inc. in 1980). It is considered a classic of the 1950s, and generated two sequels, Revenge of the Creature and The Creature Walks Among Us, each a year apart. Revenge of the Creature was also filmed and released in 3-D, in hopes of reviving the format.

Trivia:

  • Ricou Browning, a professional diver and swimmer, was required to hold his breath for up to 4 minutes at a time for his underwater role as the “Gill Man.” The director’s logic was that the air would have to travel through the monster’s gills and thus not reveal air bubbles from his mouth or nose. Thus, the costume was designed without an air tank. In the subsequent films, this detail was ignored and air can be seen emanating from the top of the creature’s head.
  • In this film, the eyes of the Creature were a fixed part of the rubber construction of the suit. The actors who played the part of the “Gill Man” could barely see, if at all. In the second film, the eyes have been, somewhat ludicrously, replaced with large, bulbous fish-eyes to assist in the actor’s vision.
  • Jenny Clack (University of Cambridge) discovered a fossil amphibian, found in the remnants of what was once a fetid swamp and named it Eucritta melanolimnetes – literally “the creature from the black lagoon”.
  • When William Alland was a member of Orson Welles’ Mercury Theatre, he heard famed Mexican cinematographer Gabriel Figueroa tell of a legend about a humanoid creature that supposedly lived in South America. That legend became the origin of this film.
  • The Creature, using the name “Uncle Gilbert”, appeared in an episode of the TV series “The Munsters” (1964) The episode is titled “Love Comes to Mockingbird Heights.”
  • The physical appearance of the Creature was modeled after a likeness of the Oscar, the figurine awarded annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
  • Two different stuntmen were used to portray the creature and therefore two different suits were used in the movie. Ricou Browning played the creature when it was in the water and wore a lighter suit. Ben Chapman played the creature when it was out of the water with a darker suit.
  • Milicent Patrick created the design of the Creature, although Bud Westmore, who was the head of Universal’s makeup department at the time, would take credit publicly for the Creature’s design.
  • When the Creature attacks Zee, the script called for him to pick him up and throw him into the camera for the 3-D effect. Unfortunately, the wires used to lift Zee up to make it appear as though he was actually being picked up by the Creature kept breaking. After two tries, Jack Arnold decided to just have Zee get strangled to death.
  • Originally produced in 3-D.
  • The Creature’s appearance was based on old seventeenth-century woodcuts of two bizarre creatures called the Sea Monk and the Sea Bishop. The Creature’s final head was based on that of the Sea Monk, but the original discarded head was based on that of the Sea Bishop. In one sequence Julie Adams’ character is captured by the creature and carried into a cave. During the filming the stuntman misjudged where the side of the entrance was and accidentally struck Ms. Adams’ head against the wall, knocking her unconscious.
  • Historically, the first script for this film was commissioned by Adolf Hitler in Germany. The script was to depict a ‘Golem’ that comes out of a swamp and kills ‘Good’ Germans. The script was 60 percent the same as the finished American universal film.
  • Ingmar Bergman watched this film every day on his birthday.
  • Originally titled simply: “The Black Lagoon”.
  • Jean Renoir was an uncredited script doctor on this film.

Filed under: Horror

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