The Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) stands as my favorite horror movie with a creature that is incomparable and defies any remake. George Hamilton “Bud” Westmore was the head of the make-up department, but I still think one of the most iconic monster designs of all time rests in the hands of Milicent Patrick. There was publicity photos of her posing next to the sculpt of the Gill Man and they wanted to promote her as “The Beauty Who Created the Beast”, but Westmore didn’t like the attention Patrick gained even though she gave credit to him. She was an actress, concert pianist, and the first female animator at Disney.
The only recent version of the Gill-Man was in The Monster Squad (1987) with designs by Stan Winston. There is something elegant and otherworldly about the Gill-Man. This movie is directed by Jack Arnold who was well known for It Came from Outer Space (1953) and then later The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957). The story is by Maurice Zimm with a screenplay by Harry Essex and Arthur Ross. It was filmed using 3D. There were two sequels Revenge of the Creature (1955) and The Creature Walks Among Us (1956). We hear the blaring trumpets of the score by Henry Mancini, Herman Stein, and Hans J. Salter as we get to the film’s title, the narrator gives the Biblical account of the creation of Earth, as we see the explosions and smoke before we get the painted look at the Earth with the scientific account of Earth’s beginning.
The only recent version of the Gill-Man was in The Monster Squad (1987) with designs by Stan Winston. There is something elegant and otherworldly about the Gill-Man. This movie is directed by Jack Arnold who was well known for It Came from Outer Space (1953) and then later The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957). The story is by Maurice Zimm with a screenplay by Harry Essex and Arthur Ross. It was filmed using 3D. There were two sequels Revenge of the Creature (1955) and The Creature Walks Among Us (1956). We hear the blaring trumpets of the score by Henry Mancini, Herman Stein, and Hans J. Salter as we get to the film’s title, the narrator gives the Biblical account of the creation of Earth, as we see the explosions and smoke before we get the painted look at the Earth with the scientific account of Earth’s beginning.
The narrator mentions life in the sea and we see footprints along a beach. There is a panning shot of Amazon rain forest. A scientific expedition is running around about a discovery. A scientist, Dr. Maia (Antonio Moreno), uses a camera to see the fossilized claw reaching out from a rock formation. He is asked about the fossil by Luis (Rodd Redwing). Dr. Maia uses an axe to remove the hand. He informs Luis that he is headed to the institute at Marajo. Maia takes the sample to his camp, and we see bubbles in the nearby river. A clawed hand from a living creature emerges from the river water. Then, we get the Instituto de Biologia Maritima, a boat is launched from the dock.
It pulls up to a floating platform, we see Dr. Carl Maia in a white suit and Kay (Julie Adams) in shorts. She gives a tug to the line and we descend down to the 40 feet marker. Through the sea weed is an aqualung diver, Dr. David Reed (Richard Carlson), he drifts at the 5 feet marker to avoid the Bends. A fairly new invention, the aqualung which becomes known as scuba (self-contained underwater breathing apparatus), was popularized in 1946. David is excited to see Dr. Maia and Julia helps remove his aqualung. Maia asks why the two of them are in Brazil since he heard they were doing research for a Californian aquarium. The aquariums of that time are Marineland of the Pacific and the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium. David replies that they are looking for lungfish for a month.
Dr. Maia asks if they are married and Kay replies that David just wants to live together. He shows David the photo he took in a rock formation dating to the Devonian Age. This is 416 to 358 million years ago called the Age of Fishes. The lungfish emerged from this time. David boards the boat and David looks at the fossilized hand as Kay drives the boat. Kay and David are interested in working with Dr. Maia. He asks about their employer, Williams, and David says any publicity would get his interest. We see the inside of an aquarium tank including several leopard sharks, a pan over as Kay looks in from another window.
Dr. Maia brings the fossilized hand to a table. David, Kay, Mark Williams (Richard Denning), and Dr. Edwin Thompson (Whit Bissell) theorize about the fossil. Dr. Maia hopes to assemble an expedition and they all offer to be part of it. David goes over to check a lungfish in a tank and then wondering about traveling to other planets and encountering different environments. We see the hand of Gill-man reach to the land again at night. His perspective is seen as he walks toward the expedition tent. A growling is heard and Luis watches as the hand of the Gill-man reaches into the tent. On land, the Gill-man was played by Ben Chapman. He reaches for a lamp and throws it at the intruder who screams, his hand covers the head of the man. Tomas tries to use his knife on it, but is killed.
Dr. Maia brings the fossilized hand to a table. David, Kay, Mark Williams (Richard Denning), and Dr. Edwin Thompson (Whit Bissell) theorize about the fossil. Dr. Maia hopes to assemble an expedition and they all offer to be part of it. David goes over to check a lungfish in a tank and then wondering about traveling to other planets and encountering different environments. We see the hand of Gill-man reach to the land again at night. His perspective is seen as he walks toward the expedition tent. A growling is heard and Luis watches as the hand of the Gill-man reaches into the tent. On land, the Gill-man was played by Ben Chapman. He reaches for a lamp and throws it at the intruder who screams, his hand covers the head of the man. Tomas tries to use his knife on it, but is killed.
The figure of the Gill Man, Icons of Darkness, 2023, author’s photo.
The small boat, the Rita, chugs along the Amazon River. The captain, Lucas (Nestor Paiva), hears the complaints of Mark. Dr. Maia has set up a lab in the boat. Kay acts as a mediator between Mark and David. Lucas sounds the horn on the Rita which sends a crocodile into the river. David says to Kay that everything is like the Devonian Age. Lucas adds that everything here are killers. They take a rowboat and Maia calls for his assistants, but no answer. We see the hand of one of them in rictus in the tent as the scientists approach. David has Kay stay by the boat. They enter the tent and Maia thinks it is a jaguar attack. Kay is looking around and the Gill-man hand reaches out slowly towards her feet.
David calls out for Kay and she walks over with the claws just missing her. The dig has begun with axes and shovels on the rock. They are sweaty and tired, Mark complains that it has been eight days, David wants to know where the river leads. Maia says it ends in a lagoon. David believes part of the rock formation broke off and ended in the lagoon. He is worried about Kay with the murdered men, but she can tough it out. Lucas says it is called the Black Lagoon. A little further out is the Blue Lagoon. The Rita continues on, Kay listens to the monkeys howling, and David kisses her. Mark reaches the deck with his spear gun, Lucas is impressed by it, and Mark fires a spear at the mast. The Rita narrowly slips into the Black Lagoon.
David wants to check the lagoon using the aqua lung, a net is dropped to check for fish, Mark and David go out using the aqua lungs. We see freshwater fish. The underwater scenes were shot at Wakulla Springs State Park in Florida. The underwater photography was by Bruce Mozert and really sells the Creature. Mark explores the area, the Gill-man reaches out his hand, but misses him. David goes to cut down an underwater plant and we see the Gill-man underwater (played by Ricou Browning). Kay spots their bubbles as they wait a bit before climbing the boat’s ladder. David gives the rock samples to Dr. Maia and the plant to Kay. She asks about the lagoon and David says it’s like another world.
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Julie Adams at her book signing of The Lucky Southern Star: Reflections from the Black Lagoon, Dark Delacies, 2011, photo by the author.
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Kay takes off her shirt revealing her white swimsuit. She leaps into the lagoon and swims past the Rita. We see her swimming from below and also there is the Gill-man! He swims below her. It is a strange, underwater ballet. The scene is identical to the opening of Jaws (1975). Kay treads water, the Gill-man is about to touch her, but shyly keeps back. He touches her and swims away as Kay looks underwater. Lucas reaches the top deck and is shocked to see Kay swimming. The others are also stunned to see her a distance away in the lagoon.
The Gill-man swims after her, but she is pulled aboard the Rita. The fishing net groans under some force. The boom cracks, but the fishing net is pulled up, torn to pieces. David wants to study the Gill-man, but Mark wants to capture it. It is the resourcefulness of scientists against a lonely creature which of course leads to it’s lair. Guillermo del Toro was inspired by the film, but wanted the Creature to end up with the girl in The Shape of Water (2017) which won him Academy Awards. Creature from the Black Lagoon is a horror classic that stands apart from the others with an incredible Creature with his own humanity!
Five Aqualungs out of Five!
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