October 8th: Creature from the Black Lagoon
Creature from the Black Lagoon
Released: 1954
Directed by: Jack Arnold
Starring: Richard Carlson, Julia Adams, Richard Denning, Antonio Moreno, Nestor Paiva, Whit Bissell, Ricou Browning, Ben Chapman
In the 90s, one of the best shows to watch was Mystery Science Theater 3000. Every week they would play some low budget creature feature that had a pretty lady screaming as a poorly costumed monster slllllooooowwwllllyyy approached her and the handsome hero who later guest stars on Murder, She Wrote comes to save her. All of those movies owe a debt of gratitude to Creature from the Black Lagoon in the same way that all the cheesy low budget space operas owe Star Wars. This is the granddaddy of the creature feature. All others have to look at this as the pinnacle, at least in the 50s and 60s.
As usual, the story is simple. A fossil expedition in the Amazon discovers the clawed limb of an unknown creature. To examine it further, the head scientist, Dr. Carl Maia, gathers an expeditionary group to find more evidence of this creature. The group includes Dr. Mark Williams, Dr. Edwin Thompson, Dr. David Reed, and lab assistant Kay Lawrence. They go up the river and discover Dr. Maia’s assistants have been violently killed. They do not find any more evidence of the creature. They continue upriver to a lagoon, the Black Lagoon. Meanwhile, an amphibious humanoid creature is captivated by Kay. They find him, and Mark is determined to capture him, dead or alive. They go back and forth with the lovestruck Gill-Man, who traps them in the lagoon. Gilly uses this opportunity to swipe right, specifically swipe Kay right to his lair.
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With a background of terrible movies like this from MST3K, this feels like a dream. The underwater filming is amazing. The music is great, and influential. I’ll get into that in a bit. The acting is a bit over-the-top, but not terribly so. The creature certainly looks better underwater than above, but in comparison to monsters like The Creeping Terror and The Brain That Wouldn’t Die, it might as well have been done by Industrial Light & Magic, WETA, or the Jim Henson Creature Shop. The action scenes are well done, and the pacing is excellent. For one of these kinds of movies, it’s awesome.
Small Observations:
- Having seen Jaws so many times, it is amazing how much of the DNA of Creature from the Black Lagoon is in it. From the underwater filming to the action on the boat to even the music, I swear there is a point in the movie that sounds very much like the Jaws motif. I can’t say for sure Williams borrowed from it, but it feels right.
- Ok, so I am not a scientist. But first, they find this “fossil,” but it is clearly not minerals that wrapped around a body part. It is the limb itself. That’s no fossil, that’s just a limb. Then, when they find one of Gill-Man’s claws in the net, they assume it’s part of the fossil evidence. They can’t tell a fossil from a living being’s claw? That’s weird.
- They spend a good three to five minutes describing the dangers of the Amazon jungle. Giant anteater with the strength of a bear. Foot-long centipedes. Rats the size of sheep(?). Nine-foot-long killer catfish. Half of those are exaggerated, sure, but not the catfish. And what does Kay do immediately after? Go swimming by herself.
- MCU actors: 0
Overall Rank: A
It is hard to imagine a creature feature being better than this. The cinematography is great. The influence on future movies is strong. It is rightly viewed as iconic. Recommended.
