REVIEW: Creature From The Black Lagoon (1954)
Title: Creature From The Black Lagoon
Release Year: 1954
Genre: Horror
Cast: Julie Adams, Richard Denning and Richard Carlson
Synopsis: A scientific expedition searching for fossils along the Amazon River, discover a prehistoric Gill-Man in the legendary Black Lagoon.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️＿ ＿ ＿
Review: I had always heard about this film from television shows and was curious, but only started looking for it, after seeing a small part of the film in a special feature on a DVD of a film made by Universal Studios. I can't recall which one, but they showed a few seconds of successful films made by Universal in the 1950s.
Rasha and I were terrified of the scene that was shown, because it was the first time we ever saw someone underwater in black and white. The monster looked terrifying under this colourless water, so we decided we had to watch it for Halloween.
After watching the film though, I didn't find it quite so scary.
I understand why this film is so popular though. It's probably due to its unique storyline for that time. Of course, if you're watching this for the first time now, I don't think anything will shock, scare or surprise you, because most horror/thriller films today that involve simultaneous deaths, are some what influenced by this one.
Background:
The story was derived from an urban legend of a race of half-man half-fish creatures that lived in the Amazon. A story the producer, William Alland, was told by a mexican cinemotographer, Gabriel Figueroa, in 1941. He later wrote notes about a sea monster and over a period of ten years, the notes developed into a story. Alland also got some inpirations from the tale of Beauty And The Beast - which explains why the heck the monster was so weird...
As Universal Studios was famous for it's classic monsters, creating a new popular monster was their aim. The studio hired several screenwriters to expand and rewrite Alland's story for the new film. It was then called The Black Lagoon.
After the success of Warner Brothers' House of Wax, 1953, Universal decided to implement the same format for this film. So it was released in 3D, but only in some theatres. Small town theatres featured it in 2D, which most people preferred, since the 3D trend had faded by that time.
The Story:
A group of scientists risk their lives in an expedition to a dangerous part of the Amazon, where no man ever came out alive, in order to capture a rare and endangered amphibious creature. When they do encounter the creature though, they realise they had made a fatal decision.
The Characters:
I don't remember much about the film, but if my memory serves me right, I recall not liking the lead; Richard Carlson. I am not able to disclose the reason as I have no idea why hahaha.
I did like Richard Denning though. I think he's a great actor and does best when he portrays the evil "good guy".
The creature was played by two actors, one for land scenes (Ben Chapman) and the other (Ricou Browning) for underwater scenes. They both experienced problems with the costumes as it got over heated and the eyes were made of rubber, which made it very hard to see. When the creature was carrying the heroine (Julie Adams) to the cave, for instance, he accidentally scraped her head against the wall.
I am afraid I cannot talk about the rest of the cast because I hadn't written anything about anyone in my old review to remind me of them.
Favourite Scenes:
The funniest part I found was when the monster kept going back to the scientists and it was always Adams who saw him first hahaha. It was like watching the same scene over and over again.
Worst Scenes:
I think one important aspect that ruined the film for me, was the subdued racism. When the natives were viciously murdered, nobody seemed to care much and they moved on quickly, or rather just continued on because it seemed like there was nothing to recover from emotionally.
A complete contrast to how they reacted after one of the scientists - who happened to be white - was injured. After that happened, they suddenly all decided that the expedition wasn't worth all the hassle.
The lack of emotion towards anyone but their group, when they clearly weren't all supposed to be portrayed as selfish, not only made them seem like racists but also made their acting seem bleak.
Another thing that seemed funny to me rather than disturb me, was the lack of preparation or research from the writers. I read that most of the scientific information was wrong. I'm no scientist and am not studying it either, but it is nice to watch something with truthful material otherwise the story loses it's quality. Besides, even if it's just a film, I like to think I'm gaining more than just entertainment while watching...
The silliest thing though that baffled me, was why would they base a story on a location they know nothing about. The Amazon is located in Brazil, which they had acknowledged too, yet the signs were in Spanish...
Confusing Scenes:
I was a bit confused whether the monster was in love with the female scientist or he just wanted to catch her as bait, in order to get all the other scientists.
Adams had suggested that; "there always is that feeling of compassion for the monster. I think maybe it touches something in ourselves, maybe the darker parts of ourselves, that long to be loved and think they really can't ever be loved. It strikes a chord within us".
I too felt very sorry for the creature but will take her thought further and suggest that he might actually be a human that evolved into this amphibious being, just like the Cetaceans had evolved; from amphibians to aquatic mammals.
Or maybe it was a human who went through a botched experiment and instead of roaming around terrorising everybody, as we'd usually find in monster-related stories, he hid away and the humans came to discover him. This might be the connection with Beauty And The Beast that Alland had intended.
References And Adaptations:
The film had two sequels; Revenge of the Creature, 1955 and The Creature Walks Among Us, 1956, neither of which I've seen.
Before the release of the film, as a promotion tactic, Abbott and Costello made a parody film on Colgate Comedy Hour. I think it should've been after the release so people could actually understand the jokes, but I guess it made it popular anyway.
The Seven Year Itch, 1955 mentioned the film and on one of The Munsters episodes, the creature visits them. I don't remember much about the episode, but I think he is related to them or something hahaha how is it possible...through marriage maybe?
I remember the film also being mentioned on a number of films and television shows in the 1990s too. Probably why I grew curious enough to watch it.
Rasha and I used to watch a series called Grimm, which is about a man with superhuman powers who can see creatures other people can't. He happens to be a decendant of the Brothers Grimm, so most of their fairytales come to life through the show.
The Grimm has a normal job though. He is a detective and through his work he meets all kinds of creatures.
On the 4th season I think, he learns about a creature in a lake which looks similar to the Gillman. I think it was a cross between the Black Lagoon creature and the Loch Ness Monster.
Sometimes I just watch these horror films, to try to understand what the fuss is all about. But mostly, so I can understand jokes made about them in other films hehehe. Still after watching, I feel it wouldn't be the type of film I'd ever want to watch again. Well maybe, just for laughs.
Release Year: 1954
Genre: Horror
Cast: Julie Adams, Richard Denning and Richard Carlson
Synopsis: A scientific expedition searching for fossils along the Amazon River, discover a prehistoric Gill-Man in the legendary Black Lagoon.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️＿ ＿ ＿
Rasha and I were terrified of the scene that was shown, because it was the first time we ever saw someone underwater in black and white. The monster looked terrifying under this colourless water, so we decided we had to watch it for Halloween.
After watching the film though, I didn't find it quite so scary.
Background:
The story was derived from an urban legend of a race of half-man half-fish creatures that lived in the Amazon. A story the producer, William Alland, was told by a mexican cinemotographer, Gabriel Figueroa, in 1941. He later wrote notes about a sea monster and over a period of ten years, the notes developed into a story. Alland also got some inpirations from the tale of Beauty And The Beast - which explains why the heck the monster was so weird...
As Universal Studios was famous for it's classic monsters, creating a new popular monster was their aim. The studio hired several screenwriters to expand and rewrite Alland's story for the new film. It was then called The Black Lagoon.
After the success of Warner Brothers' House of Wax, 1953, Universal decided to implement the same format for this film. So it was released in 3D, but only in some theatres. Small town theatres featured it in 2D, which most people preferred, since the 3D trend had faded by that time.
The Story:
A group of scientists risk their lives in an expedition to a dangerous part of the Amazon, where no man ever came out alive, in order to capture a rare and endangered amphibious creature. When they do encounter the creature though, they realise they had made a fatal decision.
The Characters:
I don't remember much about the film, but if my memory serves me right, I recall not liking the lead; Richard Carlson. I am not able to disclose the reason as I have no idea why hahaha.
I did like Richard Denning though. I think he's a great actor and does best when he portrays the evil "good guy".
The creature was played by two actors, one for land scenes (Ben Chapman) and the other (Ricou Browning) for underwater scenes. They both experienced problems with the costumes as it got over heated and the eyes were made of rubber, which made it very hard to see. When the creature was carrying the heroine (Julie Adams) to the cave, for instance, he accidentally scraped her head against the wall.
I am afraid I cannot talk about the rest of the cast because I hadn't written anything about anyone in my old review to remind me of them.
Favourite Scenes:
The funniest part I found was when the monster kept going back to the scientists and it was always Adams who saw him first hahaha. It was like watching the same scene over and over again.
Worst Scenes:
I think one important aspect that ruined the film for me, was the subdued racism. When the natives were viciously murdered, nobody seemed to care much and they moved on quickly, or rather just continued on because it seemed like there was nothing to recover from emotionally.
A complete contrast to how they reacted after one of the scientists - who happened to be white - was injured. After that happened, they suddenly all decided that the expedition wasn't worth all the hassle.
The lack of emotion towards anyone but their group, when they clearly weren't all supposed to be portrayed as selfish, not only made them seem like racists but also made their acting seem bleak.
Another thing that seemed funny to me rather than disturb me, was the lack of preparation or research from the writers. I read that most of the scientific information was wrong. I'm no scientist and am not studying it either, but it is nice to watch something with truthful material otherwise the story loses it's quality. Besides, even if it's just a film, I like to think I'm gaining more than just entertainment while watching...
The silliest thing though that baffled me, was why would they base a story on a location they know nothing about. The Amazon is located in Brazil, which they had acknowledged too, yet the signs were in Spanish...
Confusing Scenes:
I was a bit confused whether the monster was in love with the female scientist or he just wanted to catch her as bait, in order to get all the other scientists.
Adams had suggested that; "there always is that feeling of compassion for the monster. I think maybe it touches something in ourselves, maybe the darker parts of ourselves, that long to be loved and think they really can't ever be loved. It strikes a chord within us".
I too felt very sorry for the creature but will take her thought further and suggest that he might actually be a human that evolved into this amphibious being, just like the Cetaceans had evolved; from amphibians to aquatic mammals.
Or maybe it was a human who went through a botched experiment and instead of roaming around terrorising everybody, as we'd usually find in monster-related stories, he hid away and the humans came to discover him. This might be the connection with Beauty And The Beast that Alland had intended.
References And Adaptations:
The film had two sequels; Revenge of the Creature, 1955 and The Creature Walks Among Us, 1956, neither of which I've seen.
Before the release of the film, as a promotion tactic, Abbott and Costello made a parody film on Colgate Comedy Hour. I think it should've been after the release so people could actually understand the jokes, but I guess it made it popular anyway.
The Seven Year Itch, 1955 mentioned the film and on one of The Munsters episodes, the creature visits them. I don't remember much about the episode, but I think he is related to them or something hahaha how is it possible...through marriage maybe?I remember the film also being mentioned on a number of films and television shows in the 1990s too. Probably why I grew curious enough to watch it.
Rasha and I used to watch a series called Grimm, which is about a man with superhuman powers who can see creatures other people can't. He happens to be a decendant of the Brothers Grimm, so most of their fairytales come to life through the show.
The Grimm has a normal job though. He is a detective and through his work he meets all kinds of creatures.
On the 4th season I think, he learns about a creature in a lake which looks similar to the Gillman. I think it was a cross between the Black Lagoon creature and the Loch Ness Monster.
Sometimes I just watch these horror films, to try to understand what the fuss is all about. But mostly, so I can understand jokes made about them in other films hehehe. Still after watching, I feel it wouldn't be the type of film I'd ever want to watch again. Well maybe, just for laughs.
And here I was going to suggest we watch it again hahha!
ReplyDeleteI miss Grimm...but I don’t miss this episode because...well you know why not...heheh.
How did you come to the conclusion of the similarities between the monster and the beast? That’s pure genius!!! But now I feel more sorry for him.
I think it’s not bad, especially compared to all the other useless films we’ve watched...hehe.
Actually I wanted to watch it again because I feel I’d see it differently now. Plus I don’t know if it deserves only two stars hahaha
DeleteThe creatures in these paleo-horror films are so terrifying haha Probably because the costumes look somewhat natural in black and white. I've heard about this one before, but it's another classic I've yet to see. It's such an enduring sub-genre.
ReplyDeleteNow the background story puzzled me. An old folk legend from the Amazon region tells that, during the holy feasts of June, the pink river dolphin assumes the shape of a well clad man and lures women into the river. I'd never heard about the half-man half-fish version. Maybe Figueroa knew of a different version or made up his own? (Since the original tale suits tragedy and romance more than horror.) Interesting.
I think some tales are associated with parts of a country, so perhaps Figueroa's wasn't as popular as stories made by say a number of countries in South America.
DeleteI think his story might be that of Pirarucu, which is a type of fish found in fresh water today. It is believed that that fish was once part of a human warrior tribe in the Amazon, who was turned into a fish for being arrogant hahahaha
I found that some character aspects of the creature in the film though, has some connection with the Tapire-iauara, since it is said to gaurd the amazon from humans, by attacking them while on their boats, much like in the film.
Maybe Alland combined all these Amazonian legends into this one creature. The Piraucu for the idea, the Tapire-iauara for it's character and Pink Dolphins for the romance, since he seemed to obsess over the heroine.
Oh, wow! I wasn't aware of all these different Amazonian myths. It makes a lot of sense that various similar legends alluding to the river would coexist, considering that many tribes and ancient cultures have inhabited the area for centuries. Thank you very much for your insightful clarification! I guess it also adds a depth to the film that neither Alland or the writers had previously intended. haha
Delete