Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)
Directed by: Jack Arnold
Universal Studios OWNED monster/horror movies in the 30s and 40s. Once the 50s rolled around they didn’t have as many films, and many see Creature from the Black Lagoon as the final movie of the Universal Monster series. I have seen all the other classics: Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy, The Wolf Man, and parts of The Invisible Man. I recently found this movie on DVD at Big Lots for all of $4 and I thought it would be fun to review the oldest movie yet on this blog. This might be the oldest movie I’ve ever reviewed…interesting.
Plot focuses around a group of scientists in the Amazon jungle looking for answers to discovered skeletal claw that could be a direct link between land and sea creatures. They are taken to the “black lagoon” a remote region in the jungle that they soon find out is inhabited by the Gill Man. A tall human like creature with webbed hands and feet and a fish like face. The creature starts off as basically curious and soon becomes violent, killing numerous people. The Gill Man has the ability to walk on land as well as swim, being amphibious. The scientists struggle to capture the creature to study and make history for providing the missing link in evolution. Once the creature is captured, he is able to fight free quickly and begins killing off the members of the crew one by one.
The acting is of the era, decently solid, but still a big ham fisted at times. Richard Carlson plays Dr. Reed, he is all about capturing the creature alive and studying him for science where as Richard Denning whom plays Dr. Williams is willing to kill the creature and sees him as an evil nemesis. Reed and Williams butt heads numerous times during the film. Captain Lucas is a quirky character, kind of surly at times but funny for the most party. Lucas is played by Nestor Paiva, he does a decent job but comes off kind of drunk at times. Julie Adams plays Kay Lawrence, love interest of Dr. Reed, and object of desire for the Gill Man. Julie Adams is gorgeous, no other way to describe her. She is kind of cliché for the era, she screams a lot and seems helpless at times. Basically she is there for romance and to be the damsel in distress.
The special effects are pretty good for 1954. The Gill Man looks pretty real, they did a great job with the rubber suit. The eyes are a little lifeless but other than that you can see the gills move when he breathes which is pretty damn cool. The camera work was ground breaking at the time. There are so many underwater scenes, which at the time I think was the first. Apparently, this was shot in 3D, which would have been pretty cool, especially in 1954. Unfortunately, the DVD I have is 2D but it didn’t hamper the film at all. The underwater scenes are pretty cool, well lit and easy to follow.
This is a classic and rightfully so. It was a landmark in film creation with the underwater scenes and special effects. The movie is a little slow, but older films are always like that, the audience had different expectations, and let’s face it…their attention spans were longer. The movie relies on suspense heavily, but I feel like they showed the creature too much and too soon. Maybe a little more teasing would have helped it, but man I’m grasping at straws here. Frankenstein remains my favorite of the Universal Monster films, but this was a fun entry for sure. I would give this a B+, it is fun and has some great visuals all throughout the film. It is a little slow for me and only has a 1 hour 19-minute run time which was surprising for how long this seems at times. Check it out, it is a classic for a reason!
