L'Étrange Créature du lac noir

Out of Universal Pictures, Creature from the Black Lagoon is directed by Jack Arnold, and stars Richard Carlson, Julia Adams, Richard Denning, Antonio Moreno, and Whit Bissell. The eponymous creature was played by Ben Chapman on land and Ricou Browning for the underwater scenes. The cinematography is by William E. Snyder and the score is composed by a trio of men, Henry Mancini, Hans J. Salter & Herman Stein. The story sees a scientific expedition at the top end of the Amazon encounter a Devonian Period amphibious creature. As the creature starts to defend its turf by attacking members of the expedition, in fighting begins to take a hold as the men argue about the best course of action to take. Should it be killed, or should it be captured for scientific research? Either way they need to act fast as the creature has taken a fancy to Kay, the sole female member of the expedition group.

One of the better creature features that surfaced in the 1950s, Creature from the Black Lagoon was one of the film's made as part of the 3D craze that filtered out of Hollywood in 53 & 54. However, unlike many of those film's that were made in the format over those two years, this one has rightly managed to break away from its gimmicky beginnings to become regarded as a genre classic. There are many reasons why it is still well regarded and taken in appreciatively by newcomers.

The story of course is nothing new, the old "beauty & the beast" theme can be traced back to the daddy himself, "King Kong". But much like Kong, Arnold's movie thrives within the endearing story by getting the audience to sympathise with the titular creature. He is after all only defending his territory, he was happy wallowing down in the depths, remaining undiscovered for many a moon. That he is fascinated by the considerable beauty of Kay Lawrence (Adams sexy and gorgeous), is no crime either. The amount of sympathy garnered for "Gill-Man" is helped enormously by the illogical actions of the humans; who in turn go diving and swimming where legend has it men get eaten! This coupled with their bickering about pro science or trophy hunting makes it easy to side with the amphibious one.

It also helps that the film is pretty brisk and only runs for 80 minutes, there's no sags or pointless filler. Too many similar film's of its ilk labour until the monster shows up and all hell then breaks loose. But under Arnold's (It Came From Outer Space/The Incredible Shrinking Man) astute direction, atmosphere and unease is built up by ominous talk and sightings of the Black Lagoon-and only initial glimpses of the creature's scaly webbed claw; accompanied by the attention grabbing theme music. And when the creature finally reveals itself it doesn't disappoint for its an impressive creation. A half-man/half-fish creature covered in scales, resplendent with gills and with cold, dark featureless eyes. It also has great characteristics with a distinctive swimming style in the water, and a lumbering Frankenstein thing going on when on the land. A definitive monster that would be merchandised for ever after.

There's also technical accomplishments away from the creature itself, notably with the memorable underwater photography by Snyder, who uses a portable camera to flow with the swimming sequences, while his shadow and light work down in the depths is memorably mood enhancing. The three tiered score is also one of the best to feature in a "B" movie schlocker, three different composers, three different emotional strands; nice. Then there's of course the definitive sequence, the sexy underwater flirting as "Gill-Man" swims below the shapely form of Kay, beguiled by her, it's love at first sight. He's not the only one beguiled, we all are, as was Steven Spileberg, who would homage the more dramatic part of the sequence in his opening for Jaws 21 years later. Whilst last but not least it should be mentioned that there are little asides to ecological issues in the piece, something Arnold was want to do. Two sequels would follow, Arnold would return for "Revenge Of The Creature" in 1955 and then the John Sherwood directed "The Creature Walks Among Us" would round off the trilogy in 1956.

It's the original that still holds up today. 8/10

One of few truly great "creature" films, THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON is a surprisingly effective horror film concerning a scientific expedition up the Amazon to investigate an unusual fossil find--but instead of fossils the crew members encounter an underwater creature of considerable intelligence that is bent on their destruction.

The script is a bit dated by modern standards, but the cast (particularly Julie Adams) is effective, and the creature is easily one of Universal Studio's most memorable creations. And seen today in standard black and white, the film is quite enjoyable. But it doesn't hold a candle to the original 3-D format, which I was fortunate to see not once but twice during the 1970s and 1980s. Simply stated, BLACK LAGOON's cinematography was probably the best of all 3-D movies to date. As with most 3-D films, there is plenty of "coming at you" cinematography, and many viewers will be able to pick out such moments when seeing the film in standard black and white--but in addition to these, the film used 3-D in a remarkably subtle way; virtually every scene in the film is designed for 3-D, and the effect is exceptionally memorable in the underwater sequences.

I remain disappointed that the 3-D version of BLACK LAGOON--not to mention such other 3-D films as HOUSE OF WAX, IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE, and DIAL "M" FOR MURDER--has never been released in 3-D format on video or disk; instead, we must make do with such bottom-budget 3-D flicks as THE MASK, CAT WOMEN ON THE MOON, and the like. Admittedly, the impact of the format is lessened by the small screen and demands some careful color adjusting, and the effect requires the use of 3-D glasses--but it is a shame that we must settle for ghosts of the originals when we could easily have the originals instead. In 3-D format, BLACK LAGOON would easily be a ten-star film.

Gary F. Taylor, aka GFT, Amazon Reviewer

A scientific expedition led by a Doctor (Richard Carlson ) accompanied by his girlfriend ( gorgeous Julia Adams in a mesmerizing swimsuit) along with a motley group (Richard Denning ,Nestor Paiva, Armando Moreno, Whit Bissell) goes to remote Amazon in search of a missing link but they are forced to fight for their lives. In spite of the reluctant help of the locals they encounter a rare being , a deadly pre-historic Gill-Man who attack them . They come face to face with an amphibious and vicious fish-man.

Unforgettable monster vintage of the 50s that originated several imitations , copies and rip-offs . Magnificent picture with sure sense of eerie atmosphere; it's first in a trilogy and features good acting and bone-fide screams provided by the creepy appearance of the creature that actually is a man in a gill suit incarnated by Ricou Browning . Some reviewers say this exciting film can be seen as precursor of 'Jaws'. Wonderful and lush underwater photography by James Havens . Rousing and vibrant musical score by Joseph Gershenson . This motion picture , originally in 3-D , is stunning and compellingly realized by Jack Arnold. It's followed by two sequels ¨Revenge of the creature¨ also directed by Jack Arnold with John Agar , Lori Nelson and repeating Nestor Paiva , in which the Gill-Man is caged and transported into a Florida aquarium and ¨The creature walks among us¨ by John Sherwood with Jeff Morrow and Rex Reason in which the monster again is trapped and submitted to plastic surgery in hopes of humanizing him. Rating : Better than average , worthwhile watching . The film will appeal to classic cinema fans and terror aficionados .

Today, "The Creature From the Black Lagoon" is considered a classic. The film itself has become a cliche for the "man-in-a-rubber-suit" monster movie, and the "gillman" is now included in the pantheon of classic movie monsters -along with Dracula, Frankenstein, and the Wolfman.

I was a teenager when I first saw this Sci-Fi/Horror gem on television in 1965--the film was already ten years old by then--and I loved it. Surprisingly--even after a decade of watching technically sophisticated, state-of-the-art, unbelievably realistic prosthetic, animatronic, and computer-generated movie monsters--today's teenagers still love the old "rubber" prototype of all swamp monsters -"The Creature From the Black Lagoon". This is especially true of teenage boys. Why? Perhaps every adolescent male can relate to the film's star: the Creature is horny, inarticulate, moody, misunderstood, not pleasant to look at, and is unbelievably awkward with girls -the ultimate teenage "geek". We all remember this classic scene in the movie: the film's beautiful heroine (Julie Adams) decides to take a dip, unaware that the Creature is swimming below her. The image is archetypal : the powerful "masculine", and the overtly seductive "feminine", beautifully juxtaposed in a stylized sexual union. Then, from the murky bottom of his lagoon, the Creature leeringly watches Adams as she performs an erotic underwater ballet, and he knows that, for the moment, he can only look, not touch. (Is the "scaly one" shy and insecure? Or does he simply have a Catholic upbringing?) Indeed, much of the film's imagery lends itself to Freudian interpretation.

OK, so it's not exactly "Beauty and the Beast" -the Creature's passion is purely primal and elemental. But still, the fact that he restrains himself, satisfying his carnal curiosity with a simple caressing of Julie's ankles, and then retreats back to the gloomy bottom of his underwater sanctum to secretly watch her react in bewilderment, suggests he may be more human than he appears. But, alas, as any good Freudian will tell you, repression often leads to disfunction. And later in the film, in a brief, but beautifully filmed underwater scene, the Creature savagely drags the tantalizing "Playboy centerfold" down into the Freudian depths to his subterranean grotto -perhaps to hide her under his bed...where his mom can't find her. (I apologize for the metaphor. It's getting stale, I know.)

"The Creature From the Black Lagoon" was directed by Jack Arnold ("The Incredible Shrinking Man"), who (from 1952 to 1960) directed a series of fantasy/horror films for Universal Studios, including "Revenge of the Creature" -this film's sequel. Arnold would certainly object to us reading too much symbolism in his gillman, but the Creature may not have achieved such enduring status in monster-mythology if not for the fears and anxieties of the movie-going audience of the '50s. Arnold's dramatic use of the Creature succeeds, of course, by exploiting the human fear of the unseen threat lurking below -a very primal, deeply embedded in the human subconscious, and one that's been ruthlessly exploited by filmmakers in countless horror films. But Arnold's beast may also represent a more intellectualized fear. In the 1950s (and beyond), the threat of nuclear annihilation was very real, and like the creature in Shelly's "Frankenstein", Arnold's lagoon creature represents an elemental force of nature that, once discovered and awakened by science (even well-intentioned science), cannot be controlled -perhaps like the newly tapped, but untamed, power of the atom. Or (and this may sound like apostasy in one of John's pretentious, sophistical, over-intellectualized movie reviews, in which I've constantly and digressively wandered into the Freudian morass) perhaps the Creature is not a mataphor for teenage angst, forbidden knowledge, or cold-war anxiety. Perhaps the Creature is nothing more than a guy in a scary rubber suit chasing a pretty girl around a movie soundstage. But where's the fun in that?

"The Creature From the Black Lagoon" is still fun to watch. Actors Richard Carlson (the sophmoric, but noble-minded paleozoologist) and Richard Denning (the ambitious financier) play off each other well. And Julie Adams is simply gorgeous in her custom-made swimsuit. Also, the beautiful (albeit black & white) underwater photography by James C. Haven is appropriately surreal: as the men begin their search and descend into the black depths of the lagoon, they intermittently twirl and hover amidst penetrating shafts of sunlight from above; and as the camera pans the peaceful bottom-landscape of the lagoon, the gillman suddenly springs from clouds of disturbed sediment, thrashing through curtains of shimmering air bubbles and drifting weeds, determined and unstoppable in his persuit of the human intruders. But one of the best things about the movie is the music. Some of the themes--written by Henry Mancini and Herman Stein--are quite beautiful; for example, as the expedition slowly makes its way up the dark Amazon, an ensemble of gentle woodwinds can be heard -a soft, subliminal prelude that lets us know we are entering another world, a primeval world. And who can forget the Creature's signature theme--the brassy, bombastic, three-note progression of DA DA DAAAAA!--whenever "Creech" appeared on the screen?

Of course, the best thing in the film is...the Creature. Jack Arnold suggested that the design of the gillman suit be based on the graceful form of the Motion Picture Academy's "Oscar" statuette. (Really!) The suit was designed and brilliantly crafted by make-up artist Bud Westmore, and there were two versions -one suit for filming on land, and another for filming underwater. On land, the gillman was played by Ben Chapman. Olympic swimmer Ricou Browning wore the gillman suit in the underwater scenes. The "dry suit" that Chapman wore was beautifully colored with iridescent greens and blues, and mottled with many other marine hues. The "wet suit" worn by Browning was a bright yellow -the marine hues chosen for the "dry suit" photographed too dark when filming underwater.

Yeah, I really love this movie. I'm not sure why. Perhaps it's just one geek relating to another. You see, in the final reel, neither of us got the girl.

My Take: A classic for its day.

Jack Arnold's CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON is, most likely, FRANKENSTEIN and Dracula's little cousin. A little-known relative of the more famous monster movie classics, CREATURE is nonetheless a nice trip down memory lane. Plot concerns a rouge swamp beast (Ricou Browning and Ben Chapman sweating it out in the decent monster suit) who falls for (what else?) a beauty on board a research ship, while the men find good fortune in capturing the beast and saving the gal (whose only real requirement is to scream her heart out). Those who remember stepping into the drive-way while the weird eerie music played on the opening black-and-white titles brings a sudden memory of being a wee bit scared if that rubber monster you now find cheesy so much nowadays. Still, despite stiff acting and cheesy effects gimmicks, CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON is a nice trip back to the good ol' days of monster pictures. Originally released in a 3-D.

Rating: ***1/2 out of 5.