Creature from the Black Lagoon

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

"Creature from the Black Lagoon" is the quintessential 1950s monster movie. It's got a bathing beauty in the form of Julie Adams, whose character has a seemingly never-ending supply of impractical swimwear for a trek into the heart of the Amazon. Richard Carlson and Richard Denning give us some good old-fashioned 50s beefcake and spend most of the film running around with their shirts off. And, like the best monster movies from this time period, it can be taken straight or interpreted as being full of all sorts of sexual and gender subtext. You know, the men always comparing the size of their harpoons, the woman being pretty much useless and only there to be saved, the creature representing some kind of forbidden sexual fantasy.

This is a sexy movie, too. Everyone's always wet, there are all these scenes of Julie Adams and the creature swimming together in the water with him almost but never quite stroking her body, the men seem as anxious to hop in the sack with each other as either does the girl. It's a lot of fun, but leave your 2019 sensibility at the door in order to fully enjoy.

And as others have said, the creature itself looks amazing. Whenever there's a close up of its face, it really looks like it has fish eyes and gills and never looks like a man in a fish costume. The whole movie looks really good, actually, probably because there was some serious talent behind the camera, which surprised me for such a low-budget movie. William Snyder handled the cinematography, Ted Kent the editing, and Hilyard Brown and Bernard Herzbrun the art direction, all of them men who had been nominated for or won Oscars in the past for other things.

Of all the monster movies I've seen, this is easily one of the best.

Grade: A-

Unlike other sci-fi flicks from the 1950s, "Creature From The Black Lagoon" is not a film to laugh at. It's better made. Just by the title we know there's a monster lurking about. Yet, for the film's first 24 minutes we don't actually see it, only one of its claws. And that holding back of the monster's appearance fosters suspense and mystery. In addition, the film's B&W cinematography is good, for its time, with lots of credible underwater shots. And while the dialogue does contain lots of exposition, the film at least tries to educate viewers.

There's nothing complex about the story. A scientific crew heads for the Amazon to do an archaeological dig, after a large fossil is found. The crew ends up at the Black Lagoon, a place of serenity, with its still waters, surrounded by palm trees and the sounds of monkeys and exotic birds. Through much of the film the peaceful setting together with soothing background music actually makes for a rather relaxing movie. Even when we see the monster, it seems lonely and hardly threatening as it glides gracefully through its watery home.

I suspect that the film's popularity when it was first released relates to the creature's distinctive appearance, with those moving gills and those bulging dark eyes. And of course, back in those days, the film was made for 3-D viewing, a novelty then that made the monster seem more real. Today, the film has an ever-so-slight environmental theme, given that at least one of the scientists prefers that the monster not be harmed, and given that humans obviously are encroaching into its habitat.

Because so much of the plot takes place underwater and therefore lacks dialogue, and given a runtime of only about 78 minutes, there really isn't that much to this movie. But what there is of it is interesting for its historical significance as a precursor to later sci-fi films, and for a monster that's not only photogenic but also alone and arguably lonely in a world that has passed it by, after eons of time.

While nowhere near as intelligent, thought-provoking and well made as Anderson's brilliant "Incredible Shrinking Man", this is still smarter and more complex than your average monster movie, especially of its era.

This creature is neither tragic hero, nor unstoppable villain. He's just a living being, a prehistoric half-man, half fish, behaving as his evolution has conditioned him, attacking invaders to his Amazonian paradise, attracted to the female human.

The film is full of mind numbing exposition, mediocre acting, low production values and heavy handed staking out of its ethical positions; the humanistic scientist that wants to study and understand the creature versus the base desires of the expedition's financier who wants to kill the thing and bring it back to the world as a trophy.

But there are sequence of power and even poetry, as the creature swims silently beneath the team's female scientist (and eye candy). There are moments her that Spielberg would echo in "Jaws" years later, but here the threat is more eerie and complex than terrifying. And watching the creature pathetically gasp for breath like a fish out of water is a sad and strong image (actually, a lot of the creature's movements, especially under water, are surprisingly convincing as something other than a man in a latex suit).

While not, for me, the classic some see it as, it's still a solid cut above the dumb Saturday afternoon entertainment that has lead to our forgetting most of its cinematic cousins, but keeping this creature alive.

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.