Creature Feature: 50 Years of the Gill-Man

While in LA recently, I had the opportunity through a colleague to catch an early screening of this doc at the Sunset Theater. As a fan of all the old creature films, I jumped at the chance.

The impression I got after screening this doc was that the flick was made by folks who have an honest appreciation – even love – for the Creature and his enduring legacy. As a result, they handled the subject matter with tremendous respect and kept it from turning into a campy spoof. (Though when talking about the creature features of the 1950s, a little camp is never a bad thing)

In particular, I was impressed with the level of access the filmmakers had to the original cast and crew, as well as footage, exclusive and rare stills, and other background materials. They used all of the above to do a great job nailing down the story behind the making of the original Creature film. A big plus there. For me, the back-story on the design work that went into the Creature itself was interesting, especially when considering how this film literally raised the bar in terms of how Hollywood monsters were conceptualized and designed.

And current-day interviews with surviving cast members – including the Gill-man himself (Ben Chapman) and heroine Kay (Julie Adams), gave the film a resonance and sincerity that would have been sorely lacking had they not been there.

As someone interested in screen writing, I also especially enjoyed the in-depth interviews with screenwriter Arthur Ross (father of Gary Ross, for anyone keeping score), both about the making of the Creature script as well as his experiences with blacklisting in Hollywood. Some great stuff there that all Hollywood history aficionados should see.

In particular I also enjoyed hearing about Ross' rationale that the Creature should not be a traditional horror figure in terms of being inherently evil or dangerous, but should be more of a conflicted, more "human" character who only harms others once he's pushed to the edge.

In addition to the back-story of the actual production, the filmmakers did a good job documenting the sheer hysteria that surrounded the release of the first film and subsequent sequels (Revenge of the Creature). Seeing old footage of the nursing stations that were set up at screenings to treat any of the 'scared sick' filmgoers reminded me just how much of an impact the Creature had on the horror film industry. (Let's see you Freddie Krueger do that!)

Then the doc went beyond the actual films to show the enduring legacy of the Gill-man, taking us to a variety of modern-day sci-fi and horror conventions to meet to real people who still love the creature and consider him one of cinema's great characters. The doc could have easily gone overboard at that point to become a bad SNL skit (anyone remember William Shatner's scathing Trekkie convention skit?), but to the filmmaker's credit, they kept it from crossing the line and becoming a farce. Again, they accomplished this by treating the fans and subject matter with the respect that can only come from a true fan.

I was happily surprised to see they also reached out to a variety of current filmmakers, historians, and even some celebrities (Benicio Del Turo and Daniel Roebuck are two in particular that I remember) and got them to discuss how the Gill-man impressed and affected them while growing up. Seeing Roebuck sitting in a room in his home that's filled from floor to ceiling with horror and sci-fi memorabilia – much of it Gill-man related – goes a long way at proving that point. A nice touch there.

But I think the biggest coup for the filmmakers came in nailing down veteran actor Keith David as the narrator. David (Platoon, Something about Mary, Pitch Black) has such a distinctive, recognizable voice that it really added weight to the film – at least for me.

But alas, reviews can't be all good: I'd say the biggest criticism I have for the filmmakers is that they let a few of the interviews run longer than necessary. Nothing major, but just a few instances where I felt they could have chopped a few lines here and there to make the doc flow a bit quicker.

I can't remember who said it exactly, but one of the best lines in the doc was that if the Frankenstein, Dracula, Wolfman trifecta could be considered the Rat Pack of creature characters, then Gill-man is the Elvis. I thought that was brilliant and really nailed down the creature's enduring appeal. As does this documentary.

Looked great Sam. Looked just like a first look and the production value was great. Very informative and now I want to stay up till 3 am to watch it some night. Maybe I ll just go down to the local video store and rent it. I can't wait to see the next thing you do. Hopefully you remember me to cast me. J/k With Hollywood in the midst of a bunch of redo's or do over. I bet it won't be long till we see the creature back up on the main screen. I think your first look will be enough to prompt so action from the suits in Hollywood. I would definitely buy a ticket to go see it. If you guys don't already know it Sam is the new up and comer. I can't wait to see whats next.

Great job

I haven't seen this movie but I have heard about it for a year or two and have been trying to get to see it or buy it. I am a great fan of The Creature From the Black Lagoon and would like to get to see this if any way possible. I have read some about this and it seems like it in the best form . I would hope to see a release of this Doc type movie in the very near future . It seems like Universal Studios would love to pick this up and run with it since it is all about movies made at their home base. With the summary that I just read on this page in the IMDb it sound like there are a lot of the original cast being interviewed and just makes it that much more appealing to the Fan base of that genre and more in fact THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON and their sequels so please inform as to when and where to purchase this extraordinary film.

I have been a die hard Universal Monster movie fan for nearly twenty years. I was fortunate enough to get a ticket through a friend, and I was able to see this film screened in LA earlier in the year. Being such a devoted Monster fan it was a wonderful experience to see this awesome documentary. From start to finish it gives you everything you want to know about the most popular Universal Monster of the 50's THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON. Many of the highlights for me were the rare photos, the narration by the "GREAT" KEITH David. Also, you have the a clip from the COLGATE COMEDY HOUR with classic comedians BUD ABBOTT and LOU COSTELLO when they met the CREATURE on national television before the movie had went into theaters.

Also you have BEN CHAPMAN(the actor who played the Gill Man), his beautiful leading lady JULIE ADAMS as well. Plus, ARTHUR ROSS the screen writer for both CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON, and the third and final entry CREATURE WALKS AMONG US. What I enjoy most of all is the depth this doc gives you on the history of this classic movie. You also see many fans from MONSTER CONVENTIONS from all over the USA. It's so great to see these stars signing autographs, and meeting fans at the shows. My favorite moment is when GILL MEN - BEN CHAPMAN (who did all the land scenes) and RICOU BROWNING (who did all the underwater scenes). When they finally meet each other and shake hands after 50 years. What a true magical moment to see these two together again after all these years. Just to see them enjoying a laugh together is a piece of movie history caught on film.

This documentary takes the time and goes into detail on the entire trilogy of CREATURE films. Which to me is just great, up until this point not much history had been brought up about the CREATURE. Now with this "GREAT" documentary we now have a detailed, highly entertaining look back at one of the most iconic monsters of all time. If you love Monster films, or if you just love films in general this is the one for you.

In closing just let me say that also in the doc. is Academy Award winner BENICIO DEL TORO, and DANIEL ROEBUCK as well. So, I strongly encourage every one of you to catch this wonderful, fun, and informative piece of work in this documentary CREATURE FEATURE: 50 YEARS OF THE GILL-MAN.

I had the fortunate opportunity of seeing a screening of Creature Feature in NYC about a week ago. I have to say, this is good stuff. I am a movie fan, but not necessarily a "monster movie" fan. Well, this documentary has me thinking I might become one. I learned more than I ever thought I would about The Creature, the history of Universal monsters, really what an impact it all had on the state of modern cinema. It makes me want to go back and watch all of these historical films again (and I do believe I will). This film was executed perfectly - tactful, tasteful, funny when it needed to be. It had all the right stars (past and present). I dare not say I was the only one who enjoyed it either. I guess my last word would be, "Check it out for yourself." It's ninety minutes of cinema history (both literally and figuratively).