Review of Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) by Byron B — 01 Nov 2012

Seeing it in 2-D I don't really see that 3-D would have added much to the impact of the flick. This Universal monster really was born in a different era. All the other Universal monster franchises started in the 30's and continued through part of the 40's, but by 1954 a lot of subtle changes had occurred in a decade's time.

By sticking to black and white photography Universal makes an effort to stay connected to their earlier creature creations and control costs. I liked the move to a more environmentally conscious plot.

I am planning to watch Jaws soon because someone in the documentary American Grindhouse said that it is basically a remake of Creature from the Black Lagoon. Jaws is obviously more fish than man. This Gill-Man is a little more man than fish.

Kay (Julie Adams) is the lone female in the team of explorers. The scene where she goes swimming in her white swim suit is clearly referenced in Jaws. The Gill-Man becomes attracted to her in this scene.

There is a little tension here and there, but no real frights anywhere in the picture. There is lots of music accompaning underwater scenes, which have no dialog. The formula is set with two men (Carlson and Denning) doing most of the diving and fighting over Kay.

One man is more rational and one is more hot-tempered. Karloff and Chaney Jr. struggled with getting credit for the creatures they portrayed, but Universal took some steps backwards by not crediting either actor playing the Gill-Man.

Ricou Browning donned the costume for the underwater sequences and Ben Chapman wore the gills when the creature burst out of the water. The creature gets drugged, shot, burned and imprisoned. He is smart enough to evade or escape capture again and again.