The last film in Universal’s famous “Monster Movie” portfolio and notably one of the first films to feature a monster designed by a woman, Milicent Patrick, Creature from the Black Lagoon may have lost its thrills and fright, but 70 years after it’s initial release, the artistry of a “real life” monster deserves continuous celebration.
Like many science-fiction horrors, the film’s premise is simple: After discovering a fossilized hand, a group of scientists decide to go deep into the Amazon to investigate evidence of prehistoric life. While on the expedition, the scientists discover a prehistoric being, half-human-half-fish, who terrorizes the group and seemingly falls in love with the one woman on the expedition, Kay (Julie Adams).
Admittedly, we’ve seen most of these tropes before, which continue to be used.
The ensemble, featuring Adams, Richard Carlson, and Richard Denning, offers not much more than caricatures of what we expect from a sci-fi-horror: Scientists David Reed (Carlson) and Mark Williams (Denning) go head to head as Reed is more driven by the quest for knowledge and Williams by money. Naturally, they both seem to compete in more ways than one with the presence of Kay (Adams) on the expedition.
The film features rather impressive underwater sequences where both Carlson and Denning’s characters dive into the water for exploration and hunting. Additionally, the monster, swam by Ricou Browning, is featured on both land and water, giving us various shots and glimpses of this impressive build.
While the film, by today’s standards, has lost its frightening appeal, it’s no secret that the design of the monster is the true gem in this 70-year-old classic. Milicent Patrick, known as “The Beauty Who Created the Beast,” by Universal during their press run, worked both behind and in front of the screen. As a successful visual artist, Patrick notably worked on Disney’s Fantasia and the “Night on Bald Mountain” sequence–her first monster. Patrick’s success, according to a 2019 article entitled “The Forgotten Woman Who Designed The Creature From The Black Lagoon,” led to jealousy, naturally from a man, where she was later fired, never to work behind the scenes again.
The real horror story here.
Despite Patrick’s name being forgotten, there is no doubt that the film and her work continue to serve as inspiration. Notably, Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water (2017) is considered a “homage” to the 1954 monster movie. In an interview with Variety, he explained:
“…with underwater shots of the Gill-Man reaching out toward the legs of Julie Adams as she swam. [del Toro] thought it was so romantic and exciting that he assumed the two would end up together. He was shocked when they didn’t. ‘I decided I would someday have to correct that,’ he says.”
Arguably, a monster falling in love with a woman only to be killed by men who probably had no business being in the jungle is quite tragic. Of course, the 1954 Jack Arnold film didn’t think so.
Between the tragedy of the Gill-Man and the tragedy of Milicent Patrick, seventy years later, Creature from the Black Lagoon carries a lot of weight and history. Serving as inspiration and examples of Hollywood’s sexism, I invite you to revisit the Black Lagoon for its anniversary–if you dare.
Article Courtesy of Sara Ciplickas
Feature Image Credit to Universal via IMDb
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