Creature from the Black Lagoon
Short description
A scientific expedition travels up the Amazon in search of fossil evidence of a link between marine life and land animals. The researchers instead find a living amphibious humanoid dwelling in a hidden lagoon, and their attempt to capture it for study turns into a struggle to survive, complicated by the creature's fixation on Kay, the fiancée of one of the scientists.
Jack Arnold directed the film, which followed his 1953 picture It Came from Outer Space and preceded Tarantula, Revenge of the Creature, This Island Earth and The Incredible Shrinking Man on his filmography, among later titles. Harry Essex and Arthur A. Ross wrote the screenplay, William Alland produced, and the cast is led by Richard Carlson as Dr. David Reed, Julie Adams as Kay Lawrence, Richard Denning as Dr. Mark Williams, Antonio Moreno as Dr. Carl Maia, Nestor Paiva as Captain Lucas and Whit Bissell as Dr. Edwin Thompson. Universal Pictures released the film in 1954, and it runs 79 minutes.
On IMDb it holds a 6.9 rating from more than 33,000 votes, while on TMDB it sits at 6.8 from a much smaller vote count, indicating a durable following rather than a broad modern audience. A critics' rating of 7.1 from 45 reviews places critical regard slightly above the audience scores. The worldwide box office of 1 million dollars was a modest return for a 1950s studio release.
What's left behind the scenes
- Jean Renoir made minor revisions to the script. The initial script already included the possibility of a sequel.
- The idea for the film came to William Allend, who heard it from the famous Mexican cinematographer Gabriel Figueroa, who told him about a humanoid creature inhabiting South America. It became the basis for the film.
- Clifford Stine constructed a 35mm double camera, an "Arriflex", which he placed in a waterproof case. The delightful underwater shots were very impressive. The creature’s rubber suit cost $15,000. The creature's eyes in the film were part of the suit, so the actor playing it could barely see. This shortcoming was addressed in the second film.
- The first film in the series about Gillman (the gill-man) – a creature similar to an ichthyander.
- The film’s initial title was simply “The Black Lagoon.”
- The film is discussed by Stephen King in his book "Danse Macabre". Despite a somewhat critical assessment, he included it in his list of the 100 most significant horror and science fiction films from 1950 to 1980, which is appended to the book.
- The creature's figure was made in the likeness of the "Oscar" statuette awarded by the American Film Academy.
- Between 1952 and 1959, American filmmakers released more than fifty films in 3D, which required special glasses to view. This film, the thirty-second in the series, became the first to require only one print thanks to a vectograph made by "Polaroid". Previously, two prints and two projectors operating simultaneously were necessary, which significantly increased the cost of screening and did not particularly eliminate display problems. The use of the vectograph came too late to save 3D, which never gained popularity with the public.
- Underwater, Ric Browning wore a light-colored suit, while on the surface, actor Ben Chapman wore a darker creature suit.
- Frank Lovejoy was considered for the role of Dr. Reed.
- The film grossed $1.3 million in the US box office.
- Interestingly, the film's original screenplay was written in fascist Germany and approved by Hitler himself. It featured a Golem instead of the creature, which emerged from the swamps and killed peaceful Germans. Ingmar Bergman watched this film on every birthday.
- The film featured one of the rare post-war monsters that became well-known, popular, and sparked a wave of imitations. The new monster enriched the collection of monsters at "Universal" Studios.
- The monster in this film was played by two actors: Ricou Browning underwater and Ben Chapman on land.
- The film was shot in Wakulla Springs, Florida, which is now a state park. The park remains in its pristine condition and is teeming with exotic birds, animals, trees, and plants.
- The film was the third of four films in which Jack Arnold used stereophonic sound (following "It Came from Outer Space" (1953) and "The Glass Web" (1953)). This film saw one of the greatest successes of stereophonic cinema.
- Ricou Browning was an Olympic swimming champion and could stay underwater for 4-5 minutes. From a technical standpoint, the underwater filming was very challenging.
- In the episode where the creature carries Julie Adams to its cave, Ben Chapman missed the entrance and hit the actress in the head against the wall, causing her to lose consciousness.
- The film is part of "Universal's Classic Horror Film Series".
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
