Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Jack Arnold

Writers:

Harry Essex (screenplay)
Arthur A. Ross (screenplay)
(more)

Release Date:

5 March 1954 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Not since the beginning of time has the world beheld terror like this!

Plot:

A scientific expedition traveling up the Amazon River encounter a dangerous humanoid amphibious fish creature.

Plot Keywords:

Expedition | River | Gill Man | Amazon | Creature

Cast

Richard Carlson	...	Dr. David Reed
Julie Adams	...	Kay Lawrence (as Julia Adams)
Richard Denning	...	Dr. Mark Williams
Antonio Moreno	...	Carl Maia
Nestor Paiva	...	Captain Lucas
Whit Bissell	...	Dr. Edwin Thompson
Bernie Gozier	...	Zako
Henry A. Escalante	...	Chico (as Henry Escalante)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ricou Browning	...	The Gill Man (in water) (uncredited)
Ben Chapman	...	The Gill Man (on land) (uncredited)
Perry Lopez	...	Tomas (uncredited)
Sydney Mason	...	Dr. Matos (uncredited)
Rodd Redwing	...	Louis, expedition foreman (uncredited)

Directed by
Jack Arnold

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Harry Essex		screenplay
Arthur A. Ross		screenplay
Maurice Zimm		story

Produced by
William Alland	....	producer

Original Music by
Henry Mancini		(uncredited)
Hans J. Salter		(uncredited)
Herman Stein		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
William E. Snyder

Film Editing by
Ted J. Kent

Art Direction by
Hilyard M. Brown		(as Hilyard Brown)
Bernard Herzbrun

Set Decoration by
Russell A. Gausman
Ray Jeffers

Makeup Department
Joan St. Oegger	....	hair stylist
Bud Westmore	....	makeup artist
Robert Hickman	....	makeup artist (uncredited)
Jack Kevan	....	makeup artist (uncredited)
Chris Mueller	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Fred Frank	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Leslie I. Carey	....	sound
Joe Lapis	....	sound

Stunts
Polly Burson	....	stunt double: Julie Adams (uncredited)
Ginger Stanley	....	underwater stunts (uncredited)
Al Wyatt Sr.	....	fire stunts (uncredited)
Jack N. Young	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Scotty Welbourne	....	special photography (as Charles S. Welbourne)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Rosemary Odell	....	wardrobe: Miss Adams

Music Department
Joseph Gershenson	....	musical director
Robert Emmett Dolan	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Milton Rosen	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)

Other crew
James Curtis Havens	....	director: underwater sequences (as James C. Havens)
Milicent Patrick	....	creature designer (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Universal International Pictures (UI)

Distributors

• Universal Pictures (1954) (USA) (theatrical)
• Universal Film (1954) (Belgium) (theatrical)
• Universal Pictures (1972) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Universal (1955) (France) (theatrical)
• Doperfilme (Portugal)
• GoodTimes Home Video (video)
• Hollywood Movie Greats (video)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (USA) (VHS)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (USA) (laserdisc)
• Universal Home Entertainment (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Universal Home Entertainment (2007) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Black Lagoon (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

79 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.00 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Finland:K-12 (1954) | Finland:K-15 (2004) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | USA:Approved (PCA #16854) | Spain:T | Australia:PG | Norway:16 (original rating) | UK:PG | USA:G (re-rating) (1972) | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Backlot, Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company:

Universal International Pictures (UI)

Trivia:

Jean Renoir was an uncredited script doctor on this film.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: Although the whole story is set in Brazil, in one of the first scenes we see a large sign in the coast reading in Spanish "Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas", while in Brazil the official language is Portuguese.

Quotes:

Kay Lawrence: Hurry, David.
David Reed: I've almost got it.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Munsters' Revenge (1981) (TV)

3 D or Not 3 D--That Is The Question

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