Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)

Director:

Jack Arnold

Writers:

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

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 | Creature | Gill Man | Amazon

Cast

  (Complete credited 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)

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:

When William Alland was a member of Orson Welles' Mercury Theatre, he heard famed Mexican cinematographer Gabriel Figueroa tell of a legend about a humanoid creature that supposedly lived in South America. That legend became the origin of 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:

Lucas: It is impossible. But I, Lucas, will do it.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Son of Svengoolie: Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) (#1.44)" (1980)

This is the quintessential monster movie.

As many times as this movie has been copied, filmmakers still can't seem to get it right. Considering that this film is considered a trend-setter, it's amazing how many rules this film BREAKS by today's standards. It breaks the notion that full shots of the creature and lots of blood and violence are needed to create a scare. In this film, all you need is a shot of the creature's hand and that piercing three-note musical motive played by brass instruments, and let the imagination fill in the blanks. It shatters the notion that monsters MUST be computer-generated--a guy in a suit CAN be scary. And it proves that black-and-white photography can be just as rich as color photography. The underwater sequences especially are both beautiful (almost surreal) and eerie at the same time.

And then there is the Gill Man himself. It's as if the writers took the best qualities of his predecessors and combined them into the last and best (IMHO) of the Universal monsters. Like The Mummy, he has lived long after he technically should have died; like Frankenstein's monster, he appears to be savage, yet shows intelligence and appreciates beauty; like Dracula, he is seductive. Just check out the scene where he swims with Julie Adams (unbeknownst to her, of course). I believe this is why he has achieved the status of a genuine icon, and deservedly so. Here's hoping he swims the waters for a long time.