Creature from the Black Lagoon
A particularly scary film for those of us of a certain age who got to watch it as children back in the day – especially the murky underwater scenes with the Creature in pursuit!
Creature from the Black Lagoon is a Universal Studios science-fiction film, directed by Jack Arnold and released in 1954, that told of the discovery of a prehistoric amphibious humanoid living in the waters of the Brazilian Amazon Rainforest.
Also known as the “Gill-man”, this creature is a half-human, half-fish hybrid that resides in the jungle. The story begins when a group of scientists discovers a fossilised hand in a remote part of the Amazon, which suggests a potential evolutionary link between sea creatures and humans. Their exploration leads them to the living Gill-man, who becomes both a threat and a tragic figure.
Producer William Alland was attending a 1941 dinner party during the filming of Citizen Kane when Mexican cinematographer Gabriel Figueroa told him about the myth of a race of half-fish, half-human creatures in the Amazon River. Alland wrote story notes titled “The Sea Monster” 10 years later, using Beauty and the Beast as his inspiration.
The Gill-man is distinguished by his amphibian-like features, including scaly green skin, webbed hands and feet, gill slits on his neck, and bulging fish-like eyes. He possesses remarkable strength and can breathe both underwater and on land [Ed: Handy!] – making him a unique and formidable creature. Despite his monstrous appearance, the Gill-man is initially defensive, attacking only when provoked. His fascination with the female scientist (aka the “beauty”) adds complexity to his character and creates a central conflict in the story.
The Creature from the Black Lagoon has become one of the so-called “Universal Monsters”, standing alongside Dracula, Frankenstein’s Monster and the Wolfman. Its design and the underwater sequences were groundbreaking for their time, leaving a lasting impact on sci-fi and horror cinema. It was a particularly scary film for those of us who got to watch it back in the day. It plays on the primal fear of the unknown, especially when it comes to unexplored natural environments. The Amazon, depicted as a mysterious and untamed wilderness, serves as the perfect backdrop for a creature that is both foreign and menacing.
The Gill-man’s design is both grotesque and eerily plausible, blending human and aquatic traits in a way that feels unsettling. The scaly, amphibian-like skin, webbed extremities, and gills make the creature alien yet familiar.
The underwater setting enhances the terror considerably. Humans are naturally vulnerable in water, where movement is slower and vision is limited. The scenes where the creature silently stalks its victims from beneath the surface of murky waters are especially tense.
Let’s remember also that the film was released during the Cold War, a time of heightened fears about science, nature and the unknown. Movies like this often reflected societal anxieties about the consequences of tampering with nature or overstepping boundaries in science.
Postscript
Many films featuring monsters pay homage to Gill-man, e.g. in The Seven Year Itch, Marilyn Monroe and Tom Ewell come out of a theatre showing Creature from the Black Lagoon. Monroe expresses sympathy for the Gill-man, saying that it was not really bad and that it “just wanted to be loved”.
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