From The Archives: Ben Chapman, The Original Gill-Man!

(Originally posted on October 2, 2010)

If you've never bothered to look it up, you should know that there have been several famous men down through the ages named Ben Chapman. But I'm not here to tell you about the Ben Chapman who served Oliver Cromwell and later resided at Killua Castle, anymore than I'm going to mention the Ben Chapman who played for no less than eight major league baseball teams and stole more bases than anyone else before him. No, the Ben Chapman I want to talk about did something many would consider less important, but those many are not me. The Ben Chapman I want to tell you about put on a rubber costume and originated the role of one of the most famous monsters in the history of motion pictures. He created memories and helped shape a pop culture icon. In short, he was the Creature from the Black Lagoon.

I had previously talked about the role of the Gill-Man in reference to Ricou Browning. Mr. Browning was the only actor to play the creature in more than one film and he was actually in the suit for all three of them. Once more, because it is obviously harder to swim in the suit than to walk in it, many people have felt he had a harder job than the actors who played the Gill-Man on land. But far too often the efforts of Ben Chapman have been overlooked and on the last day of Creature Week we're going to give the man his due!

Mr. Chapman's film career was short. He only appeared in a total of five films, two television shows (in one of which he played the Gill-Man), and three documentaries (all of which were about the Gill-Man).

His television appearance as the Gill-Man is especially worth noting because it not only plays a huge part in Gill-Man lore but it was also one of the actor's major claims to fame. In order to help promote The Creature From The Black Lagoon Universal Studios arranged to have the Gill-Man appear on the Colgate Comedy Hour in a short skit with legendary funny man Lou Costello.

Here's the clip (though let me apologize in advance for the poor quality)

This brief cameo is the very first appearance of the Gill-Man, as it was shown prior to the film's release, and the monster was played by Ben Chapman with Ricou Browning nowhere to be seen.

Ben loved the character! During the filming of the original movie, he used to hide submerged in a small pond on the Universal Studios' lot and rise slowly out of the water as he heard various people approaching. If his contract with Universal had not run out, he probably would have played the monster in all three films. He was very proud of the role and of his part in creating it, and it was that very attitude that sparked the controversy which is the other thing he is probably most known for.

Decades after his participation in the original film. Mr. Chapman began touring the convention circuit and signing autographs. He never did it for the money, he simply enjoyed spending time with fans of the Gill-Man. However, after a time, he began to notice that pictures of the Gill-Man on land were being signed by Ricou Browning. Mr. Chapman responded indignantly to this, claiming that Mr. Browning was taking credit for the role he had created. He said that Ricou had no right to sign a photograph of the Gill-Man unless it was from a scene where he was actually in the suit. Mr. Chapman further added that he would never sign a photograph unless he knew it was of himself in the costume.

Opinions varied on this reaction. Ricou had worked constantly in show business for most of his life, while Ben had moved on to other things. Some people claimed it was jealousy on Mr. Chapman's part while others thought he was being petty. Neither opinion does Mr. Chapman justice.

If you read interviews with Ricou Browning one of the things that you'll discover is that while he is grateful for his part in shaping the Gill-Man's legacy, to him it was just a job. He never took it seriously. If someone handed him a photo and asked him to sign it, he did it because he didn't see how it mattered who was in the suit. He was known as the Gill-Man, someone wanted him to sign a picture of the Gill-Man, so he did.

But to Ben Chapman, the Gill-Man was so much more! It was the role of a lifetime! It was his contribution to film history and monster lore! He took the monster, the part, and the movie seriously from the very beginning and he never lost that spark of reverence.

I had heard Ricou Browning state in an interview that he and Ben Chapman met sometime after the initial controversy and got on pretty well. I haven't found a similar statement from Mr. Chapman, but then I haven't read every interview he ever gave and I have no reason to believe that Mr. Browning would lie, so it appears the story has a happy ending after all.

Ben Chapman loved the Gill-Man, he loved the movie he helped make, and he loved his fans. With so many iconic Hollywood figures who either hated their roles or were ruined by them, its refreshing to find a man in such a position who was so defined by joy and pride for the craft he plied even if he never became a star. In his later years, he even created a website to honor his participation in the film.

On February 21st of 2008, Mr. Chapman died in his Honolulu home. He was born in California but raised primarily in Tahiti, he served his country and was decorated in the Korean War, and he raised a family. None of these details were overlooked in his obituary but none of them were the focus of it either. They talked primarily of his participation in an old film, set in a far off land, where man was pitted against monster and a legend was born in the minds of millions. The article mainly spoke of the Gill-Man and honestly, I think Mr. Chapman would have wanted it that way.

This is the end of Creature Week. It tells of Ben Chapman, but not of his end, for as long as the Gill-Man is remembered, so will he be and in that way he will never truly die.

From The Archives: Julie Adams, First Lady of the Black Lagoon

(originally posted on September 28, 2010)

As Creature Weeks starts to wrap (tomorrow is the last night) I thought we'd take some time to focus on one of the lovely ladies of the Creature Series.

Here we have, courtesy of youtube.com ...

TERROR TRANSMISSION'S INTERVIEW WITH JULIE ADAMS

FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILM LAND'S INTERVIEW WITH JULIE ADAMS

And finally, here's a brief clip of Ms. Adams being escorted out onto stage at Creature From The Black Lagoon: The Musical courtesy of youtube user devincf!

Julie was born and billed early in her career as Betty Adams, before adopting the stage name Julia Adams which she later shortened to Julie. Her film career began with a small, uncredited roll in a 1949 crime comedy entitled: Red, Hot, And Blue.

She would gradute to a starring role for her next movie and make eighteen more pictures (most of them westerns) before landing the role of Kay Lawrence in Creature From The Black Lagoon.

Though all the Gill-Man movies had strong and memorable female leads, Julie is the one who seems to have made the strongest impression on fans. She is still remembered today and her official website actually has a store devoted to Creature merchandise.

She has remained active in film and is still acting today, having appeared most recently as Amelia on Lost.

From The Archives: Children of the Creature: Fifteen Fantastically Frightening Fish-Man Films!

(Originally posted on September 25th, 2010)


If you remember way back on day one of Creature Week I explained that fish-men (or Gill-Men) films were technically a subgenre unto themselves. I had originally planned to post seven mini-reviews yesterday and eight more today detailing some of these other movies, but because I was a bit busier than expected I had to hold over till today, but not to worry! Because here they all are! 15 films that are (more or less) Fish-Man in type that followed in the wake of Creature's rampage.

Let's get started!

The Alligator People (1959)

 

Directed by Roy Del Ruth, a former journalist and gagman who had been involved in moving making as early 1915, this is a surprisingly good b-movie though a b-movie nonetheless.

It tells the tale of Paul Webster (played by Richard Crane) a war veteran whose service cost him a limb or two. He is given a treatment by a Dr. Mark Sinclair (played by George Macready) that restores his limbs. However, the serum was derived from reptillian substance and pretty soon he begins to turn into ... well, just look!

In the way of a heroine, this film has a pretty good co-lead on in Beverly Garland who plays Paul's wife. She refuses to abandon him despite his mutation. Paul's foil in this picture comes in the form of Mr. Lon Chaney Jr. (here billed simply as Lon Chaney) who plays an alligator hating Cajun with a thing for the lovely Ms. Garland (convenient, no?).

Hardly a classic by any stretch of the imagination, but still pretty good. Give it a look if you're interested.

Creature from the Haunted Sea (1961)

This Roger Corman crap classic is a mess that has to be seen to believed! Cuban refuges, greedy gangsters, the most clueless American secret agent of all time, and one very testy sea monster! I can't even begin to describe this tongue in cheek pile of shlock, but luckily I don't have to! You can watch the entire movie below courtesy of youtube.com! Enjoy!

Curse of the Swamp Creature (1966)

From the director of Zontar: The Thing From Venus and Mars Needs Women comes ... well, a basic mad scientist story as if you expected anything else. Evil doctor turns man into monster. Sounds boring? Well, it's really not. This movie falls into the Robot Monster/ Plan 9 From Outer Space category. The production values and story are so abysmally awful as to have to be seen to be believed, made even more incredulous because the director plays the entire story straight. Give this one a watch when you're in a silly mood and I guarantee you'll have a good time.

Creature Of Destruction (1967)

From the writer and star of Curse of the Swamp Creature comes ...

Incidentally, that's the actual title as shown at the beginning of the feature. Riveting, no? The basic story revolves around a hypnotist who can predict when and where a notorious sea monster will strike.

This!

... is the creature in question. There is a twist at the end, but don't expect M. Night Shyamalan quality. A basic b-movie. That's about all you need to know.

The Octaman (1971)

Forget Octo-Mom, let's talk about Octaman!

Here's one with a more immediate tie to the Gill-Man. Octaman was written and directed by Harry Essex who co-wrote the screenplay for The Creature From The Black Lagoon.

The story concerns a group of scientists who find several baby octopi that seem ... well, a little odd. When they take the little sushi samples with them for study, the Octaman promptly shows up and goes on a rampage to get them back. Apparently the Octaman was once a normal octopus until exposure to massive amounts of radiation made him the horrendous mutant he is today, and the odd little baby octopi (in case you hadn't guessed) are his offspring (Say, maybe he's the original Octo-Mom!)

This is strict b-movie shlock served up just the way you like it! Give it a look and be amazed!

Island of the Fish Men (1979)

Though available on dvd in North America ...

... this film was first released on region 1 vhs as Screamers!

The original by veteran Italian director Sergio Martino has a slower (and some argue more thoughtful) nature to it. The vhs version was heavily re-edited with scenes removed and gore added by none other than legendary genre director Joe Dante (of Gremlins and The Howling fame) under the title Dan T. Miller. Opinions vary as to which version is better.

Overall this movie is a basic retelling of The Island of Dr. Moreau with an emphasis on fish-men instead of animal-men. The story tells of a prison ship that sinks, the prisoners and the ship's doctor wash up on a Island with only two inhabitants and army of Gill-Men just waiting to tear them apart.  Fun for the whole Family! ... if your last name is Addams at any rate. Check it out if you dare!

Blood Tide (1982)

This film is oft overlooked and not fully without reason. It drags here and there and nothing too terribly interesting or shocking happens, but overall it is a good film and it even stars James Earl Jones!

The basic plot deals with an American couple vacationing on a Greek Island. The townsfolk want nothing to do with them and the only other American on the Island is the materialistic treasure hunter Frye played by the distinguished Mr. Jones.

While excavating an underground cavern, Frye opens a doorway that once held a fish-man like monster that the Islanders worshiped centuries ago. Hungry for virgin sacrifices the creature (who can move on land as well as underwater) feasts upon innocent swimmers and attacks a convent that is housed in its former pagan temple.

The monster is barely seen which in some films would make the creature scarier but way too often this one creates more boredom than suspense while waiting for something to happen. It's worth a look, but only if you don't mind long talky periods in between all too short monster action.

Humanoids From The Deep (1980)

I almost didn't mention this one and honestly I don't recommend it. Still, it is a highly visible fish-man movie so we'll discuss it.

The plot centers around a small fishing town where toxic waste has mutated some of the fish into horrendous Gill-Men who are determined to mate with human women. The film was shot by director Barbara Peeters who made this into an entertaining monster movie, but prior to release producer Roger Corman added in new scenes of gore and sexual assualt.

Reportedly Ms. Peeters was rather upset by this turn of events.

If you like heavy gore and don't mind watching women get abused, the dvd will do you. If you're a hair more pruddish like I am, wait for it on tv. This is one case where the edited version is actually closer to the director's intentions.

Released overseas under the alternate title Monster.



Leviathan (1989)

This film has more to do with The Thing From Another World than Creature From The Black Lagoon. The story is about a sci-fi-esque mining operation on the ocean floor that discovers the wreckage of a soviet submarine. The miners explore the wreck and bring back some Ruskie booze ... which turns out to be laced with an experimental drug that turns certain members into horrendous fish mutants.

The acting is good, the settings and staging work well and the movie is frightening at times. It's a cut above the usual silliness and even makes an effort at some lite social commentary.

From George P. Cosmatos the director of Rambo: First Blood part 2 and co-director of Tombstone! Definitely worth a watch!

Curse of the Swamp Creature (1994)

This is a film I would love to tell you about ... unfortunately I don't a thing about it! I'm not even sure if it's a remake of the 1966 film or if they just happen to share the same name. I know for a fact that it exists because it has a page on imdb.com, but beyond the scant information offered there I haven't been able to uncover a thing about it.

So there ... it exists. Now you know as much about it as I do.

The Fishmen and their Queen (1995)

Sergio Martino the director of Island of the Fish Men is back, but you'd hardly know it. Where as his first romp among the Gill-People was a fairly well done 19th century monster movie, this semi-sequel is aimed at children and teenagers but really doesn't hit that mark.

I will say it shows ambition as it neither tries to be a horror movie or a spoof of a horror movie. I think for that reason it is important to the history of the fish man subgenre in that it's at least trying (even if it does ultimately fail) to utilize the Gil-Man concept outside of the horror genre.

The plot centers around two teenage boys named Sam played by Giuliano Gensini and Tom played by Michael Velez. They live in a Mad Max-style post apocalyptic city, but manage to escape the ruins of civilization with the help of an elderly man named Socrates (played by Donald Hodson).

Together the three of them travel to a tropical island paradise that is unfortuneately being ruled by the iron fisted monarch the film draws its title from. There's a princess and a rebellion and a group of fish-men who seem more interested in overthrowing the Queen than helping her.

One odd thing about this film (and believe me there are plenty of others) is that there's only so much original footage. New scenes were shot and added in with re-edited clips from Island of the Fish Men and another Sergio Martino film called 2019: After The Fall of New York

Bland, but trying. You gotta give it credit for that.

Curse of the Swamp Creature 2 (1997)

I'm assuming this is a sequel to the 1994 Curse of the Swamp Creature. I say assume because it might be a sequel to the original 1966 version for all I could find out about it.

Once again, you know as much as I do.

Peter Benchley's The Creature (1998)

For those who don't know, Peter Benchley wrote the screenplays for Jaws, Jaws 2, Jaws 3-D, Jaws: The Revenge, as well as The Deep and The Beast. He is the co-author of this picture (along with Rockne S. O'Bannon who has contributed heavily to the Alien Nation franchise over the years.) and the movie is based on his book. One thing that can be said about Peter Benchley, this guy knows about terror on the water!

The film stars Craig T. Nelson (of Coach and The Incredibles fame) along with Kim Cattrall (Samantha on Sex And The City)

Back in the 1970s, a government experiment working with shark and dolphin DNA created a monster. It shows back up in the present, going on a rampage which could easily be avoided if the people in this movie had anything resembling good judgement. Craig T. Nelson is Dr. Simon Chase the sceintist who is blamed for the slayings at sea, after he frees a great white shark he was studying from captivity. Kim Cattrall is Dr. Amanda Mayson, his estranged ex-wife who comes along to help clear his name and who also brings their predictably imperiled son along for the ride.

A fun, well placed science fiction, action film with a hint of mystery, and a rather original looking monster.
Available on dvd from director Stuart Gillard who previously churned out such surprisingly unfantastic tv shows as 90210 and One Tree Hill ... well, those and a little thing film called Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III among other things.

Dagon (2001)

Despite the title, this film is actually a loose adaptation of The Shadow Over Innsmouth another short story by the author of Dagon, H.P. Lovecraft.

Brought to life by legendary horror director Stuart Gordon who first made his mark on film (and on Lovecraft fandom) with Re-Animator and From Beyond. As with those, Gordon takes the central idea of the short story and builds upon it with fluid characters, a relevant storyline, lots of shock, plenty of surprises and a chilling final scene.

Stuart Gordon

A group of travelers wreck at sea and wash up on the coast of the Spanish fishing town of Imboca that is inhabited by only one human but has a large population nonetheless. What remains in the town is a race of hideously deformed fish men who are either the product of mating with a pagan fish man god or of becoming transformed by the worship of said deity.

The fish men want to induct the newcomers into the fold, the newcomers want to get home safely, and the last human on the Island is willing to help them. I won't spoil the end, but it will stay with you long after the initial viewing. This is one for the records, one of the absolute best fishy horror films you can find. Don't watch it alone!

Creature from the Hillbilly Lagoon (2005)

In case the title didn't tip you off, this is yet another comedy poking fun at the fish man genre.

The film breaks the 4th wall here and there, but in a good way. The jokes aren't classic, but they're not bad either and for a film that includes both 'Hillbilly' and 'Creature' in the title, the production values and acting are much better than you'd expect.

Originally released under the title of Seepage.

From The Archives: The Creature Walks Among Us: A Look At An Overlooked Masterpiece

It’s time to talk about …

This is the third installment in the Gill-Man’s saga, and even though it was the last of the trilogy it did manage to claim a few firsts (though not necessarily good ones).

For instance, this was the first of the series not to be shot in 3-D, it was the first not directed by Jack Arnold, and it was the first to feature a Gill-Man who … really wasn’t a gill man at all.

The directing duties were passed to John Sherwood who was a highly prolific assistant director, having worked in that capacity on films like Bend In the River, The Glenn Miller Story, and Francis (the talking mule) Joins The WACS. The Creature Walks Among Us was only the second of a total of three films he would ever make as a full on director.

On the plus side, William Alland is once again producing, Ricou Browning is back to perform the Gill-Man’s swimming scenes, and Arthur A. Ross who co-wrote the original Creature movie (along with Harry Essex from a story by Maurice Zimm) returns to pen the script.

The movie is notable not only for providing the Gill-Man with his most human portrayal yet, but for literally making him the most humane of the main protagonists all together.

Following his escape from Ocean Harbor at the end of the last movie, the creature is now living in the Florida Everglades. An expedition led by the emotionally unstable Dr. William Barton played by Jeff Morrow …

… attempts to (what else?) find the Gill-Man and capture him for study. Along for the ride are Dr. Thomas Morgan (the only human without serious issues in the main cast) played by Rex Reason …

… swamp guide Jed Grant played by Greg Palmer, and Barton’s withdrawn and rebellious (and much abused) wife Marcie played by Leigh Snowden.

They eventually find the Gill-Man (didn’t see that one coming, did ya?) and capture him but not before he is severely burned due to an incident with a can of gasoline.

Dr. Barton leads his fellow scientists in an emergency surgery where they discover a layer of human-like skin beneath the creature’s chard gills. He also appears to have conveniently developed lungs to breathe with. Soon the Gill-Man is more of a land walker than a sea swimmer and enters the human world.

This film, much like Revenge Of The Creature, is remarkable in that unlike so many horror franchises before it, it precedes to explore new territory instead of re-treading the same tired plot again and again. I think more than anything it’s the restless, inventive quality of this series that has helped the Gill-Man to endure so long in popular culture.

The film not only defies convention with its story, but also transcends its subject matter, using the creature as an outside observer to some of the most inhuman qualities of civilization. While still on the ship and recovering from surgery, he saves Marcie Barton from essentially being raped by Jed Grant.

He is then taken back to the laboratory of Dr. Barton (who is unaware of what Jed did but still distrusts him) and kept in a steel cage. But despite his surroundings the Gill-Man’s genuine kindness shines through. He is still capable of violence (as one scene involving a mountain lion clearly attests), but does not desire to be.
The film climaxes when Dr. Barton accuses Jed of having an affair with his wife. The two fight and Barton literally pistol whips Jed to death. Horrified at his own actions (as is the creature who has had to bear witness to all this from his cage), Barton dumps Jed’s body in the creature’s cell in attempt to frame him for the murder.

This sits none to well with the Gill-Man who bursts forth from his cage in the climax, goes on a rampage, and eventually slays Barton himself. The film ends with the Gill-Man walking back to sea.

Despite its by-the-numbers climax, manages to make several points of serious social commentary, it reinvents the Gill-Man to make him more sympathetic and less frightening, and its human characters deviate from the normal stereotypes of heroic male, best buddy sidekick, and swooning heroine to a dark, frightening glimpse of what some might term human monsters. To a point, I think it predates the formula of commentary + shock that George Romero would pioneer twelve years later with Night Of The Living Dead.

It is as much a character piece as it is a monster movie and a woefully unsung entry in the Universal Studios’ Monster Library. I’m even going to go so far as to say that I think it’s better than Revenge Of The Creature and almost as good as the original (and certainly more thoughtful).

If you’ve never seen this little gem, you are absolutely missing a spectacle you will never forget! John Sherwood didn’t direct many features, and after viewing this move I’ve come to regret that as deeply as the ocean depths themselves.

From The Archives: Revenge of the Creature: A Review and Overview of One Very Fishy Sequel

The Gill-Man returns for his second film outing and lucky for us so do William Alland and Jack Arnold! Alland wrote the story and hired veteran screenwriter Martin Berkeley to script it out.

Berkeley had written and would continue to write a number of screenplays for both film and television, but his real lasting fame (and mark of infamy) would be his reputation as the witness to name (and thus blackball) more Hollywood personalities than anyone else called before the House Un-American Activities Committee.

Actor Ben Chapman In His Later Years

Ricou Browning came back to play the Gill-Man’s swimming scenes, but Ben Chapman who had played the creature on land in the first film was no longer under contract to Universal when the sequel was put into production, so he was replaced by Tom Hennesey, a Hollywood stuntman turned actor.

                                                                          Ben Chapman in the Gill-Man Costume

Revenge of the Creature is not as good as the original, but it’s not bad as sequels go. Like any good sequel, it takes the elements worked for it previously and tries to find new things to do with them.
The story opens with Captain Lucas, (the Captain of the ship the Gill-Man attacked in the first movie whom I’ve foolishly forgotten to mention thus far) once again played by Nestor Paiva, taking a representative of the Ocean Harbor Aquarium and a professional game hunter into the Amazon to look for the Gill-Man.

They find him soon enough which is good and bad in certain respects. On one hand it’s foolish to hold off showing the creature. Everyone already knows what the Gil-Man looks like so there’s not much point in making them wait half the movie to see him again, but it’s also bad for the fact that his sudden appearance in the movie distills any kind of dread the audience might have felt while waiting for his big reveal.

Captain Lucas only has a small role at the beginning but his experience with the creature helps to bridge this film with the last.

The rest of the plot is more or less predictable. The Gill-Man is captured, taken to civilization where he’s made the object of scientific studies and an exhibit at Ocean Harbor. The story retreads even more familiar waters when the Gill-Man escapes and goes on a hunt for the lovely ichthyology student who had been observing him in his tank; Helen Dobson played by Lori Nelson.

 Lori Nelson alongside her 'Revenge' co-start John Agar

This plot is as old as the modern monster movie itself, and by that I mean as old as King Kong. In faThis plot is as old as the modern monster movie itself, and by that I mean as old as King Kong. In fact, it’s interesting how much the Gill-Man ends up echoing Kong in this second feature. Both were savage beasts that displayed the all too human emotions of love and sympathy and both of these creatures have managed to stir those same feelings in movie goers down through the years.ct, it’s interesting how much the Gill-Man ends up echoing Kong in this second feature. Both were savage beasts that displayed the all too human emotions of love and sympathy and both of these creatures have managed to stir those same feelings in movie goers down through the years.  Both monsters are captured by humans and put on display, both monsters escape and would probably stand a chance of getting away all together if not for their attraction to a beautiful young woman.

                                                                     

I’m not accusing the Gill-Man of ripping Kong off anymore than I would accuse Captain Marvel of ripping off Superman (though did you know there was a law suit in the 1940s wherein the owners of Superman sued the creators of Captain Marvel for copyright infringement). What I am pointing out is a very different take on an already established story that manages to do new things and go new places by shifting the setting a bit.

As for the climax of this delightful picture? Sorry, I’m not telling. You’ll have to watch it for yourself to see how Lori Nelson gets out of this scrape and if the Gil-Man ever decides to climb the Empire State Building.
There are a few fun facts to mention though. For instance, both The Creature From The Black Lagoon and Revenge Of The Creature were originally shot in 3-D. At the time this film was made and (so far as I know) to this day, it remains the only sequel to a 3-D movie that was also shot in 3-D.

Clint Eastwood on Set      

And there’s more! This film also boasts the very first on screen appearance of a talented young actor who would rise to become one of the most famous action stars and film directors of all time: Mr. Clint Eastwood! He has a minor uncredited role as an assistant in a science lab, but still. It's Clint freakin' Eastwood! The first movie introduced the creator of Flipper to film and the second installment gives us a nerdy version of Dirty Harry! How cool is that!

This movie is definitely worth a watch. It’s only been released to dvd as part of Universal Studios Legacy collection. The movie comes packaged with the original Creature From The Black Lagoon as well as it’s second sequel (the follow up to Revenge) The Creature Walks Among us, which we’ll talk more about in the coming days.

If you’re interesting in buying the dvd, it can be had at amazon.com for a very reasonable price.
Creature Week continues tomorrow, so stay tuned!

From The Archives: You Will Believe A Fish Can Sing

(This article was first posted on September 22, 2011 and has been altered since its' original publication)

Despite his numerous appearances in pop culture and film, the original feature The Creature From The Black Lagoon is considered by many to be the Gill-Man's finest hour.

As a study in contrasts, I thought that for day two of Creature Week we might take a look at one of his low points. Yes, it's time to talk about Creature From The Black Lagoon: The Musical!

On June 2nd of 2008, the studiotour.com (a great little website which you can view here) reported this:

With state-of-the-art stagecraft, acrobatic choreography and hilarious, toe-tapping music, the Creature will be brought to life in a story based on the original screenplay, updated to emphasize the element of romance and just a bit of comic relief. Original new music and dazzling production numbers will keep the attraction contemporary and lively.

And with those words, the great and mighty Gill-Man went through one of the silliest ordeals ever to befall a movie monster! But why you ask? Well, back in 2008 it looked like a remake of the Creature might actually get produced. Like so many previous attempts to revisit or reinvent the Gill-Man it was ultimately doomed to failure, but Universal was so sure it would come to fruition they created a musical stage play to help promote it.

The director's credit fell to Lynne Taylor-Corbett whose Broadway credits include choreography for "Titanic", "Chess", and "Swing" among others. The latter of those three, she also directed. She has also directed numerous Off Broadway productions and is a multiple Tony Award Nominee.

Gerard Alessandrini served as co-directer with Ms. Taylor-Corbett, and also acted as co-lyricist with Fred Barton who composed the music for the play.

These were not untalented people or hacks, and to be honest the production was lavish, fairly well staged and beautifully constructed. The problem was not so much in a misunderstanding of theater as it was their subject matter.

The basic premise of the play was that of a romantic comedy. The original film had been a thoughtful tragedy with a very human monster. The source material was subtle which is the opposite of a musical. Musical's work in broad strokes. Monster films have always degenerated into camp when their subtle aspects or humanity were removed.

So it was the Creature fell from grace and that's the reason why. On the plus side, while the production hardly does the Gil-Man justice, it is a hoot to watch! I might even be so bold as to say this musical does for the Gill-Man what Adam West did for Batman.

If anyone's curious, you can check out the entire play below. It's only about 30 minutes and seeing as how the production has been canceled for some time, this is the only way you're ever going to see it ... maybe that's a good thing, no?

Enjoy! ... or cringe, your choice.
 

For those interested in the theater personalities involved you can check out Lynne Taylor-Corbett's official website, you can read up on this interview with Gerard Alessandrini here or you can go to Fred Barton's official website.

But for those of you who are interested in even more Gill-Man news and trivia, stay tuned. There's more Creature Week coming up tomorrow!

From The Archives: Getting To Know The Creature From The Black Lagoon

(originally published on September 20, 2010)

Unquestionably one of the best science fiction films of all time and the introduction of one of the most memorable movie monsters to boot. The Gill-Man (the Creature’s actual name) came into this world in a rather bizarre fashion.

While attending a dinner at Orson Welles’ Hollywood home in the early 1940’s, William Alland had a conversation with a Mexican cinematographer named Gabriel Figueroa. Gabriel recounted a tale that he swore was true, of a village along the Amazon river that offered virgin maidens to a half-fish/ half-man that rose from the river once a year. The story stuck with Alland, who decided to build a feature around it. He eventually developed a script called The Sea Monster which would lay dormant for nearly a decade.

Time passed and Alland (then a producer for Universal Pictures) became paired with director Jack Arnold who was having a good deal of success with movies like It Came From Outer Space.

The two decided to tackle The Sea Monster and what came out of the collaboration was one of the best movies of its kind, and the start of a whole genre of fish-man films.

Jack Arnold In His Later Years

One of the most memorable marks the movie left behind wasn’t just the Gill-Man, but the man inside the Gill-Man suit. Ricou Browning was a college student living in Florida. A friend of his managed a wetland area known as Wakulla Springs. As a favor, Ricou agreed to show a group of Hollywood scouts around the springs while they searched out locations for a movie. One of them asked Ricou if he would swim in the spring to give them an idea of how the plant and animal life looked in comparison to a human body. Ricou was happy to do it. He continued to show them around after than and bid them farewell soon after.

A few weeks later, he received a call from Jack Arnold. They were looking for a local diver to wear the Gill-Man suit for the swimming scenes they intended to shoot at Wakulla Springs and he wanted to know if Ricou would like the job. Ricou accepted and the rest is history. He became interested in film, and began working behind the lens, specializing in shooting and later directing under water sequences.
He was involved in films and numerous television shows, and he even created Flipper!

That’s right, they call him Flipper but they’d probably be more accurate in calling him Son of the Creature because without the Gill-Man, it’s unlikely that he would ever have been born.

(I think I should note) that Ricou wasn't the only actor to play the creature. He preformed the swimming scene out in Florida while a second actor played the Gill-Man's land scene in Los Angeles. (But who is this other creature actor? We'll get into that as time goes on.)

The plot of the film is as follows, a group of scientists traveling the Amazon river in a search for fossils come across the Gill-Man, an evolutionary missing link between land mammals and marine life. They attempt to capture the creature, but the Gill-Man has other things on his mind, namely Kay Lawrence played by the lovely Ms. Julie Addams (more on her in the coming days).

 

The Creature attempts to abduct her, but when she is taken beyond his reach aboard the scientists boat, the Gill-Man blocks the only waterway leading in or out of the lagoon, trapping the researchers in his home waters. The movie is tightly written, tense to a fault, and well acted. The human characters do border a hair bit on the cliché, but that’s not entirely out of the ordinary for the time it was made and everything else works so well you’d barely notice, if at all.

In fact, the scenario of the movie itself seems to recall elements of Howard Hawk’s science fiction masterpiece The Thing From Another World.

Both films depict small groups of people with conflicting motives forced to rely on each other while trapped in an isolated area by a monster. The primary difference between the The Thing and The Creature is that Howard Hawk’s alien really is a vicious killer while the Gill-Man is a misunderstood beast with no true malice. He’s acting on his natural impulses and survival instincts. There’s a certain human quality to him that makes him an object of pity rather than fear … though honestly he is good at instilling it when he wants to.
The film would be followed by two direct sequels that we’ll talk more about in the coming days.

From The Archives: Why Creature Week?

(originally posted on September 20, 2010)

Perhaps you're asking yourself that.

What it boils down to is how amazed I am at the amount of people who lump horror movies into a single genre, when there are so many subgenres in this field, and each one with its own merits.

There's suspense thrillers like Psycho ...





Slasher films like Halloween ...




Fantasy Horror like Phantasm ...





And of course, who could overlook monster movies.

But even among something as specific as a monster movie there's still any number of subgenres to consider. Take vampire flicks and zombie pictures for example. They are as different from each other as Westerns, such as The Big Country, are from desert epics like Lawrence of Arabia.

Incidentally I chose to mention Big Country and Lawrence to make a point. Both of these movies are set in largely desolate countries, both feature social commentary, both were serious dramas, yet if you hold them up side by side there's not one chance in a hundred that anyone would ever mistake the two as belonging to the same genre of film.

Getting back on topic, vampire thrillers often involve the occult, some type of seduction or manipulation of other people, and of course, lots and lots of sharp wooden stakes and big plastic fangs. The zombie genre on other hand has a whole different list of qualifications. They involve plagues or curses (usually) that spread to a large number of people and by the end (not always but most times) degenerate into simple survivor pictures.
Now, I'm not here to talk about westerns, desert films, or even vampire and zombie movies. I'm only using that illustrate that there are tons of subgenres in horror films and monster movies and these subgenres are usually very that’s why we’re dedicating a whole week to The Creature From The Black Lagoon.

I’m not going to pretend to be an expert on fish-men, but as near as I can tell the genesis of these beings seems to have originated with the Gill-Man (the Creature's actual name in the movie) … on film that is. There is a strong argument that H.P. Lovecraft was the father of these strange creatures in terms of fantastic fiction. Short stories like Dagon or The Shadow Over Innsmouth seem to point towards a creature very much like the Gill-Man.

Of course, there’s no accounting for legends of mermaids, sea monsters, and other superstitions. Undoubtably the idea of men from the murky deep have been with us, and yet this subgenre in particular seems to be as mysterious as the Oceanic depths themselves.

Over the coming week I’ll be providing facts and trivia about the Gill-Man and the three Universal pictures that featured him, as well highlighting his other appearances in animation, books, and even on stage. In addition to that I’ll be talking about other films in this rarely considered fish-man genre.

Well, that’s enough splashing about with expository. Time to move out of the shallow waters and into deeper matters with …