The Creature
From Meg 2: The Trench to The Shallows these movies are the gold standard for aquatic action.,Forrest J. Ackerman, a horror and science fiction writer for Famous Monsters of Filmland Magazine, bought the mask and claws of the Creature's costume from a young man who had once used them as a Halloween costume. The costume pieces were discarded by Universal after production had finished on the three films (Creature from the Black Lagoon and its two sequels) and were later recovered from the studio's dumpster by a janitor, who thought the ensemble would make a good Halloween costume for his son. Other costume pieces were recently sold at auction by , who was an assistant to , the original designer of the costume.,Doctor Reed describes the lagoon as appearing just as it was "150 million years ago, during the Devonian Age." The doctor's geologic timescale is in error by at least 200 million years. The Devonian period began 417-416 million years ago and ran to 360-354 million years ago.,Lucas: I can tell you something about this place. The boys around here call it "The Black Lagoon" - a paradise. Only they say nobody has ever come back to prove it.,Originally shown in theatres in 3-D.,Featured in Son of Svengoolie: Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) (1980),I really appreciate an intelligent script and this movie was no disappointment. Sure, it wasn't perfect and it wasn't scary at all (I write this some 50 years from when it was originally released), but it was pretty decent quality.

The story revolves around a scientific expedition looking for the rest of a hand-skeleton that was found next to a South American waterway. Their hunt leads them to the paradise-like 'Black Lagoon' area - and trouble with an unexpected creature encounter.

No doubt the movie was impressive when it came out, but for the viewer many decades later, it's a little dated. From the "God created the heaven and the earth ..." opener to the verbal comments which equate adult women to children, it shows it's age. Also, when the lead actress swims in the water, it's a little funny to see her swimming / depiction in 'water ballet' form - kind of representative of an idyllic 50's female icon.

What really elevates this movie is the dialog and acting. Both are well done and believable. They give the movie a very serious tone and an air of intensity. I'm sure when it originally came out, this helped create a strong atmosphere ripe for fear and horror.

For the modern viewer, this film is pleasant viewing - a decent way to spend 79 minutes in classic 50's monster-movie mode.,