When I heard those terrifying words, I knew I'd better stay really, really close to Meowmie so she wouldn't be too scared while watching the movie. Caturally, I was nervous, and what kitty wouldn't be:   imagine living in water!

The Story

The story is pretty lame, actually. A group of scientists go to the Amazon to investigate stories that a prehistoric monster, half fish and half human, lives there. The male scientists, David Reed (played by Richard Carlson) and Mark Williams (Richard Denning) spend most of their time bragging to each other and showing off for the token woman in the group, Kay Lawrence (Julia Adams) whose main responsibility is to look fetching in a swim suit.

The scientists capture Gill-Man (the Creature) who escapes, blocks the only escape from the lagoon, and returns to kidnap Kay.

The Filming

Two locations were used. An artificial lake at Universal Studios in California was the site of most of the action and is where the cast worked. Stunt doubles were used for the underwater scenes which were shot at Wakulla Springs, Florida:   Stanley Crew for Richard Carlson, Jack Betz for Richard Denning, and Ginger Stanley for Julia Adams.

Jack Arnold directed both locations. The film was made in 1953 and released in 1954. It originally was made in 3-D, but the pictures were fuzzy, and this version is hard to find today. The black and white version is the one usually seen and is available in VHS and DVD formats.

The Creature

There were two creatures. Ben Chapman played the role in the scenes shot at Universal, and Ricou Browning, an Olympic swimmer, was stunt double in the Wakulla Springs scenes. If Gill-Man is partially or completely out of water, it's Chapman.

The costume was designed by Millicent Patrick, who isn't listed in the credits, and was made of foam rubber molded to the body piece by piece. It was mossy green and highlighted with gold and copper paints.

According to Chapman, the costume was comfortable. His only problem was that it didn't breathe, and he couldn't remove the head with his creature hands. Someone was nearby to hose him down when signalled.

Browning was a "free diver" (Chapman, too, for that matter) which means he could hold his breath underwater much longer than most people can. While waiting to shoot, he breathed air through a hose in the water, and then held his breath while swimming for the cameras.

The men were quite different in size, a fact that isn't noticeable to the filmgoer. At 6'5" Chapman was almost seven feet tall when wearing the costume which added to effect of his presence in the California scenes. Browning was only 5'8" tall, but frightening enough in the underwater scenes.

Trivia

When Jenny Clack of the University of Cambridge discovered a fossil amphibian in what had been a fetid swamp, she named it Eucritta melanolimnetes — Latin for "Creature from the black lagoon."

Watch Out!!

Better run away quick — Gill-Man is coming out of the lake applet to get you!