Memorable, crazy movie

Highly Overrated But Still Good

A different way of telling a story

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

***Spoilers***One of the most famous of the old school man in a rubber suit 1950s classics, but you know what? It's always been mismarketed.CFTBL wasn't the story of some horrible amphibious jungle creature terrorizing a group of scientists out on a boat leching over a token very busy and completely worthless pretty girl.Instead, this was the story of a group of violent bullies invading some shy creature's living space, harassing it, attacking it, shooting it with a spear gun by way of greeting, drugging it repeatedly, kidnapping it, and then getting all huffy when it tries to retaliate. I mean sure, it killed a couple of native guides early in the movie, but as any student of history or movies will tell you that's just what you did back then with indigenous extras.But after that? A pretty one sided bit of Earth bound Captain Kirking. I think the poor thing finally decided to just take the girl and leave because she was the only one who hadn't physically assaulted it by the end of the film. And so our roving gang of science thugs then conduct a home invasion and mug the creature in it's own living room. The poor thing should seriously lawyer up and seek reparations.

Man, that suit is really something. I had the pleasure of seeing this on 3D Bluray and it looked fantastic. Del Toro said something about it being a perfect blend of form, design and shots which really makes sense because when the Creature is swimming around and soaking wet he looks truly real - - like an actual honest-to-God fish man, dead eyes and gawping mouth and the whole works.The plot on the other hand basically devolves into a serious of cat and mouse scenes. There's some hints of sci-fi with its evolutionary origins, but that's all the brain really gets out of this one. The swimming scene with Julia Adams and the Creature is pure balletic grace.

(Flash Review)A great classic piece of 50's monster fright. Scientists searching for fossils encounter a gilled man beast. A debate ensues whether to take it alive to study it in the name of science or to kill it….only because it has been terrorizing and killing them. Ha. The costume is great and obviously fake in a charming way and there are lots of underwater scenes (innovative for the time?). There was a really tense scene of the monster following an unaware female swimming in the lagoon. Several unsurprising cheesy scenes but it was good fun nonetheless. Overall, the film felt a little thin.

I had seen most of the obvious monsters from Universal Studios: Dracula, Frankenstein, his Monster and the Bride and The Wolf Man, often counted among the iconic Universal Monsters is the one in this movie, I'm glad I finally got to watching it, directed by Jack Arnold (It Came from Outer Space, The Incredible Shrinking Man). Basically a fossilised skeletal hand with webbed fingers is uncovered on a geology expedition in the Amazon, it is from the Devonian period, and is evidence of a direct link between land and sea animals. Expedition leader Dr. Carl Maia (Antonio Moreno) leaves his two assistants to stay in camp while he visits his friend and former student, ichthyologist Dr. David Reed (Richard Carlson). While Dr. Maia is away, a piscine amphibious humanoid, the same species of creature from which the fossil originated, becomes curious of the camp, the sudden appearance of the creature frightens the two assistants, they panic and attack, the enraged creature kills them both. Dr. Reed works at an aquarium in California, but more recently has spent time at Maia's marine biology institute in Brazil, Reed persuades his financially minded boss Dr. Mark Williams (Richard Denning), to fund a return expedition to the Amazon to search for the remainder of the skeleton. The group board tramp steamer Rita, captained by crusty Lucas (Nestor Paiva); David, Carl and Mark are accompanied by Reed's girlfriend and colleague Kay Lawrence (Julie Adams), and scientist Dr. Edwin Thompson (Whit Bissell). They arrive at the camp and discover Maia's assistants have been killed, they continue and excavate the area the fossil was discovered, with nothing found, Mark is ready to give up, but David suggests that thousands of years ago the skeleton could have fallen into the water and taken downriver, being broken up by the current. Lucas says the stream empties into a lagoon, he calls it the "Black Lagoon", a paradise from which no one has ever returned, the scientists decide to risk it, unaware that the amphibious creature, the "Gill Man" (Ricou Browning in water, Ben Chapman on land), is watching them. Taking an interest in the beautiful Kay, the creature follows the Rita downriver to the Black Lagoon, once there David and Mark go diving to find more fossils. When they return, Kay decides to go swimming in the lagoon, she is stalked by the Gill Man, the creature does briefly get caught up in the ship's drag lines, but it manages to escape, but it does leave behind a claw, revealing its existence. The group have a few more encounters with the Gill Man, who claims the lives of Lucas's crew, until eventually it is captured and locked in a cage on the ship. When Edwin, who was guarding the cage, is distracted, the creature manages to escape, it attacks Edwin, severing his face, the creature is driven away when Edwin smashes a lantern. Following this incident, David decides they should return to civilisation, but the lagoon entrance has been blocked by fallen logs, placed by the Gill Man, trapping the ship. While the others attempt to remove the logs, Mark is mauled to death underwater battling with the creature, it is then able to kidnap Kay and take her to its cavern lair. David, Lucas, and Carl chase the creature and discover the cavern, Kay is rescued, and the group fire at the Gill Man, it is is riddled with many bullets before it retreats to the lagoon and sinks into the watery depths. Also starring Bernie Gozier as Zee and Henry A. Escalante as Chico. I agree with the critics that this movie is dated, the acting and script are lousy, if you have the 3D effects they are pretty pointless, and the special effects are naff, it is obvious the monster is just a bloke in a rubber suit, but it does actually deliver some nervy moments, especially with the fear of what lurks beneath (like Jaws), the Gill Man definitely deserves his inclusion in the monsters hall of fame, not just as an enjoyable cult movie, an all-time classic horror. Very good!