Jackson Booth-Millard 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!

alexanderdavies-99382 "Creature from the Black Lagoon" contains the last of the classic monster characters by "Universal" or "Universal International" as they were then known. There are some genuinely tense moments in this film. Picture yourself enjoying a leisurely swim somewhere but you are unaware of a large, fish- like creature that is swimming right underneath you! That is nearly as frightening a prospect as having a shark in close proximity.... "Creature from the Black Lagoon" made a smart decision in keeping the plot a streamlined one. There are no irritating subplots, just the story of a party of people who are being menaced by the monster character of the Gill Man. The following facts come as no surprise: That the film was a box office success and that two sequels followed. The other two films are worth watching but this opening one is vastly superior.

Eric Stevenson I always feel bad when I don't give a movie the same rating as everyone else, but I really didn't care much for this movie. I had heard a lot of things about it, so I was eager to watch it. It just...didn't seem like anything special. It was by no means bad. The best parts are probably how good some of the conversations are. We get some interesting discussions about discovering new species and creating legends. Honestly, a lot of this was just boring. We do get some good scenes like when the creature is on fire. That was cool! I didn't know the whole movie was going to take place in the lagoon. It just seemed too small. Maybe I was expecting something like "King Kong" where we'd get everything on an epic scale. I do like the monster costume and the monster does have a fair amount of personality. The acting is fine. Maybe it's that I've seen so many movies that I couldn't find anything unique about this. I swear I can actually see the strings in the scene where the seagull is flying towards a guy! It's hard for me to like something with that in it. I apologize for not enjoying this like most people. I just thought it was mediocre. **1/2

AceTheMovieCritic One of my favorites among the universal monster flicks, second only to James Whale's original Frankenstein. This film has a bit more of a B movie tone than some of the other (original) films in the canon, but the pacing is swift, and the underwater work remains a marvel even now. Ricou Browning, who played Gillman during the swimming sequences, really created a unique, almost lyrical flow to the way the creature swam, adding a very inhuman element. Really fantastic work. The suit also was a work of brilliance--I don't think there's been a more gorgeous work of costume design before or since! The rest of the performances range from fine to eh, to okay--but that's not what we watch to a flick like this for anyway! Also the score leaves a bit to be desired, but overall the film is oodles of 50s charm. If you think you'd be interested in this film, and are a fan of fun B-creature features, absolutely you need to see this one. It is well worth your time. Check it out!