Revenge of the Creature (1955)

Director:

Jack Arnold

Writers:

William Alland (story)
Martin Berkeley (screenplay)

Release Date:

11 May 1955 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Romance | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Weird Monster Escapes! Terror Seizes City! ...a woman's beauty the lure for his dangerous desires!

Plot:

The Creature from the Black Lagoon is back! This time he's captured by scientists and transported to an aquarium in south Florida...

Plot Keywords:

Gill Man | Woman | Beautiful Woman | Peril | Man

Cast

John Agar	...	Prof. Clete Ferguson
Lori Nelson	...	Helen Dobson
John Bromfield	...	Joe Hayes
Nestor Paiva	...	Lucas
Grandon Rhodes	...	Jackson Foster
Dave Willock	...	Lou Gibson
Robert Williams	...	George Johnson (as Robert B. Williams)
Charles Cane	...	Police Captain (as Charles R. Cane)

Runtime:

82 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

West Germany:16 | USA:Approved (PCA #17220) | USA:Unrated (video rating) | Finland:K-12 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Jacksonville, Florida, USA

Company:

Universal International Pictures (UI)

Trivia:

Director Jack Arnold liked to use the sides of the movie screen as the arches in a proscenium-style theater with unexpected intrusions coming in from the sidelines. This technique can be seen here when 'John Agar (I)' goes out into the darkened area around the motel to look for Lori Nelson's missing dog. A hand suddenly reaches out from the right side of the screen to touch him, giving him (and the audience) a start, but it's not the dreaded Gill Man. It's simply Lori Nelson.

Goofs:

Miscellaneous: Early in the movie, when the men on the RITA II are shooting at the Creature, one of the projectiles meant to simulate bullets streaking through the water can clearly be seen bouncing off the Creature's back.

Quotes:

Lab Technician: I've lost my white mouse.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Back to the Black Lagoon: A Creature Chronicle (2000) (V)

Revenge Of The Creature (1955) **1/2

The Creature was the last of the classic Universal monsters I got into, which only happened in 2001 via the original DVD release of CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON (1954). I loved the film immediately, however, and was very much interested in watching its two sequels - REVENGE OF THE CREATURE and THE CREATURE WALKS AMONG US (1956).

Now that I've caught up with both of them, I'd say that Universal did well enough by this particular monster, and that having arrived so long after the Studio's other notables (Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy, The Invisible Man and The Wolf Man) proved fortuitous, because The Creature wasn't allowed to become redundant in his own 'starring vehicles' as was the case certainly - and sadly - with both The Frankenstein Monster and The Mummy.

As for the film itself, it isn't up to the original (with which I should be re-acquainting myself over the week-end) - despite having the same director. The change in setting is interesting, and it works most of the time; the main problem, I guess, lies with The Creature's alarmingly limited characteristics: it can only either swim (in the water) or go on a rampage (on land) - although, to be fair, The Mummy is perhaps even duller! Still, the film offers reasonable entertainment and the leads are O.K. if, again, failing to match those of the original.