Revenge of the Creature

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Revenge of the Creature

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Plot

Revenge of the Creature is, of course, the sequel to Universal's fabulously successful The Creature from the Black Lagoon--and like its predecessor, the film was lensed in 3-D (though released "flat" in most theatres). Though the audience had seen the Gill-Man shot full of holes in the first picture, he still resides in the Black Lagoon in the sequel, apparently none the worse for wear. Two oceanographers (John Bromfield and Robert B. Williams) capture the creature and put him on display at Florida's Ocean Harbor Park (actually Marineland of the Atlantic). Here the hapless Gill-Man is taught a few words of English by compassionate icthyologists John Agar and Lori Nelson. Eventually, however, the creature reverts to type, kills one of his captors and goes on a rampage. And once again, he manages to briefly abduct the heroine and carry her off. Not nearly as good as the first Creature, this followup is saved by the underwater photography of Charles S. Welbourne--and by the effective performance by Ricou Browning as the Gill-Man. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Review

Fifties monster and sci-fi movies hold an abiding fascination for certain film fans. Shot on low budgets, cast usually with B-level actors (or A-level actors at the beginnings or ends of their careers), and shot from scripts the imagination and clever ideas of which are frequently done in by clichéd characterizations and stilted dialogue, they nonetheless can be a lot of fun. And sometimes their creators -- usually the director -- imaginatively twist the limitations under which they work to make interesting and personal films. Revenge of the Creature is a minor effort, and much less valuable than its predecessor, but aficionados will want to make sure they catch it. The change in venue -- from the Amazon to a marine park -- gives Revenge a different flavor, and audiences may feel more sympathy for the Creature in this one, as they see him chained up, starved and otherwise mistreated. There's also a rare (for the period) attempt to humanize the female lead (described in a news break as a "pretty little scientist!") by having her feel uncertain as to whether she should be a career woman or a wife. And fans of his later work will be thrilled to see a very young Clint Eastwood in a small comic part. Overall, though, there's not much that's original or engaging here, and while Jack Arnold's direction is solid, it's atypically uninspired. Perhaps sensing that this was not his finest work, Arnold would leave the final film in the Creature trilogy to other hands. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi

Cast

Grandon Rhodes - Jackson Foster; Dave Willock - Lou Gibson; Charles Cane - The Police Captain; Brett Halsey - Teenager in a car; Robert Hoy - Teenager in a car; Clint Eastwood - Jennings

Credit

Alexander Golitzen - Art Director, Alfred Sweeney - Art Director, Jack Arnold - Director, Paul Weatherwax - Editor, Herman Stein - Composer (Music Score), Joseph E. Gershenson - Musical Direction/Supervision, Bud Westmore - Makeup, Charles S. Welbourne - Cinematographer, William Alland - Producer, Martin Berkeley - Screenwriter

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Wikipedia on Answers.com:

Revenge of the Creature

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Revenge of the Creature

film poster by Reynold Brown
Directed by Jack Arnold
Produced by William Alland
Written by Story:
William Alland
Screenplay:
Martin Berkeley
Starring John Agar
Lori Nelson
Music by Henry Mancini
Editing by Paul Weatherwax
Distributed by Universal Pictures
Release date(s)
  • May 13, 1955 (1955-05-13)
[1]
Running time 82 min
Country United States
Language English
Box office $1.1 million (US)[2]

Revenge of the Creature is the first sequel to Creature from the Black Lagoon. The film is notable for being the only 3-D film to be released in 1955 and the only 3-D sequel to a 3-D film. The movie was released May 11, 1955, in the United States. It was followed by a sequel in 1956, The Creature Walks Among Us.

In 1997, it was aired as an episode of the comedy series Mystery Science Theater 3000, which mocked the film.

The film features an uncredited Clint Eastwood, in his first screen appearance.

Contents

Plot

Having survived being riddled with bullets at the end of The Creature from the Black Lagoon, the Gill-man is captured and sent to the Ocean Harbor Oceanarium in Florida, where he is studied by animal psychologist Professor Clete Ferguson and ichthyology student Helen Dobson. Helen and Clete quickly begin to fall in love, much to the chagrin of Joe Hayes, the Gill-man's keeper. The Gill-man takes an instant liking to Helen, which severely hampers Professor Ferguson's efforts to communicate with him. Ultimately, the Gill-man escapes from his tank, killing Joe in the process, and flees to the open ocean. Unable to stop thinking about Helen, he soon begins to stalk her and Ferguson, ultimately abducting her from a seaside restaurant where the two are at a party. Clete tries to give chase, but the Gill-man escapes to the water with his captive. Clete and the local law enforcement must now try to track down Helen and her amphibious abductor.

Featured cast

Actor Role
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
Charles Cane Police Captain
Robert F. Hoy Charlie
Brett Halsey Pete
Ricou Browning Gillman (Underwater)
Tom Hennesy Gillman (Land)
Jere A. Beery, Sr. News Photographer (tank side)
Patsy Lee Beery Girl Necking in Car
Clint Eastwood Lab Technician (Uncredited)

Production notes

Marineland of Florida played the part of the film's Ocean Harbor Oceanarium.[3]

The Lobster House restaurant where the Creature kidnaps Lori Nelson was located in Jacksonville, FL. It was destroyed by fire in 1962. The Diamondhead Restaurant (now the River City Brewing Co.) was built adjacent to the site where the old Lobster House once stood. Friendship Park was built on the vacant land near where the Lobster House stood.

During the attack by the Creature on the Lobster House, a clock hangs above the entrance that suddenly jumps ahead two hours during the Creature's attack. This is a continuity error resulting from the heat from the production equipment tripping the sprinkler system in the restaurant shortly after the scene started. The extras, mostly workers from the nearby Independent Life Insurance Company, were drenched, along with the production equipment, and the extras had to go home and change while the equipment was dried, which resulted in the time difference.

The St. Johns River stood in for the Amazon in this movie.

This film is the first screen role for Clint Eastwood, who appears uncredited as a lab technician named "Jennings" early in the story. He is shown having a discussion with Professor Ferguson, accusing a test subject cat of eating a lab rat, only to find that his character had in fact accidentally put the lab rat in his lab coat pocket.

References

  1. ^ . Ica Bokförlag. p. 283. ISBN 978-91-534-3535-8. 
  2. ^ "Variety Top Film Grosses of 1955", Film Data for 1955 accessed 31 May 2012
  3. ^ [1] The Internet Movie Database: Entry for Revenge of the Creature filming locations

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