"As far as I see it Creature from the Black Lagoon was just another movie and it was just another job. I've done many things since then that I am much more proud of. But I've gotten more reaction out of the Creature thing than anything else. Well, I guess that's life!"
-- Ricou Browning (from IMDB.com)
-- Ricou Browning (from IMDB.com)
Sigh.
I've never quite understood why Universal Studios' Creature From The Black Lagoon addition to their Movie Monsters Universe never quite gets enough love.
I do understand that -- as movie universes go -- it really came as a pretty late addition to their line-up of Dracula, Frankenstein, the Invisible Man, and the Wolf Man. The starting bench hit the silver screens truly in Hollywood's Golden Age -- to an extent -- and have all proven to have some incredible staying power at the box office with remakes and retreads emerging seemingly every other decade or so. But the Gill Man? Wow. We've never quite seem him again, and I think that's a crying shame. He's definitely got his sea legs, and I think he's ripe for an update.
In any event ...
Actor and stunt diver Ricou Browning was tapped to play the legendary creature when it was 'in the drink,' as they say; and methinks he did a spectacular job swimming about while looking entirely menacing all of the time. Suiting up for all of the films -- Creature From The Black Lagoon (1954), Revenge Of The Creature (1955), and The Creature Walks Among Us (1956) -- the talented man leaves a legacy that's quite unmatched on the silver screen; and his IMDB.com profile indicates that he continued to work in the industry with such aqua-themed entities as Sea Hunt, The Aquanauts, and Flipper in the years ahead. Furthermore, he went on to direct the underwater sequences in the James Bond thrillers Thunderball (1965) and Never Say Never Again (1983).
Alas, none of us lasts forever; and word reached the SciFiHistory.Net news desk this morning of the man's passing at the age of 93.
Prayers are extended to the family, friends, and fans of Mr. Browning. May he forever rest in peace.
-- EZ
I've never quite understood why Universal Studios' Creature From The Black Lagoon addition to their Movie Monsters Universe never quite gets enough love.
I do understand that -- as movie universes go -- it really came as a pretty late addition to their line-up of Dracula, Frankenstein, the Invisible Man, and the Wolf Man. The starting bench hit the silver screens truly in Hollywood's Golden Age -- to an extent -- and have all proven to have some incredible staying power at the box office with remakes and retreads emerging seemingly every other decade or so. But the Gill Man? Wow. We've never quite seem him again, and I think that's a crying shame. He's definitely got his sea legs, and I think he's ripe for an update.
In any event ...
Actor and stunt diver Ricou Browning was tapped to play the legendary creature when it was 'in the drink,' as they say; and methinks he did a spectacular job swimming about while looking entirely menacing all of the time. Suiting up for all of the films -- Creature From The Black Lagoon (1954), Revenge Of The Creature (1955), and The Creature Walks Among Us (1956) -- the talented man leaves a legacy that's quite unmatched on the silver screen; and his IMDB.com profile indicates that he continued to work in the industry with such aqua-themed entities as Sea Hunt, The Aquanauts, and Flipper in the years ahead. Furthermore, he went on to direct the underwater sequences in the James Bond thrillers Thunderball (1965) and Never Say Never Again (1983).
Alas, none of us lasts forever; and word reached the SciFiHistory.Net news desk this morning of the man's passing at the age of 93.
Prayers are extended to the family, friends, and fans of Mr. Browning. May he forever rest in peace.
-- EZ
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