Ricou Browning in his movie costume at Wakulla Springs (15055100304)

''The Creature Walks Among Us'' is a 1956 American

monster A monster is a type of fictional creature found in horror, fantasy, science fiction, folklore, mythology and religion. Monsters are very often depicted as dangerous and aggressive with a strange, grotesque appearance that causes terror and fe ...

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apoca ...

and the third and final installment of the ''

Creature from the Black Lagoon ''Creature from the Black Lagoon'' is a 1954 American black-and-white 3D monster horror film produced by William Alland and directed by Jack Arnold, from a screenplay by Harry Essex and Arthur Ross and a story by Maurice Zimm. It stars ...

'' series from

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

, following the previous year's ''

Revenge of the Creature ''Revenge of the Creature'' ( ''Return of the Creature'' and ''Return of the Creature from the Black Lagoon'') is the first of two Universal-International sequels to ''Creature from the Black Lagoon''. It was the only 3D film released in 1955 an ...

''. The film was directed by John Sherwood, the long-time Universal-International assistant director, in his directorial debut. Jack Arnold, who had directed the first two films in the series, had moved on to "A-list" films, and felt he had no more to contribute to the horror genre. He suggested that his assistant director, Sherwood, could move up to full director, which partly affected Universal's decision to allow him to direct the film.Weaver et al. 2014, p. 234. ''The Creature Walks Among Us'' starred

Jeff Morrow Leslie Irving Morrow, known as Jeff Morrow (January 13, 1907 – December 26, 1993), was an American actor educated at Pratt Institute in his native New York City. Morrow was a commercial artist prior to turning to acting. Early in his caree ...

Rex Reason Rex Reason (November 30, 1928 – November 19, 2015) was an American actor best known for his role in ''This Island Earth'' (1955). Life and career Rex George Reason Jr. was born in Berlin, Germany, to an American family that returned to Los Ang ...

Leigh Snowden Leigh Snowden (June 23, 1929 – May 16, 1982) was an American actress in motion pictures and television. Early life Snowden was born Martha Lee Estes in Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. When her father died when she was three, Estes and her mother moved ...

Gregg Palmer Palmer Edwin Lee (January 25, 1927 – October 31, 2015), known by his stage name Gregg Palmer, was an American film and television actor. Born in San Francisco, California, Palmer served in the United States Army Air Corps as a cryptographer i ...

, and

Maurice Manson Maurice Manson (born Moritz Levine, January 31, 1913 – September 21, 2002) was a Canadian character actor who appeared in several film and Broadway productions as well as numerous television appearances in a career spanning over thirty year ...

. The Creature was played by

Don Megowan Don Megowan (May 24, 1922 – June 26, 1981) was an American actor. He played the Gill-man on land in ''The Creature Walks Among Us'', the final part of the ''Creature from the Black Lagoon'' trilogy. Early life Don Megowan was born in Inglewo ...

on land, and for his final appearance as the

Gill-man The Gill-man—commonly called the Creature—is the main antagonist of the 1954 in film, 1954 black-and-white science fiction film ''Creature from the Black Lagoon'' and its two sequels ''Revenge of the Creature'' (1955) and ''The Creature Wal ...

, played by

Ricou Browning Ricou Browning (born February 16, 1930) is an American film director, actor, producer, screenwriter, underwater cinematographer and stuntman. He is best known for his underwater stunt work, especially in the 1954 film ''Creature from the Black ...

underwater. Like the original ''Creature from the Black Lagoon'', it had music composed by

Henry Mancini Henry Mancini ( ; born Enrico Nicola Mancini, ; April 16, 1924 – June 14, 1994) was an American composer, conductor, arranger, pianist and flautist. Often cited as one of the greatest composers in the history of film, he won four Academy Award ...

, who at the time was under contract with Universal. It is considered to be the last film in the

Universal Classic Monsters Universal Classic Monsters (also known as Universal Monsters and Universal Studios Monsters) is a media franchise based on a series of horror films primarily produced by Universal Pictures from the 1930s to the 1950s. Although not initially concei ...

series.

Plot

Following the

's escape from Ocean Harbor Oceanarium in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, a team of scientists led by the deranged and cold-hearted Dr. William Barton (Jeff Morrow) board the ''Vagabondia III'' to capture the creature in the

Everglades The Everglades is a natural region of tropical climate, tropical wetlands in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Florida, comprising the southern half of a large drainage basin within the Neotropical realm. The system begins near Orland ...

. Barton is mentally unstable and apparently an abusive husband to his wife Marcia (Leigh Snowden), as he becomes very jealous and paranoid when Marcia is with other men. Their guide Jed Grant (

) makes numerous passes on Marcia (which she constantly rebuffs), with Barton becoming paranoid about the two. Marcia accompanies Jed and Dr. Tom Morgan (Rex Reason) on their initial

dive Diving most often refers to: * Diving (sport), the sport of jumping into deep water * Underwater diving, human activity underwater for recreational or occupational purposes Diving or Dive may also refer to: Sports * Dive (American football), a ...

to look for the Gill-man, despite her husband's fierce objections. During the dive, Marcia swims too deep and is overcome with the "raptures of the deep", temporarily losing her mind, removing all her

scuba gear Scuba diving is a mode of underwater diving whereby divers use breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface air supply. The name "scuba", an acronym for "Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus", was coined by Chris ...

. This forces Jed and Tom to abandon their hunt for the Gill-man to swim back and save her. When he is eventually captured, the Gill-man is badly burned in a fire leading to a

surgical Surgery ''cheirourgikē'' (composed of χείρ, "hand", and ἔργον, "work"), via la, chirurgiae, meaning "hand work". is a medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a person to investigate or treat a pat ...

transformation performed by Barton, Tom and their colleagues Dr. Borg (

) and Dr. Johnson (James Rawley). While bandaging the Gill-man, the doctors notice that he is shedding his

gill A gill () is a respiratory organ that many aquatic organisms use to extract dissolved oxygen from water and to excrete carbon dioxide. The gills of some species, such as hermit crabs, have adapted to allow respiration on land provided they are ...

s and even breathing using a kind of

lung The lungs are the primary organs of the respiratory system in humans and most other animals, including some snails and a small number of fish. In mammals and most other vertebrates, two lungs are located near the backbone on either side of t ...

system. Now that the creature has more human-like skin, he is given clothing. The doctors attempt to get the Gill-man used to living among humans. Although his life is saved, he is apparently unhappy, staring despondently at the ocean. Barton ruins the plans when, in a murderous rage, he kills Jed, jealous that he had made romantic advances towards his wife. Realizing what he has done, Barton then tries to put the blame on the Gill-man. The Gill-man, witnessing the killing, and apparently realizing that he is being blamed for the murder, goes on a rampage. After ripping down the confining electric fence, he kills Barton and then slowly walks back to the sea. He is last seen on a beach, advancing towards the ocean.

Cast

as Dr. William Barton *

as Dr. Thomas Morgan *

as Marcia Barton *

as Jed Grant *

as Dr. Borg *

as Gill-man – In water *

as Gill-man – On land * James Rawley as Dr. Johnson * Paul Fierro as Morteno *

Lillian Molieri Lillian Molieri Bermúdez (18 January 1925 – 13 September 1980) was a Nicaraguan actress and dancer. She was noted for her minor roles in Hollywood films and TV series between 1944 and 1957, though most of them went uncredited. She later became ...

as Mrs. Morteno * David McMahon as Captain Stanley

Production

Unlike the previous two ''Creature'' films, ''The Creature Walks Among Us'' was not filmed in 3-D. The underwater scenes were filmed at

Wakulla Springs Wakulla Springs is located south of Tallahassee, Florida and east of Crawfordville in Wakulla County, Florida at the crossroads of State Road 61 and State Road 267. It is protected in the Edward Ball Wakulla Springs State Park. Description ...

North Florida North Florida is a region of the U.S. state of Florida comprising the northernmost part of the state. Along with South Florida and Central Florida, it is one of Florida's three most common "directional" regions. It includes Jacksonville and near ...

, today a state park. Other locations in Florida were also utilized for location shooting. Principal photography ran from late August to mid-September 1955.

Reception

Bosley Crowther Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though his ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' reviewed ''The Creature Walks Among Us'' as a return to the "merman" series: "The producers have captured some misty but pictorial underwater footage and that the Messrs. Morrow and Reason, and Gregg Palmer, who plays a guide with a yen for the blonde and statuesque Miss Snowden, behave fairly well in decidedly unusual circumstances. The "creature", of course, is frightening enough to scare the scales off a tarpon. However, he apparently hasn't terrified his Hollywood discoverers".Crowther, Bosely
"Movie review: 'The Creature Walks Among Us' (1956)".
''The New York Times'', April 27, 1956.

Home media

Universal Studios Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

released ''The Creature Walks Among Us'' on DVD in a boxed set along with ''Creature from the Black Lagoon'' and ''Revenge of the Creature'', and added a bonus behind-the-scenes documentary on the famous trilogy.

References

Notes Bibliography * Weaver, Tom, David Schecter and Steve Kronenberg. ''The Creature Chronicles: Exploring the Black Lagoon Trilogy''. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company Inc., 2014. .

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Creature Walks Among Us, The 1956 films American science fiction horror films 1950s monster movies American black-and-white films Universal Pictures films 1956 horror films 1950s science fiction horror films American sequel films American monster movies 1950s English-language films 1950s American films Films scored by Heinz Roemheld Films scored by Henry Mancini