This is one of my favorite movies. I remember how I felt when I was young and saw this for the first time. I don’t feel any different. I think the actors are good and good looking. The dialogue is ridiculously fun (especially between the lovers Kay and David), the supposed love triangle is cool, and the ambitions of Mark plays well against the humanitarianism of David and Kay (hence garnering Mark’s character no compassion – making it easier for him to die). Just like in the “Wolfman,” it is better that the audience doesn’t see the two guys getting killed at the beginning. It builds terror.
On the “Reel Gillman” website, Ben Chapman, the actor who portrayed the “Gillman,” says that the underwater scenes were filmed in Florida using stunt doubles for all four of the main characters. The main actors that we see on film never made it to Florida. The rest of the movie was shot on a Universal lot in Hollywood. Chapman says the “Gillman” costume was a one piece “body stocking” made out of foam rubber. The only pieces that could come off easily were the head, hands, and feet. He was hosed off to stay cool, or he would take a swim. The fire scene was made with an asbestos suit and filmed with a stunt double. Making his living traveling from one Monster Convention to another, Chapman said that the original suit was made from a “plaster of paris” impression of his body and face, so he was the only one who could fit in the suit. He left the head impression on the beach back in the 1950’s for fun and thinks it is now worth $100,000 today.
The entire interview, and other articles and interviews, can be found on Chapman’s website:
The underwater shots from “Creature from the Black Lagoon” were filmed in Wakulla Springs, Florida. This site shows a map of the lagoon itself.
No comments:
Post a Comment