Franchises: Creature from the Black Lagoon. Revenge of the Creature (1955)

Until I got the book, Monster Madness, when I was around eleven, I had no idea there was a sequel to Creature from the Black Lagoon, let alone two of them (they were probably mentioned in the Crestwood House book but they didn't stick in my mind). It gave me only vague ideas as to the plots for both movies but, regardless, I was eager to see them all, as I hadn't even seen the first one at that point. And, thanks to AMC, I wouldn't have to wait long after I did see the original to see the sequels. I first saw Revenge of the Creature one Saturday morning (exactly what year I'm not sure), likely in the block similar to their Friday night AMC EFX block, where they'd show the behind-the-scenes series, Cinema Secrets, followed by an old horror or sci-fi flick. Going into it, I, again, knew the basic story, and that Clint Eastwood made his film debut here (which the presenter noted after the movie was over), but other than that, I had no idea what to expect; I was really just happy to get to see another movie with the Gill-Man. After I saw Revenge, my opinion was, "That was okay. Not the best sequel, but it was enjoyable," and it hasn't changed at all. In fact, while I certainly don't hate it, I would say Revenge is my least favorite of the Creature trilogy. Even though Jack Arnold returned to direct, this is mainly just a typical 50's monster movie, whereas the original managed to be so much more, and often comes off like a quickly put together cash-in (even though it actually wasn't). What's more, the human characters, who are rather bland to begin with, do things to the Gill-Man that make it really hard to root for them, and unlike the original's thrilling climax, this one ends on a very unimpressive and abrupt note. All in all, it certainly has its entertainment value, but it's nowhere near the classic status of its parent.

A year after he transported the doomed scientific expedition to the Black Lagoon, Lucas, the captain of the Rita, returns to the tributary leading to the lagoon with a new boat, the Rita II, and two new passengers. George Johnson and Joe Hayes, of the Ocean Harbor Oceanarium in Florida, have been tasked with finding and capturing the Gill-Man, whose existence Dr. David Reed revealed to the world the previous year. Despite some inherent skepticism, and Lucas' warnings, they press on to the Black Lagoon the next day. No sooner do they arrive and Joe goes down into the water in a diving suit, than the Gill-Man attacks, with Joe just managing to escape, albeit with a lot of cuts and scratches. Next, they dynamite the lagoon, which stuns the Gill-Man, putting him into a comatose state. News of his capture and subsequent transport to Ocean Harbor is reported throughout the world. When Prof. Clete Ferguson of a Florida institute learns of this, he heads down to the Oceanarium to study the Gill-Man personally. There, Joe personally attempts to revive the still unconscious Creature in front of a crowd of anxious onlookers, one of whom is Helen Dobson, a lovely university student specializing in ichthyology and who hopes studying the Gill-Man will help with her master thesis. Though it takes two hours, the Creature does revive and, despite putting up a vicious fight that leaves two men maimed, is put on display to the public, chained to the bottom of a large tank filled with various fish and other marine animals. Clete and Helen promptly meet and decide to work together in examining him, becoming romantically involved with each other in the process. They also put the Creature through conditioned training, which he picks up on very quickly. However, he becomes infatuated with Helen, leading to a training session where he goes for her and attacks Clete when he intervenes. The Gill-Man manages to break loose from his chain, escapes the tank, and, after killing Joe, makes for the ocean. Though it's believed he may be heading back to the Amazon, he's actually stalking Clete and Helen across the state, determined to capture the latter.

Martin Berkeley

While it's tempting to make the cliched remark that Revenge of the Creature was rushed into production following the success of the first film, from what I've read, it seems as though a sequel was planned even before the original began shooting, as the heads at Universal knew they were on to something with that script. And once Creature from the Black Lagoon proved to be the gigantic hit that it was, Revenge's production was assured. Although only two actors from the first movie returned for the sequel, much of the behind-the-scenes talent remained, including producer William Alland, who wrote the initial story. The final screenplay was written by Martin Berkeley, who went on to write or co-write a couple of more films for Jack Arnold, including Tarantula and his 1956 western, Red Sundown, and Berkeley also went on to write The Deadly Mantis, another Alland production which he also wrote the initial story for.

Jack Arnold's return to the director's chair for the sequel made it one of three movies by him released in 1955, the other two being the western, The Man from Bitter Ridge, and Tarantula. When I saw the movie on AMC that first time, I thought the presenter said during the outro that Arnold's heart wasn't quite into it like it was for the original. Reading Dana M. Reemes' book, Directed by Jack Arnold, which features a number of interview excerpts with the man himself, I can't find any full-on disparaging comments about the film, but he does mention how he felt that bringing the Gill-Man back to civilization was the only direction to take ir. That's also why he opted not to direct the third Creature film, The Creature Walks Among Us, as he felt there was nothing left to do with it. In any case, while Revenge of the Creature is just above average thanks to Arnold's direction and Universal's backing, I would still rate it as the weakest of all of his science fiction films, at least that I've seen. As silly as it is, I would even say I enjoy Monster on the Campus more.

The main cast of characters is not only smaller than in the original, but they're much less interesting, as well. Like with Richard Carlson, our lead here, Prof. Clete Ferguson, is played by a familiar face to 50's sci-fi fans: John Agar, who also starred in Tarantula. Unfortunately, while I've heard he was a very nice guy (my friend, Jeff Burr, can attest to that, having worked with him), Agar, at least in this film, doesn't do much to make Clete a compelling character. An expert in animal psychology, he heads to Ocean Harbor to personally study the Gill-Man upon learning of his capture. But, while he does film the Creature as he's fed in the exhibition tank upon arriving, when he meets the beautiful Helen Dobson, he becomes just as, if not much more, interested in her. He no sooner meets her than asks her to dinner, citing how he's only going to be there for two weeks, and also tries to stop Joe Hayes from getting to her first. Still, he does intend to find out everything he can about the Gill-Man's intelligence and behavior patterns, and he and Helen begin working together in that capacity. Overall, though, Clete comes off as rather bland, with Agar just not having the charisma and gravitas that Carlson brought to the role of Dr. David Reed. Moreover, even though he says he hates to do it, he still goes through with the rather cruel method of teaching the Gill-Man conditioned learning by shocking him with a cattle prod when he doesn't respond to commands. Finally, while David and Kay's relationship had already been long established by the beginning of the first movie, Clete and Helen's romance is rushed and clumsy. The way they meet even feels awkward, as I don't quite get why he feels the need to talk about how scientists are "overspecialized," or what she means when she tells him, "You're not at all like I expected." And yeah, while we don't see all of it, there is the sense that they fell for each other while working together, but their romantic moments still just don't have any weight to them. Case in point, after the Gill-Man abducts Helen during the third act and Clete and the police are trying to find them, Clete has suddenly become her fiancee, whereas before, they were just spending time together before he had to fly back to his institute.

Helen Dobson (Lori Nelson), in addition to being just as beautiful, does have a bit more of a backstory and substance to her than Kay. She's a former science student from Belmont University who's specializing in ichthyology and hopes the Gill-Man will give her ample material for her master's thesis. More significantly, she gets to do more than just stand around and look pretty, as she assists Clete in his studying the Gill-Man, doing both lab-work and getting down there in the tank with him, playing a major part in his conditioning. Furthermore, while Kay was mostly just terrified of him, Helen feels sympathy for the Gill-Man. When she's not in the tank with him, she often finds herself drawn to the public exhibition section, where she watches him through the windows. She even tells Clete at one point, "You know, I pity him sometimes. He's so alone. The only one of his kind in the world. Well, he's... like an orphan of time." And finally, there's a moment where she and Clete are relaxing on the beach and she wonders about her choice of profession, telling him, "Science, fish, ichthyology, where will it all lead me? As a person I mean. Most of the kids I went to undergraduate school with are already married and have children." (Unfortunately, it's part of some particularly badly aged sexual politics, which I'll get more into later.) But, despite warnings from Clete that it might be dangerous for her to go back into the tank, given the Gill-Man's interest in her, Helen insists she be allowed to do so again for more of his training. And that proves disastrous, as the Gill-Man tries to get at her, leading to his breaking his chain and getting loose. Afterward, following his retreat to the ocean, he begins stalking Clete and Helen across Florida, ultimately abducting Helen and forcing Clete and the police to track her down and save her.

Sadly, there are few other memorable characters here. Joe Hayes (John Bromfield) and George Johnson (Robert Williams), the two men who are sent to the Amazon to find and capture the Gill-Man, are pretty bland. During the first act, when they're being taken to the Black Lagoon by Lucas, they both come off as a bit skeptical of the Gill-Man's existence, with George being anxious to see if he does, while Joe assures him that, if the Creature is there, he can catch him. Moreover, while Joe doesn't pay heed to Lucas' warning about the Creature, George wonders if those back at Ocean Harbor are expecting them to risk their lives. When they first arrive at the lagoon, Joe has his first of several brutal encounters with the Gill-Man, as he gets attacked while in his diving suit, and has his arm in a sling for the rest of the trip, though he later plays it off as, "Just a few scratches." Shortly afterward, George comes up with the idea to dynamite the lagoon, allowing them to capture the Creature. When they arrive at Ocean Harbor, Joe takes it upon himself to try to revive the Creature in the same way they do sharks, by walking him through the water in a tank (George virtually disappears from the movie at this point). Eventually, it works, but when the Gill-Man becomes violent and attempts to escape, Joe tries to stop him and they get into a violent scuffle, with Joe getting yanked back into the tank with him. Despite nearly getting killed in the process, Joe jumps in to help two guards who get attacked as well, and oversees the Gill-Man's transferal to the display tank. Having had his eye on Helen since she first arrived at Ocean Harbor, Joe initially comes off as a rival to Clete for her affections, coming off as a real he-man, making remarks that eggheads have no stamina. However, Helen chooses Clete but Joe isn't too worried, as he and Clete already know each other. He also playfully adds, "I'll give the professor his chance. I don't like to take advantage of amateurs." For the rest of the movie, he assists in their studying the Gill-Man, but when he breaks his chain and attempts to escape, Joe tries to stop him. However, he falls in the water during the struggle and the Gill-Man finally gets his revenge on him, dragging him to the bottom of the tank and drowning him. 

During the opening in the Amazon, Nestor Paiva reprises his role as Lucas, and he's just as funny and salty as before. Since he's now well aware of the Gill-Man and how deadly he is, Lucas, despite being paid for it, is much more wary of heading back to the Black Lagoon, and tries to warn Joe Hayes and George Johnson of the potential danger they're in, telling them what happened the year before. He also questions the purpose of capturing the Gill-Man in the first place, and why they would risk their lives for it. Most significantly, he asks George why the Gill-Man is still alive when he should've died out millions of years ago. And while George gives a theory about the Creature possibly being of a species that reproduced itself without much, if any, change, Lucas gives his own theory: "This beast exists because it is stronger than... than the thing that you call evolution. In it is some force of life, a demon, driving it through millions of centuries. It does not surrender so easily to weaklings like you and me. This is the thing that you hunt for." I really wish Lucas was in the film more, as he brings that same great presence he had previously to their attempts to capture the Gill-Man. I like how, when George comes up with the dynamite idea, Lucas says, "I hope you ain't going to blow up my boat, Mr. Johnson. Like my wife, she's not much, but she's all I have." Following the explosion, and time passing with no sign of the Gill-Man, Lucas remarks, "Maybe this time, we are lucky and he is dead, huh?" But then, the stunned Creature surfaces and George asks Lucas to help get him on the boat, to which he says, "Always, I have the bad luck!" 

Of course, I have to mention Clint Eastwood's brief, uncredited film debut as a lab assistant (supposedly named Jennings, although he's never called that). In Clete's introductory scene, the assistant calls him over to a cage housing a cat and three mice in an experiment, saying, "Doc, didn't you say, among the lower animals, there were no natural enemies, as long as they were well fed?... Well, maybe so, Doc, but there were four rats in there when I changed my lights. Now, there's only three. It's my considered opinion that rat No. 4 is sitting inside that cat." But then, when he puts his hands in his lab-coat's pockets, he discovers that the missing rat was in his left pocket the whole time. (According to Jack Arnold, Eastwood was nervous about the rat being put in his pocket.) Yeah, other than its being his first appearance on film, there's not much to say about Eastwood here. He would make another brief, uncredited role the same year in Tarantula, before beginning on his road to stardom with Raw Hide, which Jack Arnold happened to direct several episodes of.

Like just about everything Arnold directed around this time, Revenge of the Creature is certainly well-made on a technical level. It looks good, with nice production values, even if you can tell they were cutting a few corners here and there, and is shot very well, with that same warm, bright, humid look and feel that permeated the first one (and was likely more genuine, as this time, they did film in the summer). This time, Scotty Welbourne was promoted to main cinematographer, while also

supervising all the underwater sequences. But, while that photography is still very impressive, the environments themselves aren't as appealing, especially the tanks at Ocean Harbor. The underwater sequences at the Black Lagoon itself, again done at Wakulla Springs, and when Clete and Helen go for an impromptu swim in the river late in the film, are certainly more picturesque but they still never reach the level of what we saw in the first one, and the nighttime exteriors aren't as effective, either. And also like the first one,

Revenge was shot in 3-D, but, by this point, the gimmick was pretty much dead. It had been waning throughout the previous year, and though it was hoped this film could revive it, it wasn't distributed that widely in the format, with most advertising not even mentioning it could be seen in 3-D. Thus, this ended up being the last studio-produced movie of the 50's that featured the gimmick, and unlike the original, its 3-D version has only recently become available on home media.

In stark contrast to the split between units on the first movie, Revenge was shot almost entirely in Florida, save for possibly the scenes below deck on the Rita II, the institute laboratory where Clete is first introduced, some of the laboratory scenes in Ocean Harbor, the scenes in Clete and Helen's motel, and maybe the nighttime exteriors involving the Gill-Man during the latter part of the third act, which were likely done at Universal. The enormous St. Johns River stood in for the Amazon

during the opening, and was also featured as itself when Clete and Helen travel to Jacksonville after the Gill-Man escapes Ocean Harbor. Like I said, Wakulla Springs, again, stood in for the Black Lagoon, below the water and likely above it as well, in a few shots, at least. The most notable location, however, was Marineland, where the Ocean Harbor scenes were filmed. You see a lot of this place, notably the large receiving tank, where the Gill-Man is revived upon his arrival, and the

exhibition tank, where his foot is chained to the bottom. This is the craziest part of the movie's behind-the-scenes stories to me, as John Agar, Lori Nelson, and Ricou Browning actually got down in the water with potentially dangerous sealife, like sharks, barracudas, and moray eels, all of which you can see swimming about freely in those scenes. Ironically, the only problem animal was a sea turtle that bit off a chunk of the Gill-Man's heel and had to be kept away from him afterward, but still, that would never happen today. Not only do I

doubt that they would let the actors actually do that but I don't think any oceanariums would allow it, anyway. Regardless, you see other parts of Marineland, like walkways and paths for the tourists, the rooms where they can look through glass and see the fish, and a large tank where a dolphin named "Flippy" puts on a show for the guests. I like the little touch of their having a cardboard cut-out of the Gill-Man that tourists can take pictures with, and I also recognize that cut-out as being from a publicity still for the first movie.

You do get nice vistas of the warm, sandy beach near the Oceanarium, both when Clete and Helen are relaxing and when the Gill-Man escapes to the ocean. Finally, the Lobster House, where Clete and Helen are dancing when the latter is abducted by the Gill-Man, was an actual restaurant in Jacksonville, but it, unfortunately, burned down in 1962. That's a shame, as places like that give me warm memories of all the trips I've taken to Florida in my lifetime.

I'm not sure how much this movie cost compared to the first, but I have a feeling the budget was a tad lower, considering there are some reused shots and images. Not only do the opening credits have the same eerie, swirling mist that serves as background, but right as the movie begins and Lucas is shown heading down the Amazon, they reuse the shot of him blowing the horn to scare a caiman off a log and into the water, which itself happens to be the same bit of stock footage from

before. When they enter the Black Lagoon, I have a feeling the establishing shots of it are unused material originally filmed by the first movie's second unit, as it looks very similar. And there's no doubt that the movie ends on the exact same final image of the Gill-Man sinking down, seemingly dead (which makes no sense in context, as I'll get into).

While it's not something you should be all that shocked by in a movie from this time period, some of the attitudes here about women, their relationships with men, and what's expected of them in terms of their positions and chosen professions are especially primitive, even more so than in the first movie. On the surface, it seems rather progressive, given how Helen Dobson is shown to be much more of an ichthyologist than Kay was, despite actually being a student working

on her Master's thesis rather than a full-on scientist. Though her sex appeal certainly isn't downplayed, while Kay mainly just stood around and acted as eye-candy, occasionally proving that she did know a thing or two about her field, Helen actively assists Clete in his behavioral studies of the Gill-Man, the examination of his genetics, and so forth. But then, you have that moment where she wonders if ichthyology is what she should be doing with her life, noting how many of the people she

went to school with have since married and started families, as if that what's expected of women, regardless of their interests. Then, when she asks Clete what he wants, they have this conversation: "Well it's different with me. I'm a man, I don't have to make a choice." "But I do?" "It's tough on you gals. I'm not saying it's right or wrong. It's just a fact." "Doesn't seem right." "But you haven't told me what you want, what you want most, I mean. I'd like to know before I leave. You've become important to me." "Very." "Uh-huh." They then

kiss, and while it's meant to be romantic, their conversation, combined with how, following the Gill-Man's escape from Ocean Harbor and her journeying with Clete before he heads back home, she doesn't seem to have any more interest in science, seems to indicate she's decided to toss it all away for him. And again, it doesn't help that her and Clete's romance isn't that strong to begin with.

Even though the insinuated love-triangle of Clete, Helen, and Joe Hayes doesn't go anywhere, as Clete's true rival in this respect is the Gill-Man, the scene where Clete tries to run off with Helen and make a date with her before Joe can get at her, as if she is nothing but a prize to be won, is something that wouldn't play at all today. Clete's dialogue is especially cringey, when he says Joe is, "An A-number one wolf," and when, as he's trying to rush Helen on and she asks if he'll at least wait for

Joe to catch up, he answers, "What, and let Mr. America cut into my cake?" Not to mention that Joe makes a not so subtle jab about intellectuals not making the best lovers, as he says they're all brains and no stamina. And, while I may be reading too much into this, when Helen is introduced by being interviewed as she and everyone else watches Joe attempt to revive the Gill-Man, the guy comes off as a bit smarmy and more interested in talking to her because of how pretty she is, remarking that "ichthyology" is a,

"Ten-dollar word." It's also in this scene where Helen and Joe first see each other, as she, rather uncomfortably, returns his wink and wave, and momentarily forgets she's explaining to the reporter why he's walking the Gill-Man through the water to revive him.

Like in the first film, the Gill-Man, despite his aggressive nature, is portrayed in a sympathetic light for much of the movie and only truly becomes an antagonist during the third act, when he's actively stalking Clete and Helen. In fact, he's even more sympathetic here, given how, not only does he, again, have to deal with intruders in his domain, but he's rendered unconscious by dynamite, ripped out of his home, brought to Ocean Harbor, and chained to the bottom of a fairly small tank to be gawked at by tourists. This also further cements the King Kong connection, as these two films feel like the classic King Kong story divided into movies, with the first being like the journey to the island, and this one when Kong is brought to New York. But, at least Kong, as far as we know, wasn't actively tortured when they brought him to civilization, which is more than I can say for the Gill-Man. Like Paul M. Jensen notes in Back to the Black Lagoon, a better title would be Revenge of the Scientists, as the negative conditioning they perform on him is just awful. They offer him food, and, when he tries to take it, they shock him with a cattle-prod to make him understand what the word "stop" means. In another instance, they give him drugged food so they can hook him up to a machine in order to study his brainwaves and take blood samples. The fact that these tests continually prove him to be more human than fish doesn't seem to deter them from continuing these cruel exercises. And David Reed must not have mentioned in his report how the Gill-Man became infatuated with Kay, as they end up unknowingly making him all the more erratic and worked up by having another beautiful woman down in the water with him. When he finally does get loose and heads for the ocean, you can't help but cheer for him.

To me, it feels like, from the moment he's introduced, the Gill-Man has much more rage in him this time, likely since, after the events of the first movie, he now definitely perceives humans as nothing but a threat. The minute he sees another boat in his lagoon, followed by Joe Hayes going down in his diving suit, the Gill-Man immediately stalks him and viciously attacks, even actively trying to rip out his oxygen line, obviously not wanting to go through the same crap again. And

when he's captured and awakens in Ocean Harbor, you can feel his confusion and fury when he swims free of Joe's hands, stands up in the shallow water of the receiving tank, roars at those looking down at him, and dives back under and whips himself up until he has enough momentum to jump up to the edge of the tank. Anyone who gets within his reach feels his wrath, like Joe, who tries to force him back in, and some guards who try to help Joe, one of whom he gets yanked off the ladder and

slammed into the water. The Gill-Man then gets netted and furiously tries to break loose, only to be taken into the exhibition take and finds that his foot has been chained to the bottom. He tries to pull himself loose but the chain, for now, is too strong. After being there for a while, he settles down and even seems to accept things for what they are, but he's clearly not a fan of the tests and is genuinely unhappy, as seen when Helen spots him sitting forlornly on an anchor. Ultimately, he can't take it anymore and, after failing to get Helen during

another test of negative conditioning, he breaks his chain and takes all his pent up rage out on anyone or anything that gets in his way. He brutally attacks Joe Hayes and suffocates him down in the tank, then jumps out, sending the crowd into panic, and throws a guard who tries to stop him into the water. However, he's more interested in escaping than actively seeking out people to kill and heads for the ocean, angrily turning over a car in his escape. Still, other than Helen, he probably hates humans now more than ever.

Speaking of which, like with Kay, the Gill-Man's infatuation with Helen starts early, when he first sees her in the tank with him (I'm sure her wearing a similar white bathing suit spurs him as well). Afterward, whenever she looks at him through the tank's windows, he immediately goes right for her and looks at her inquisitively. Finally, during one of their tests in the water, he appears to lure her away from Clete and his cattle prod by acting reticent to get close. When she gets close enough,

he goes for her, grabbing her and trying to swim away with her. Clete intervenes, shocking him, and the Gill-Man nearly kills him, only stopping because Helen tells him to. After that, he breaks loose and escapes for the ocean. But, while everyone assumes he probably headed back to the Amazon, he's actually stalking Clete and Helen. He finds them in a motel near Ocean Harbor and tries to go for Helen while she's in the shower, but her dog, Chris, intervenes. He ends up killing Chris

offscreen, then continues following Clete and Helen when they take a boat up the river to Jacksonville. This leads to a scene that acts as an interesting twist on the famous one between him and Kay in the first movie. While waiting for their boat's engine to be repaired, the couple go for a swim in the river, not knowing that the Gill-Man is watching them. There's a very memorable moment where he watches them as they embrace and kiss while sinking down, and as they swim and play, he tries to grab Helen's feet and swims parallel to

them below. Not long after that, the Gill-Man succeeds in abducting Helen when he enters the Lobster House and, amid the panic he causes, grabs her and heads back to the water. But, as with King Kong, this ultimately proves to be his downfall.

They modified the Gill-Man's design here, mostly for practical reasons, and while I can live it, I do think it was something of a mistake. The most obvious changes are to the head and face. His head is much rounder this time, and the face is wider and thicker, with a much more fish-like mouth, whereas in the first movie, his mouth was more like a frog's. Most notably, he now has big, bulging eyes, which gives him a real dopey look. I've read that the eyes were designed like this to give the

actors better vision, especially Ricou Browning, whose underwater suit actually has eyes this time around, but, while they do shoot him in such a way as to keep him from looking too bad, that change does still hurt his effectiveness. Speaking of the underwater suit, this time, in order to keep costs down and speed up filming, they modified it so air could be pumped in, leading to bubbles coming out of the Gill-Man's head and other parts of his body, which Jack Arnold wished to avoid in the first movie. Also, there's an obvious sculpted ridge

across the top of this suit's head that wasn't there before, which makes him feel more artificial. But, as far as the dry land suit goes, they managed to get more motion out of the face, as not only do the gills flex but the mouth constantly opens and closes, making it look as though he's gulping for oxygen, like a fish that's out of the water. Finally, while his cool growl and roar from before are retained, they also give him a deep sort of bellow that I've never thought sounded as good and, unfortunately, it's used more than the original sounds. Near the end of the movie, when he has to get back in the water while carrying Helen around, his breathing becomes very labored.

Design flaws aside, the Gill-Man is just as much of a character as he was before, and that's especially true in the case of Browning's second performance in the water (he was actually a last minute replacement, as they originally hired someone else for the underwater scenes but that person couldn't handle the rigors of the role). Here, he's able to actually act a little more, turning his head in a curious manner when he hears or sees something he didn't expect, recoiling from Clete's cattle-prod

after only a few shocks, and taking the small cage of food, sitting on the anchor at the bottom of his tank while eating, and swiping at fish so they won't steal his food. One thing he does that I don't like, however, is when, early on, he seems to be waving at the screen, no doubt to take advantage of the 3-D. It's an especially ridiculous moment when taken out of context. As for the above water sequences, Tom Hennesy takes over from Ben Chapman (I tried to find out why he didn't return like Browning and, from what I can gather,

Universal simply didn't rehire him). I may be wrong but I believe he may have a little more screentime than Chapman did, seeing as how he gets to go on full rampages and stalks Helen out of the water. As I talked about earlier, he does a really good job getting across just how angry the Gill-Man is when he first awakens at Ocean Harbor and when he escapes his tank and heads to the ocean. And during the third act, when he's abducted Helen and is making his way through the countryside with her, it's clear the way he keeps an eye on her whenever he has to go back into the water that he has no intention of letting anyone take her from him.

While the first movie made you wait until virtually the second act before you got a look at the Gill-Man in all his glory, less than eight minutes into Revenge of the Creature, you see him when he rises out of the water and drags a bird down into it. The Rita II then enters the Black Lagoon, and after it drops anchor, we get our first real look of the Gill-Man as he swims underwater. He pops up, sees the boat, ducks back down, and approaches it. Lucas and his men put a net down in the water and Joe Hayes prepares to go down in a diving suit to

secure it and seal off the lagoon's entrance. As they help him up and he climbs down the ladder, Lucas warns them that he'll be helpless in that suit. He goes down into the water and slowly plods towards the net, unaware that the Gill-Man is watching from nearby. Suddenly, he swims right at Joe, who's totally unaware of him until he's grabbed from behind. The two of them struggle and Joe tells the others to bring him up, when the suit's air-hose starts thrashing around wildly. Joe pulls out a knife but the Gill-Man grabs his wrist and holds

him back, then flings him down to the bottom. As they try to pull up the line, George Johnson tries to get in contact with Joe, while Joe himself momentarily escapes the Gill-Man's grip, only to be grabbed again near the top of the net. Both of them break the surface, then the Gill-Man forces Joe back under, shoving him down to the bottom, and swims up and grabs the air-hose, attempting to rip it. One of Lucas' men grabs a rifle and fires at him, forcing him to retreat. They're then able to get Joe up to the surface and onto the boat's deck, where they see that his suit is torn apart and he has a number of nasty cuts. George removes his helmet's face-plate and they work to get him out of the suit.

Later, using a rowboat, George and Lucas plant dynamite throughout the lagoon in order to stun the Gill-Man. After making it back aboard the Rita, George hits the detonator, sending a series of loud explosions throughout the water. Hours later, dozens of dead fish have floated to the surface but, at first, there's no sign of the Gill-Man. But, just as they've about given up, the his comatose body floats up near the boat's bow. Joe spots him and George and a reluctant Lucas head out to retrieve him. News and images of his capture, as well as of

his transportation to Ocean Harbor, circulates across the globe. After Prof. Clete Ferguson is introduced at his university, we cut to Ocean Harbor, where Joe and George arrive, along with the still unconscious Gill-Man. He's moved out of the boat's hold and onto a small platform that's lifted up with a wench. He's then carried over to a water-filled container on the back of a truck and placed inside it. After breaking it to his bosses that the Gill-Man is still comatose, Joe has him driven over to the receiving tank, where he's, again,

hoisted up and over a number of onlookers, many of them reporters, and lowered down into the water. There, Joe, in a diving suit but without the helmet, removes him from the rig and begins walking him through the shallows. Helen Dobson is then introduced as a reporter goes up to her and she explains the purpose of what Joe's doing. Following the interview, Joe is asked how it looks for the Gill-Man and he just shrugs, says he can't tell yet, and goes about his business. Two hours

pass and Joe continues walking the Gill-Man through the water. One of the reporters around the top of the tank notes that he saw the Creature's arm move and Joe warns them that he is starting to rouse. Sure enough, an underwater shot shows him take a breath of oxygen and begin to move his arms. Joe tells them to get ready to help him get out as soon as possible.

The Gill-Man swims out of Joe's arms and stands up in the water, roaring up at the reporters as they snap pictures of him. Joe, meanwhile, climbs up the ladder and out of the tank, telling his men to get the boat-hooks. Enraged by the flashing cameras, the Gill-Man dives under the water and, after swimming back and forth, builds up enough momentum to fly up out of the water and grab onto the tank's edge. Joe grabs a boat-hook and goes to stop him, as he swipes at a photographer who gets too close. Joe runs at him but the Gill-Man shoves

him to the ground, making him drop the hook. The two of them then grapple each other and both fall back down into the water. Two men jump down into the water to help Joe, but when they guide him back to the ladder, they fall prey to the Gill-Man. One of them is grabbed and shoved under the water, while the other is ripped off the ladder, slammed into the water, and viciously clawed. A net is dropped on the Gill-Man and, while he struggles to get free, with lines being thrown over him, Joe jumps back into the water and helps the

one guard who was maimed. In the next scene, the onlookers are told that the Gill-Man is being moved into the main tank. Joe and two other divers (one of whom is Tom Hennesy himself) guide the still netted and struggling Creature into the main tank and to a section of grating on its bottom, as the fish in there, including sharks and barracudas (yeah, put him in a salt water tank, even though he comes from a fresh water lagoon), appear to flee at the sight of him. While he's held down, Joe chains

the Gill-Man's foot to the grating and they all quickly swim to the surface. Once they're out of the water, the net is removed and the now free Gill-Man attempts to swim up. But when he does so at an angle, the chain catches and he swims back down to the bottom. He then goes straight up and manages to break the surface, but heads back down to the base of the chain and pulls on it, desperately trying to get free.

In the next scene, the Gill-Man is now on display to the public at Ocean Harbor. After a cutaway showing a diver feeding some dolphins, the tourists are informed that the Gill-Man himself will be fed soon. Among those watching through the windows into the tank are Clete, who's filming with a small camera as the Gill-Man swims about, and Helen, as they're told his diet still hasn't been determined, and he hasn't tried to eat any of the fish that occupy the tank with him. The two of them make small-talk, when a diver goes down into the tank with a

little cage containing some fish. Seeing him, the Gill-Man swims at him and tries to get a hold of him, forcing him to drop the cage and swim for safety. The Gill-Man takes the cage, swims over to the anchor on the bottom, sits on it, and eats his lunch. As Helen notes, he's not one for table manners, as he swipes at any fish who get too close. With that, she and Clete head out and later, take in a show starring "Flippy, the Educated Porpoise," where they talk about Clete's reasons for studying the Gill-Man, as Helen offers to aid him in doing so.

Later, they begin their study, putting an underwater speaker down into the Gill-Man's tank. They speak into it and realize it's working when the Gill-Man reacts to it, swimming up to it, then swimming away and cocking his head curiously. Up above, Clete and Helen, in their diving gear and wearing underwater microphones connected to the speaker, go over the steps of their study, then don their masks and climb down into the water, an attendant handing Clete the cattle-prod. They descend below the surface and, almost immediately, the Gill-Man

approaches them. Clete shocks him with the cattle-prod, causing him to recoil and groan. Clete tells Helen, "That was lesson number one. He knows the prod can hurt him." He then has Helen put the cage with the food down on the bottom and tells her to stay close to the wall. However, they see the Gill-Man is hesitant to approach, so Clete has Helen tap on the cage to get his attention. He swims towards the cage, as Helen backs away, and when he grabs it, Helen yells, "Stop!" He doesn't respond and Clete swims in, yelling, "Stop!", and shocking him

yet again. The Gill-Man swims away, then turns around and goes back, only to get yelled at and shocked again. He swims away, comes around for another pass, but this time, when Clete yells, "Stop!", and threatens him with the prod, he does stop and swims away. Figuring that's enough for now, seeing as how quickly he's learning, Clete and Helen head up with the cage. The Gill-Man watches them and swims over to the side, while they climb out of the tank and prepare for their

date. He comes up to the surface, sticks his head out, then goes back down and, once again, tries to pull himself free. Later, as she's dressed up in a very lovely cocktail dress, Helen goes back to the now empty viewing area and watches the Gill-Man through the window. She sees him trying to pull himself free, when he spots her and swims to the window, watching her. Clete arrives, dressed up as well, and the two of them head out, with the Gill-Man continuing to watch Helen.

Some time later, they perform another test, this one involving giving the Gill-Man some fish that have been injected with a tranquilizer. They lower the cage containing the fish down into the water and the Gill-Man promptly takes it, sits down on the anchor, and eats. Clete and Joe put on their diving gear and wait for the drug to take effect. After several minutes of swimming around, the Gill-Man's movements become lethargic and sluggish, until he sinks down to the bottom, barely conscious. Clete and Joe head down into the water,

swim to the Gill-Man, and strap him to some equipment meant to measure his brain patterns and how his mind functions. Later, we see an examination report on him, and they continue their study by comparing his blood to that of a shark (the man who takes the sample from the shark is Ricou Browning; he wanted to be credited for playing the Gill-Man but, instead, they give him this cameo out of the suit), and after a test, Clete mentions how he's more human-like than fish. Shortly afterward,

Helen, again, wanders down into the viewing area and sees him sitting on an anchor, looking very depressed. But then, he appears to sense her presence and, turning and seeing her, swims to the windows, following her every move. Clete joins her and she tells him how she pities the Gill-Man because of how alone he is; Clete, in turn, tries to talk Helen out of going into the tank again, for fear of what the Creature might do, but she insists. They walk away and the Gill-Man, again, never takes his eye off her.

They're then back in the tank, Clete armed with the cattle prod, while Helen has a rod with a silver ball attached to the end of it. However, the Gill-Man is leery about getting close, so Clete has Helen jiggle the ball around to try to get his attention. They both get closer but he, again, recoils, staying as far from them as he can. Helen is compelled to swim a little closer and, when she does, he comes towards her, stopping and floating in front of her. He reaches for the ball, when she says, "Stop!", and he

immediately does so. He cocks his head at her and then swims away. She rejoins Clete, who's amazed at how quickly the Gill-Man has learned. They decide to try it again and Helen, approaches the Gill-Man, trying to bait him over once more. This time, however, he swims farther away, prompting her to get closer. Clete warns Helen not to get too close, when the Gill-Man swims towards her and, ignoring the rod and the ball, as well as her commands to stop, grabs her and tries to swim off

with her. Clete swims in and shocks the Gill-Man, who lets Helen go and grabs the prod. He tosses it aside and attacks Clete, as Helen yells at him to stop. As he gets mauled, Clete tells Helen to stay away but, while she does, she still yells at the Gill-Man to stop. He finally does, giving Clete the chance to escape, and Helen helps him to the surface. The Gill-Man tries to follow them, but the chain stops him yet again. Enraged, he swims back down and pulls at it, while Clete and Helen climb out of the water, with help from Joe and some

assistants. Unable to pull the chain loose, the Gill-Man swims up, breaks the surface with a growl, then swims back down again. He pulls and pulls, then swims up at angle and, when the chain catches again, swims against it with all of his strength. He manages to snap it off the cuff around his foot and, now free, surfaces and snarls. Realizing what's happened, Joe grabs a boat hook and, when the Gill-Man tries to climb out of the tank, he jabs him in the shoulder, trying to force him back. However, the thoroughly enraged Gill-Man grabs Joe's foot

and, though he falls back in, he causes Joe to lose his balance and fall in as well. The Gill-Man is on him within a second and forces him down to the bottom of the tank, smacking his head against it until he stops moving. He then swims back up and jumps up to the edge of the tank. People run off in a panic as he climbs over the edge, and an assistant who tries to come at him with a boat hook gets flung into the water.

Intercoms throughout the park warn the tourists of what's happened and everyone flees in a panic, one guy knocking the cutout of the Gill-Man towards the camera. Amid the chaos, a woman and her little girl get separated and the girl falls to the ground, when the Gill-Man comes stomping along and looms over her, roaring. Her mother runs back to her and shields her, but he ignores the both of them and heads towards the beach-side section of the parking lot. People scatter in opposite directions

while he goes for the water, only to find his way blocked by the cars. Even more angry, he turns one of the cars over, sending it tumbling over the rocks and down to the sand. He walks down there and heads towards the water. Back at the tank, they've gotten Joe out of the water and try to revive him with oxygen. But after checking him, Clete grimly shakes his head at Helen and embraces her when she becomes upset. He looks out at the ocean, seeing just a hint of the Gill-Man heading out into the waves. This is followed by a montage of

newspaper clippings, first about his escape, and then about possible sightings in places as far apart as Norfolk and Miami. It then cuts to a news anchor, who reports that, despite the widespread range of the sightings, it's believed the Gill-Man is likely heading back to the Amazon.

Little do they know that the Gill-Man is still in the area of Ocean Harbor. He emerges from the river near where a young couple is making out in a car, only for a cop to come across them, telling them to knock it off and get going. After they do, the Gill-Man heads towards the Star Motel, where Clete and Helen are staying. In her room with Chris, the dog, Helen prepares to take a shower, unaware that she's being watched through the window. Chris senses the Gill-Man's presence and begins to

whine, but Helen doesn't pay him any mind. She turns the light off, briefly looks out the backdoor, with its screen, and then heads to the bathroom, as the Gill-Man steps into frame in front of the door. He watches her strip down to her bra and slip, before closing the door behind her and starting the shower. He enters the room, when Chris snarls and viciously barks at him. Clete hears this in his room next door, but doesn't pay any mind, at first. The Gill-Man growls at Chris and he jumps at the Creature with a snarl; it cuts back to Clete, who

hears Chris let out a horrifying yelp. He gets up, heads out the door, and runs to Helen's room. He knocks on her door, calling for her, but when he doesn't get an answer, he goes on in. He calls for Chris, then knocks on the bathroom door, just as Helen finishes showering. He asks her where Chris is, and she learns he's not in the bedroom where she left him. Clete goes to look for him outside, heading out the backdoor and onto the grounds. He calls and whistles for Chris, but gets no response and doesn't see him. Helen joins him and Clete

figures Chris must be chasing a rabbit. He assures her that he'll show up again in the morning and they head back inside. Unbeknownst to them, the Gill-Man is watching from the bushes, standing near where Chris' mauled body lies.

The next day, Clete and Helen head up the river to Jacksonville, where Clete is to fly home at midnight. Again, the Gill-Man watches from some reeds near the shore and begins following the boat. Despite Helen worrying about what happened to Chris, she and Clete decide to enjoy the trip. They get into some slow dancing and making out on the deck, unaware that they're being followed the whole way. Then, their boat has to stop due to engine trouble, and they decide to pass the time by

taking a swim. Of course, this is when the Gill-Man watches them as they swim around and play with each other, taking a real interest when he sees them kiss underwater. At one point, when Helen dives underwater, the Gill-Man approaches her. She rises up behind Clete and playfully pushes him beneath the water, while the Gill-Man reaches up from the bottom and grabs her foot. Clete then surfaces, coughing, and Helen playfully accuses him of pulling her leg and being rather immature. Before Clete can question what she means, they're

told that the boat's fixed and they swim back to it. As they do, the Gill-Man swims parallel to them below, and after they climb aboard, he tries to do the same on the stern. But just as he grabs the line, the boat takes off ahead. Undeterred, he continues following them.

That night, Clete and Helen are dancing at the Lobster House in Jacksonville, when they head out to the pier to get some air. After talking for a little bit, they head back inside, as the Gill-Man slowly pulls himself up out of the water and onto the pier. He slowly moves towards the open doorway to the restaurant, while they stand there, listening to the band. I like how the drummer is really getting into it, then he sees the Gill-Man standing in the doorway and his eyes get as wide as saucers. The

Gill-Man storms in with a roar, sending everyone in a panic, and before Clete knows what hit him, he gets knocked aside. The Creature grabs Helen, carries her out to the pier, and jumps into the water with her. Clete chases after them and dives in himself. Surfacing, he yells for Helen, then sees the Gill-Man surface next to a nearby buoy with her. A couple in a nearby boat sees what's happening, while Clete swims frantically for Helen. She climbs up onto the buoy, but the Gill-Man grabs her foot and pulls her back down into the water.

The coast guard, having heard of a report on the situation, arrives and finds Clete next to the buoy. They pull him into the boat, and a bulletin goes out to the police to clear the streets of civilians and report to the waterfront. The same news anchor from before reports what's happening to those living in and around Jacksonville.

Two teenagers, Charlie and Pete, are driving around, when one of them spots something over near the water's edge. Recognizing it as a body, they stop the car and, grabbing a flashlight, head over to it. They come upon Helen, but are unaware of the Gill-Man as he quietly sneaks up behind them. Just as they realize Helen is alive, the Gill-Man grabs one of them from behind and throws him against the trunk of a palm tree (really awkward example of wire-works there). His friend

has barely any time to react when the Gill-Man goes for him, grabs him by the head, jerks him around, and throws him to the ground. He then picks Helen up in his arms and heads back to the water. Elsewhere, Clete is with the Coast Guard, when they get a report about the teenagers' bodies and decide to investigate. At the same time, the police rush to the site and, after finding the bodies, confirm it was the Gill-Man when they see his footprints in the sand leading to the water. The news anchor from before reports that all emergency

equipment is being deployed to Point Diego, where the bodies were found, as well as that Clete is aiding in the search for Helen. At Point Diego, the police captain relays his instructions to the men and the volunteers, telling them not search any bushes or shrubbery unarmed. Clete also speaks to them, telling them that he doesn't want them to take any unnecessary risks, as well as warns them of how dangerous the Gill-Man is and notes that he can't be out of the water for very long. With that, everyone disperses in various directions.

As opposed to the original, this film's climax comes off as rushed and downright lame. Just as Clete said, the Gill-Man is carrying Helen elsewhere, when he, again, has to place her down, while he goes over to the river and hydrates himself once again (he's much more susceptible to being out of the water than he was before). Meanwhile, the search party scours the road, shining a large searchlight off to the side. Right after the Gill-Man pops his head up to check on

Helen, then goes back down when he sees she's still onshore, one of the search party spots Helen and has the searchlight illuminate her. That particular groups heads over towards her, when the Gill-Man resurfaces and, seeing the light illuminating Helen, heads to the shore, bellowing angrily. The group stops in its tracks at the sight of him, the leader firing his flare-gun up into the air. Nearby, Clete and the police see it and rush to the spot, where the Gill-Man is stomping back and

forth, roaring at the spotlights; at that moment, Helen regains consciousness, but screams at the sight of the Creature. Before she can crawl away, he turns and reaches for her again. As they rush to the spot, the captain tells his men that they listen to Clete from now on. They arrive just as the Creature is about to carry Helen back into the river and chase after him, Clete repeatedly yelling, "Stop!", through a megaphone. At first, the Gill-Man doesn't respond, as he wades through the shallows with Helen, but eventually, Clete gets his attention.

He turns and puts Helen down, and Clete then tells her to slowly come to him. She does, with the Gill-Man following close behind. Clete tells the police to hold their fire, until Helen makes it to him. When he has her in his arms, the police fire on the Gill-Man, who turns and dives beneath the water, swimming to avoid the shots. Even though it looked like most of the shots missed, the movie suddenly ends with that same shot of him sinking to the bottom. And that's it. Even though it's basically the same scenario as the original's climax, with the lead trying to save his lover, it doesn't come close to being as exciting or memorable.

There's very little to say about the music score: it's acceptable but underwhelming. I could be wrong, but I don't think there were any new themes here (if there were, they definitely weren't distinctive) and that it was, once again, all just music from previous movies, especially the original, albeit played in different ways, often in a much faster manner. As you'd expect, the Creature's unmistakable theme is back, although fortunately, it's not as intrusive and overused as before. All the reused music is used in appropriate spots: the main title is the same, save for a different section in the center, and the same goes for the ending credits theme; the love theme for David and Kay is played during Clete and Helen's trip up the river; the music from the underwater ballet is heard a bit during the scene where the Creature joins Clete and Helen in their swim; and much of the music from the climax is heard again here. In fact, they use that same sole motif from The Wolf Man yet again for a brief lull in the action. Other than that, the music does its job, but it's nothing special.

I once heard Revenge of the Creature described as a, "D-level sequel to a B-movie classic," which is a little too harsh. I certainly don't think it was bad enough to be featured on Mystery Science Theater 3000 the way it was, as it does have its strong points, like another sympathetic portrayal of the Gill-Man, the notion of seeing him in the modern world, and, while he's not in the movie much, Nestor Paiva is still awesome as Lucas. When it's taken for it is, it can be a fun 50's monster movie. However, it's just not a classic like its parent. For the most part, the characters are bland and, in some cases, do things that make it hard to like them; the story is pretty weak and has some badly-dated sexual politics; the underwater photography, while still well-done, doesn't feel as inspired; while well-made, it sometimes feels rushed and low-budget; the Gill-Man's design is tweaked in a manner that's not as effective; the music score is another rehash of stuff we've heard before; and the climax is very disappointing. Still, while definitely not one of Jack Arnold's best films, for fans of the Creature and 1950's monster flicks, it is worth a watch.