‹ Back

CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON (1954): Who is Gill-man?

 

By. "Wise Up" Katie Weiss

As summer comes to its official end later this month, I can’t help but reminisce on the horror films I watched this season. After all, summer is a great time for watching scary movies! Amid the “slasher summer” craze, we have every reason to watch frightening films that feature all the nostalgic fun summer has to offer. Summer camps, beach trips, family vacations – all such timely topics for the summer season. Perhaps one of the greatest summer horror tropes is that of the terrifying sea creature who scares the vacationers, beach-goers, or, in this case, scientists, who enter its habitat. The Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) features such a creature who is now immediately recognizable as an iconic Universal monster. Though the film was released a couple of months before the summer of 1954 officially began, Creature is the perfect movie to watch during the hot summer days.
 
When a group of scientists find out about a mysterious sea creature who seems to have human-like characteristics, they cannot help but head to the Amazon River to see if they might be able to capture him and prove his existence. Even though this film is about a research trip, there are several joyful summertime moments as Kay Lawrence (Julie Adams) swims through the lagoon. She moves freely through the water, blissfully yet momentarily disconnected from her life above the sea. However, this freedom she experiences is only an illusion. Little does she know, the creature follows her only a few feet below. 

Prefer your summer horror on dry land? Bee Delores heads to Camp Blackfoot with THE BURNING (1981), revisiting Cropsy, Tom Savini’s gloriously gruesome effects, and one of the greatest slasher kills ever put on screen.

 

 
Who is this mysterious creature? His eerie appearance is, of course, a mystery to the characters. At the heart of it, this is a big reason why they are on the hunt for him in the first place. They want to be the scientists who find him and make whatever scientific breakthrough might occur from such a wildly unique and incredible discovery. His mysterious nature lies at the core of their motivations for invading his natural habitat without an invitation. The characters’ perception of the creature’s mysterious nature extends to the audience; the men who play the creature are not listed in either the opening or closing credits of the film!

 

 
My dad and I first noticed this during our most recent viewing of the first film as he explained that the creature was played by two different people: one actor played him in the water scenes, and another played him in the land scenes. He also told me that the water scenes creature was played by an Olympic swimmer, though he couldn’t remember which one. But that’s the whole point of credits, right? Right?! To give CREDIT to all the actors? Those of us who are fans of the other Universal Monsters films might be familiar with the opening credits of Frankenstein (1931) in which the main actors are given credit for the roles they played… well, except for one:

 

 
That’s right – Boris Karloff is not given credit for playing the role of “The Monster” in the opening credits of the film. This monster is made even more mysterious by the ominous “?” in place of where Karloff’s name should be. The “?” is replaced by the actor’s name, however, in the end credits. 

 

 

Both Frankenstein and Creature from the Black Lagoon add such fun and spooky mystery to the monster in each film by not listing the actors’ names next to the monsters they play. At least Karloff was given credit by the time the end credits roll! For Creature from the Black Lagoon, however, the opening and end credits alike do not include this information. As soon as my dad told me the water scene creature was played by an Olympian, I was excited to look up who, exactly, that Olympian might be! Wikipedia came to the rescue in this very quick research endeavor. In fact, Wikipedia very prominently places a photo of the swim scene Gill-man, Ricou Browning, in the “Cast” section of the Creature from the Black Lagoon page even though Browning is uncredited in the film’s Players list. Upon taking a quick look into Ricou Browning’s credentials, I didn’t see anything about a career as an Olympian. He was, however, a Hollywood stuntman, stunt coordinator, actor, co-writer, and director across many decades!

 

 
Also credited in the Wikipedia page is Ben Chapman, who plays the creature in the land scenes of the first film as he uses his 6’ 5” stature to intimidate those who invaded his habitat. His frightening nature didn’t stop on screen; according to this interview excerpt, Rock Hudson had the brilliant idea for Chapman to jump out and scare those who were unfortunate enough to cross his path at the studio. I can’t help but be reminded of another favorite Universal monster of mine who also scared his co-workers. Boris Karloff, in all his Frankenstein’s monster make-up glory, would startle any cast, crew, and innocent bystanders who happened to be at the studios during a filming day, though the way I’ve heard it from Universal Studios tour guides, Karloff terrified his fellow studio workers by simply showing up to film. Chapman’s jump scares as orchestrated by Rock Hudson, on the other hand, should be in the Pranking your Co-Workers Hall of Fame!
As we move from the heat of summer to the spookiness of fall, take a moment to sit back, relax, and watch Ricou Browning and Ben Chapman act their hearts out as the Gill-man makes his way into the heart of the Universal Monsters canon. 

Still curious about the identities behind Universal’s most famous monsters? The Horrified Linguist turns from the Gill-man to Frankenstein’s creation to ask how one tiny word helped transform a monster into THE monster in FRANKENSTEIN (1931) and BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1935).