It Isn't Easy Being Green


One rainy Saturday night I decided to cook up a bowl of Cincinnati chili and enjoy my own creature double feature-The Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) and The Shape of Water (2017).  While both movies have a distinct styles, they are both visually stunning-Creature debuted as a black & white 3D flick while Water shimmers with color particularly green, the “color of the future” alluded to in the movie.  As the Creature (aka the Gill-man) in the water scenes in the original champion swimmer and diver, Ricou Browning appears to glide effortlessly through the Creature’s watery habitat.

Differences in appearances aside, both films share the same central conflict,   The villains in both movies don’t hesitate to drive home their point with a big stick. Creature’s Mark Williams (Richard Denning) always has his harpoon at the ready while Richard Strickland (Michael Shannon) wields a wicked cattle prod.
the wonder of scientific discovery vs. the drive of unbridled personal ambition.

Whether you like chili with your monsters or prefer popcorn, both these movies are well worth a watch. And don’t forget the pie.

Fun Facts:
The Creature was played by two men. Ben Chapman (land) and Ricou Browning (underwater). Due to the height disparity of two men, at 6'4 Chapman towered over 6'0 Browning, they could not share a costume.

In addition to appearing in two sequels Revenge of the Creature (1955) and The Creature Walks Among us (1956), the Gill-man also made a quick appearance on The Munsters.

The Shape of Water scored 4 Academy Awards, Best Picture, Best Director, Best Production Design and Best Original Score (Alexandre Desplat). 

The score for The Creature from the Black Lagoon was composed by multiple-Oscar winner, Henry Mancini.



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