Revenge of the Creature (1955)


Thrills! Shock! Suspense!

There was some in The Creature from the Black Lagoon.  And, to Universal's credit, the got Jack Arnold back to direct the sequel, even though the only returning actor from the original is Nestor Paiva as Captain Lucas.  What they forgot to do was come up with any reason why they should continue from the last movie, especially since, in typical '50s fashion, it ended with the Gill Man floating dead in the water right before the credits rolled.

Turns out the creature (Ricou Browning, Tom Hennesy) did not die, but instead is still inhabiting the lagoon.  Investor George Johnson (Robert B. Williams) and diver and marine animal expert Joe Hayes (John Bromfield) have Captain Lucas bring them to the Black Lagoon where they manage to capture the creature and bring it back for display in Florida.  Due to its resemblance to a human being primatologist Prof. Clete Ferguson (John Agar) is asked to come test its intelligence with the help of ichthyologist Helen Dobson (Lori Nelson).

The Gill Man is not happy with its new home, attacking anyone that comes near, necessitating it to be chained in its enclosure.  Clete and Helen begin to experiment with it, but it soon breaks free, goes on a rampage and begins stalking the pair as they make their way back to Jacksonville, eventually kidnaping Helen and leading to a coordinated effort to track it down and rescue the girl. 

There are some interesting ideas and, if the film had logically progressed from any of them, it would have been much better.  The beginning is good, the Gill Man getting loose the first time and attacking a crowd is even better, and a true rampage after escaping would have been nice.  Instead, the movie slows down to develop the romance between Clete and Helen and drags out the trip down river.  When the attack and kidnaping finally does happen it's done well, as is a scene where two men are attacked by the monster, but little else happens.  The latter does result in an hilarious scene of a dummy being thrown against a tree. 

That is why if anyone brings up Revenge of the Creature at all it's because of a blink-and-you'll-miss-it scene involving a young Clint Eastwood as a goofy lab assistant.  Unfortunately, this movie seems like it had half the budget of the original and what feels like a script that was written as they went.  Despite that it made more money than the original, thus paving the way for an additional sequel. 

Revenge of the Creature (1955)
Time: 82 minutes
Starring: John Agar, Lori Nelson, John Bromfield, Ricou Browning, Tom Hennessy
Director: Jack Arnold

 

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