The Creature Walks Among Us (1956)


One thing I need to state about the Creature movies from Universal is that I have always felt sorry for the Gill Man.  In the first he's just enjoying life in his little corner of the Amazon, harming no one.  He's probably the last of his species, is quite lonely and just wants to swim about and grab a quick bite to eat every now and then.  Then, along comes this big boat filled with land creatures that immediately shoot a big stick into his side and then wonder why he gets angry.  Later, they grab him, put him in a tank with a chain around his foot, and again wonder why he wants to kill everyone.

Everyone, that is, except the hot young women that the scientists seem to drag along with them.  That gets the creature's attention.  Don't know what he thinks is going to happen, since it's pretty much biologically impossible, but King Kong didn't really think that out either.  There just has to be some excuse to put a woman in danger. 

The second movie made a lot of money but it wasn't too good.  It was a mishmash of different ideas and, though Jack Arnold directed it, Arthur A. Ross didn't write it.  He does return for this final installment, directed by John Sherwood, which was also the last of the classic Universal horror films. 

While, in reused footage from The Creature from the Black Lagoon, the Gill Man (Ricou Browning, Don Megowan) is seen once again floating dead after going on a rampage in Florida, it turns out that's not quite so.  It seems he has made itself a home in the Everglades.  This time a new expedition, funded by geneticist Dr. William Barton (Jeff Morrow), heads out to capture the Gill Man.  Dr. Thomas Morgan (Rex Reason) believes it is to study the creature, but Barton reveals that he intends to alter its genetics to create a way to change human biology so people can survive for long periods of time in space.

Tracker Jed Grant (Gregg Palmer) and two other scientists, Dr. Borg (Maurice Manson) and Dr. Johnson (James Rawley) are along for the ride, as is Dr. Barton's wife Marcia (Leigh Snowden).  It is obvious from the start that there are issues with the marriage, and these issues often threaten to derail the expedition.  However, they are successful in catching the Gill Man who, they find, does have the capability of transforming to a land creature if need be.  This it does, although it still longs for the sea.  However, along with that change has come a sense of protection and abhorrence to violence perpetrated by others. 

There is a lot more to The Creature Walks Among Us than just another adventure film.  However, unlike Revenge of the Creature, it doesn't feel like a bunch of unfinished ideas.  There are many that have, in hindsight, found this movie to be superior to the previous two.  I do not think it is better than The Creature from the Black Lagoon, but do find it quite interesting in its own way.  There is a subplot running through it regarding Dr. Barton's jealousy and physical and mental abuse of Marcia that seems way ahead of its time, as is its portrayal of men who, in most of these movies might be protectors, that are instead willing to use that unhappiness for their own gain. 

Once again the Gill Man is played by Ricou Browning when the creature is in the water.  This time, though, he is played by Don Megowan when on land, and the terrestrial version of the creature looks uncannily like Tor Johnson.  It is a decent design, although not as successful as the underwater version, but it does emphasize the suffering the creature is going through due to constantly having its life upended by humans bent on making its life miserable.  

There are some beautiful shots off the Florida coast, enough to ignore that although they talk about tracking the creature through the Everglades that they keep showing a saltwater environment.  Then again, the science in this isn't the greatest, so it's to be expected. It is also interesting that active sonar was still new enough to the general public that they had to do some exposition on how it worked.  What the audience wanted, though, was more creature action, and they got it.  The Creature Walks Among Us is part soap opera and part mad scientist movie with a good bit of Frankenstein thrown in.  However, it works and doesn't deserve the obscurity it has fallen into. 

The Creature Walks Among Us (1956)
Time: 78 minutes
Starring: Jeff Morrow, Rex Reason, Leigh Snowden, Ricou Browning, Don Megowan
Director: John Sherwood

 

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