REVENGE OF THE CREATURE (3D)

Jack Arnold

Sog.: William Alland. Scen.: Martin Berkeley. F.: Charles S. Welbourne. M.: Paul Weatherwax. Scgf.: Alexander Golitzen, Alfred Sweeney. Mus.: William Lava, Herman Stein. Int.: John Agar (professor Clete Ferguson), Lori Nelson (Helen Dobson), John Bromfield (Joe Hayes), Nestor Paiva (Lucas), Grandon Rhodes (Jackson Foster), Dave Willock (Lou Gibson), Robert B. Williams (George Johnson), Charles R. Cane (capitano della polizia), Brett Halsey (Pete), Clint Eastwood (Jennings). Prod.: William Alland per Universal-International Pictures Co. DCP. D.: 82’. Bn.

info_outline
T. it.: Italian title. T. int.: International title. T. alt.: Alternative title. Sog.: Story. Scen.: Screenplay. F.: Cinematography. M.: Editing. Scgf.: Set Design. Mus.: Music. Int.: Cast. Prod.: Production Company. L.: Length. D.: Running Time. f/s: Frames per second. Bn.: Black e White. Col.: Color. Da: Print source

Film Notes

Jack Arnold, best remembered for The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957) and several other Sci-Fi films, not only excelled in that field but also in several other genres. The Glass Web (1953), Man in the Shadow (1957) and No Name on the Bullet (1959) would seem evidence enough of the talent of this rather neglected filmmaker who made a lot of good movies before moving into television in 1959. Revenge of the Creature was clearly conceived as a commercial sequel to cash in on the success of The Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954), the previous Arnold movie. Both were produced by William Alland, an interesting producer who had played actor, assistant, and had some other odd jobs for Orson Welles between 1941 and 1948. However, this second episode has lesser actors – John Agar and Sandra Dee lookalike Lori Nelson instead of Richard Carlson and Julie Adams – and a minimal plot (concocted by Alland himself), which seemingly did not harm the picture. It was a hit and did even better at the box office than the first adventures of the Creature, now called the Gill Man.
Part of the success is, no doubt, due to Jack Arnold’s very precise and dynamic direction, but beyond that, the Creature is not only visually impressive but also psychologically very interesting. This partly amphibious monster seems shockingly sexed, clearly heterosexual, perhaps even monogamous, very obstinate and even jealous in the pursuit of his desired paramour. He goes so far as to risk his own survival, walking on the earth with Lori Nelson in his arms: he can only endure a short time out of water, but she would drown in it. This makes his adventure not only threatening, but also dramatic and even pathetic. And that encourages the audience to feel some strange sort of sympathy for this evolutionary forerunner of man, whose feelings we can understand and even share while finding him hideous, violent and dangerously irrational.

Miguel Marías

Copy From

Restored in 2018 by NBCUniversal StudioPost at NBCUniversal and 3-D Film Archive. Convergence adjustments between the left and right eye, and sync adjustments, done at 3-D Film Archive from the 35mm original cut negative (right eye) and a 35mm composite fine grain (left eye)