Tag Archives: Creature from the Black Lagoon

It Came From Outer Space (1953)

Svengoolie strikes again! I saw this one as I’ve been clearing out my DVR of old Svengoolie episodes and I admit I was jazzed for this one.

I’ve heard about this one forever. It Came from Outer Space (1953) was Universal’s first 3D entry directed by Jack Arnold, who would make “Creature of the Black Lagoon” which is often considered the last classic Universal monster to be introduced.

As Seen on Svengoolie
As Seen on Svengoolie

On top of that, it is often stated that Ray Bradbury, classic SF novelist, wrote this script entirely though Harry Essex carries the screenplay credit.

Unfortunately, if I tell you the twist this movie has that other alien invasion films didn’t have at the time, it would ruin the entire thing….so don’t read those IMDB comments. I paid for it!

It Came from Outer Space (1953)
Watch out! The tall guy is doing something scary!

Having said that, it has a mysterious plot, but it isn’t terribly exciting or engaging. It kind of plays out a little like Tremors at times, but it just talks itself to death. Argh.

All the SF 50’s McCarthy tropes are here: a seeming outsider trying to alert authorities of the threat, a straight laced All-American couple, a town ridiculing the beliefs of the hero and even a cockeyed ball cap on the smart aleck sidekick.

It Came from Outer Space (1953)
Sigmund the Sea Monster scares some locals. He must be lost, because this is the desert.

All of that to see an alien that resembles Sigmund the Sea Monster through a “bubble cam.”

The lead is held down by Richard Carlson, who is one of those actors that you see the mug of and say “Oh, that guy!” He is probably best known as the antagonist without gills in the aforementioned “Creature of the Black Lagoon” but he plays a pretty convincing hero here. I just found myself not being too interested in his character. I guess that happens.

It Came from Outer Space (1953)
Barbara Rush looking awesome!

The female lead is Barbara Rush, who has literally done so much television it staggers the imagination. Her career spanned 50 years yet this film and “When Worlds Collide” are in 2 of her top 4 spots on IMDB. Her work as the lovely girlfriend and then becoming very sexy toward the end of the film is good, but her low threshold before she screams is annoying. She screams at everything. It is comical.

Russel Johnson is here. He was Gilligan’s Island’s Professor, but outside the trivial connection to a well known franchise, his performance simply isn’t notable.

It Came from Outer Space (1953)
The Professor sees a sea monster emerge from the island’s lagoon

The movie pivots on a twist I can’t mention…but frankly, it isn’t all that clever or shocking (even though it was spoiled for me). It just kind of hangs there and this movie is just a little too talky for me.

Grade: C+

It Came From Outer Space (1953)

Tarantula (1955)

It was inevitable that one of my first Universal reviews in this new column would be a classic Universal horror picture.

One of the things people forget when revisiting a film like this, be on Amazon Prime, or Svengoolie on Me-TV, or at a revival film series at a local cineplex is these movies were made for kids. At matinees.

So it shouldn’t be a shock that the movie moves along at a breakneck pace. It should be no shock that the love story is subdued in lieu of action (though the leading lady is a knockout for the boys in the audience a little bit older and able to appreciate such details). The characters are stock. The device by which the spider grows and gets out is a little creaky…

But the effects were state of the art for its time. Universal knew this was a B picture…heck, the lead is John Agar, a Chicago born actor that came from a family that sold ham. Think about that. An actor. Coming from a family of ham. His most notable role, frankly, was as the husband of Shirley Temple and from what I read, he wasn’t too invested in that role.

The effects, though, despite some of the goofy looking giant robot spider stuff, mostly was mattes of a real ugly, scary tarantula on small sets and overlayed on the action. Frankly, they almost hold up. They certainly look better than some of the CGI junk we see on the SyFy channel these days.

Leo G. Carroll (TV’s Topper and Chief from The Man from U.N.C.L.E.) is a mad scientist type that develops a super nutrient that causes little tiny animals to become big, scary monsters. The titular spider escapes after a mishap in the lab and the customary chaos ensues.

Until I had revisited this, I forgot how much this film shares with one of my favorites, Tremors. The small town setting in a desert, the mysterious loss of cattle and endless debating of the creature by the characters would have fit right into Perfection. I would not be surprised that this film highly influenced that incredible film.

Probably most people know, this is one of two Jack Arnold directed Universal thrillers to feature an unbilled cameo by Clint Eastwood. The longer part was in Revenge of the Creature, the sequel to one of the finest Universal horror films, The Creature from the Black Lagoon. In a turn of fate, Clint Eastwood has used the lead of Tarantula, Mara Corday, in cameos in a number of his films recently in his career. Funny how things turn over the years!

You should check this flick out. It really is the template for a giant monster run amok film and it really holds up nicely over the weight of over 65 years.

Grade: B+

Tarantula (1955)