A scientific expedition led by a Doctor (Richard Carlson ) accompanied by his girlfriend ( gorgeous Julia Adams in a mesmerizing swimsuit) along with a motley group (Richard Denning ,Nestor Paiva, Armando Moreno, Whit Bissell) goes to remote Amazon in search of a missing link but they are forced to fight for their lives. In spite of the reluctant help of the locals they encounter a rare being , a deadly pre-historic Gill-Man who attack them . They come face to face with an amphibious and vicious fish-man.

Unforgettable monster vintage of the 50s that originated several imitations , copies and rip-offs . Magnificent picture with sure sense of eerie atmosphere; it's first in a trilogy and features good acting and bone-fide screams provided by the creepy appearance of the creature that actually is a man in a gill suit incarnated by Ricou Browning . Some reviewers say this exciting film can be seen as precursor of 'Jaws'. Wonderful and lush underwater photography by James Havens . Rousing and vibrant musical score by Joseph Gershenson . This motion picture , originally in 3-D , is stunning and compellingly realized by Jack Arnold. It's followed by two sequels ¨Revenge of the creature¨ also directed by Jack Arnold with John Agar , Lori Nelson and repeating Nestor Paiva , in which the Gill-Man is caged and transported into a Florida aquarium and ¨The creature walks among us¨ by John Sherwood with Jeff Morrow and Rex Reason in which the monster again is trapped and submitted to plastic surgery in hopes of humanizing him. Rating : Better than average , worthwhile watching . The film will appeal to classic cinema fans and terror aficionados .

...and perhaps the best 10 years in horror history so far. I think the creature movies from the 30's and 40's were absolutely great, but the 50's have something extra in my humble opinion. The most lovable monster movies were made during this decade and Creature from the Black Lagoon belongs to the absolute top ! My father keeps asking me why I show so much interest in movies that were made before even HE was born. Well...how could you not be in love with this era ??? Every single monster movie from this period gives me the shivers. They're just great. Creature from the Black Lagoon is part of the great Universal collection. It's almost half a century old, but it still hasn't lost a single bit of magic and the impression that it makes on people is still amazing. Like I said...one of the best. Dr. Carl Maia is on a scientific expedition somewhere deep in the jungle, near the Amazone river. He and his team find a fossil of something that appears to be a man-fish. The thing is a hand with gills. To find the rest of this extraordinary body he seeks help and finds it by other respected scientists: Dr.David Reed, Dr. Mark Williams and Kay Lawrence. Together the travel to the place where Dr. Maia found the fossil. It seems that his crew got killed and it looks like they're about to find much more than just a fossil ! There still is a living fish-creature living in the legendary Black Lagoon. Soon the scientific expedition changes into a battle to come out alive of the Black Lagoon The location of the Black Lagoon really is one of the most breath-taking settings I've ever seen. The images of the wild, unknown jungle and the horrible noises of the animals makes you feel like your in the jungle yourself. The acting performances are outstanding and there's even a little room for comedy in this film. The character of Lucas ( captain of the ship "Rita") breaks the tension from time to time by saying very funny things. The actress who plays Kay is one of the most beautiful woman who ever came on the black and white screen...heck, even the creature seems to think so ! Her name is Julie Adams and she played in a lot of good old-fashioned westerns like "The man from the Alamo" I recommend you check her out...you won't regret it. The Creature from the Black Lagoon was directed by Jack Arnold. This guy certainly knows what he's doing. He's also the one who gave us "Tarantula", another great 50's monster film worth checking out. This film received 2 sequels. I haven't seen the second one ( the Creature walks among us ) but I can surely recommend the first sequel, which was also directed by Arnold. "Revenge of the Creature" only came out one year after the original and lives up to it. The only think that got lost was the tense atmosphere.

Presently, THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON has a very ordinary score of 6.9 on IMDb. This is odd, as it's a super-important picture AND it was so well made. I really can't understand this--especially since this is one of the best horror films of the 1950s.

The film begins in the Amazonian basin. Some researchers of out looking for previously undiscovered creatures. Richard Carlson is an ichthyologist (guy who studies fish) and Richard Denning is the rich guy financing the expedition. Julia Adams comes along because the film needed a "hot babe" to put in harm's way. While the audience knows that they will stumble upon the creature (heck, it's in the film's title- -I pity the person who is surprised when it appears!),the film does a great job of leading up to it. They show little teasers--such as a hand coming out of the water or catch a quick glimpse--but you KNOW it's coming! And, interestingly, at first you feel a bit sorry for the creature, as Denning is determined to kill it and bring it back to America to gain fame for himself. Later, however, the creature appears to be the hunter--and the film becomes tense and exciting.

While the plot of this film is amazingly simple, there is a lot to like. While crappy sea monsters abound in horror films of the era, this one is far from it. Even today, more than 50 years later, you have to marvel at the costume that looks almost real. Heck, even the gills on the monster's neck flare in and out, as the special effects masters really pulled out all the stops. Additionally, the film had lots of amazing underwater cinematography--and it didn't end up looking like some back lot swimming pool, either, but a real freshwater lagoon! Great stuff and probably one of the most spectacular films of its day.

So, you have a simple, yet interesting plot. You have amazing effects. You have great tension that builds and builds. What more could you want in a horror film?!

UPDATE: I was fortunate to see this on the big screen at the TCM Classic Movies Cruise...and it was in 3-D!!!! See if you can find it in the 3-D version and on the big screen...you won't be sorry!