Episode 34: Return to the Black Lagoon




Planet 8 Podcast show

Summary: We've only mentioned him before, but today we go all out with our love for that mysterious and dangerous, yet misunderstood, monster from the depths - the Creature from the Black Lagoon! If you've been listening to Planet 8 for any length of time, you've probably heard us heap praises on Creech, but now we have a whole episode devoted to the Gill-Man. Engineer Bob with Creech in Bob Burn's placeWhat is it about the Creature that makes him so appealing? Certainly he has a fantastic look. His design was ahead of his time, and so has become a classic. Your Planet 8 crew discusses that amazing suit, and some differences in the design for the water scenes versus land. There's been a lot of awareness of Millicent Patrick's role in designing the Creature lately, and we touch on that, as well as the work of Jack Kevan, Chris Mueller, and Bud Westmore. And of course, the men who wore the suit on land and underwater, Ben Chapman and Ricou Browning, must be recognized. We'll take a look at each of the films (Creature from the Black Lagoon, Revenge of the Creature , The Creature Walks Among Us), and which is our favorite -and you might be surprised! And what would a fourth Creature film have been like? It's hard to discuss the Creature without talking about his desire for human ladies -of course in the first film, it was Julie Adams, and the sequence with the Creature swimming below her has become iconic. This leads into a discussion of Shape of Water... We all have our Creature Collectibles -Bob has a whole basement devoted to the Creature. His favorite Creature item though, is his Bally pinball machine. Karen's favorite (which she's mentioned many times before) is the Sideshow premium format figure of the Creature swimming. Last but not least, Larry's favorite is his Anchor Hocking Creature glass.  Bob's Creature basementKaren's Creech bustAll this, and so much more! It's a Creature-palooza this time on Planet 8! For our Sensor Sweep, Karen shares an appropriate item: a wonderful book called The Creature Chronicles, by Tom Weaver, friend of the show David Schecter, and Steve Kronenberg. It's from McFarland Books, and you can order it from McFarland or Amazon. It has a wealth of info on the Creature, including overviews and inside info on each film, but also background on the music, other underwater monster films, and the Creature films that were never made. It would be a great addition to anyone's library. That's it for us! As the late, great Julie Adams used to say, Stay out of dark water! Hit us up in the comments section or at these other spots: Twitter: https://twitter.com/Planet8CastFacebook: www.Facebook.com/Planet8Podcast Thanks for Listening!