The Creature Walks Among Us
Encyclopedia
The Creature Walks Among Us is the third and final installment of the Creature from the Black Lagoon
horror film
series from Universal Pictures
, following 1955's Revenge of the Creature
. The film was released April 26, 1956, in the United States.
's escape from Ocean Harbor, Florida
, a team of scientists led by the deranged and cold-hearted Dr. William Barton capture him in the Everglades
. During the capture, the creature is badly burned in a fire. While bandaging the Gill-man, the doctors notice that he is shedding his gill
s and even breathing using a kind of lung
system. Now that the creature has more human-like skin, he is given clothing. The doctors attempt to get the Gill-man used to living among humans. Though his life is saved, he is apparently unhappy, staring despondently at the ocean. Barton ruins the plans when, in a murderous rage, he kills guide Jed Grant, who had made romantic advances toward his wife, Marcia. Realizing what he has done, Barton then tries to put the blame on the Gill-man. The Gill-man, witnessing the killing, and apparently comprehending that he is being blamed for the murder, goes on a rampage. After ripping down the confining electric fence, he kills Barton and then slowly walks back to the sea. He is last seen on a beach, advancing towards the ocean.
for the Florida Everglades aboard the Vagabondia III to hunt for the Gill Man, Marcia goes along.
Her gung-ho attitude attracts the unwanted attention of the expedition's young guide, Jed Grant. Regardless of her dislike of her husband, Marcia is entirely uninterested in Jed, and tells him so. This does not stop him from making numerous passes at her, nor does it stop William from becoming paranoid
about the two.
During the remainder of the voyage, Marcia vents her frustration by shooting at shark
s from the deck of the Vagabondia, and later she accompanies Jed and Dr. Tom Morgan on their initial dive
to look for the Gill Man, despite William's fierce objections. During the dive, Marcia swims too deep and is overcome with the "raptures of the deep," temporarily losing her mind and insisting on removing all her scuba gear
. This forces Jed and Tom to abandon their hunt for the Gill Man to swim back and save her.
After the Gill Man's eventual capture and surgical
transformation by William, Tom and their colleagues Dr. Borg and Dr. Johnson, Marcia mistakenly believes that after such a success her husband would be in better spirits. On the contrary, after taking some criticism
from Tom about the morality
of the procedure, William explodes and yells at his wife during a celebratory dinner party aboard the Vagabondia.
Afterwards, Jed, who is supposed to be guarding the creature, leaves his post and attempts to force himself onto Marcia. She is saved when the Gill Man breaks free from the operating room and attacks Jed, knocking him unconscious
before being recaptured by Tom. Later, the tension-filled expedition returns to California.
After William murdered Jed for trying to woo his wife, and William's own demise at the hands of the enraged Gill Man, Marcia decides that she had had enough, and moves as far away from their house and memories of William as possible, despite developing a mild romantic interest in Tom.
with him instead.
Late one night following the capture and surgical
transformation of the Gill Man by Barton and his team, Jed, who is supposed to watching over the recuperating creature in the operating room aboard the Vagabondia III, leaves his post and tries to get close to Marcia. This quickly develops into attempted sexual assault
, but Jed is stopped when the Gill Man escapes from the operating room and strikes him across the midsection, knocking him unconscious
.
For unknown reasons, Marcia never tells anyone about the attempted sexual assault by Jed. Thus, Jed is welcomed as a guest at the Bartons' house in California
, though Barton, who suspects that Marcia and Jed were having an affair, first tried to force Jed to leave. When Jed pushes the right button by muttering that Marcia hated her husband, an enraged Barton kills Jed by clubbing him to death with a pistol
.
. The underwater scenes were filmed at Wakulla Springs
in North Florida
, today a state park.
Creature from the Black Lagoon
Creature from the Black Lagoon is a 1954 monster horror film directed by Jack Arnold, and starring Richard Carlson, Julia Adams, Richard Denning, Antonio Moreno, and Whit Bissell. The eponymous creature was played by Ben Chapman on land and Ricou Browning in underwater scenes...
horror film
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
series from Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures
-1920:* White Youth* The Flaming Disc* Am I Dreaming?* The Dragon's Net* The Adorable Savage* Putting It Over* The Line Runners-1921:* The Fire Eater* A Battle of Wits* Dream Girl* The Millionaire...
, following 1955's Revenge of the Creature
Revenge of the Creature
Revenge of the Creature is the first sequel to Creature from the Black Lagoon. The film is notable for being the only 3-D film to be released in 1955; the only 3-D sequel to a 3-D film; and for being the first screen role for Clint Eastwood. The movie was released May 11, 1955, in the United States...
. The film was released April 26, 1956, in the United States.
Plot
Following the Gill-manGill-man
The Creature, sometimes referred to less ambiguously as the Gill-man, is the titular character of the 1954 black-and-white science fiction film Creature from the Black Lagoon and its two sequels Revenge of the Creature and The Creature Walks Among Us . Ricou Browning portrays the underwater...
's escape from Ocean Harbor, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, a team of scientists led by the deranged and cold-hearted Dr. William Barton capture him in the Everglades
Everglades
The Everglades are subtropical wetlands in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Florida, comprising the southern half of a large watershed. The system begins near Orlando with the Kissimmee River, which discharges into the vast but shallow Lake Okeechobee...
. During the capture, the creature is badly burned in a fire. While bandaging the Gill-man, the doctors notice that he is shedding his gill
Gill
A gill is a respiratory organ found in many aquatic organisms that extracts dissolved oxygen from water, afterward excreting carbon dioxide. The gills of some species such as hermit crabs have adapted to allow respiration on land provided they are kept moist...
s and even breathing using a kind of lung
Lung
The lung is the essential respiration organ in many air-breathing animals, including most tetrapods, a few fish and a few snails. In mammals and the more complex life forms, the two lungs are located near the backbone on either side of the heart...
system. Now that the creature has more human-like skin, he is given clothing. The doctors attempt to get the Gill-man used to living among humans. Though his life is saved, he is apparently unhappy, staring despondently at the ocean. Barton ruins the plans when, in a murderous rage, he kills guide Jed Grant, who had made romantic advances toward his wife, Marcia. Realizing what he has done, Barton then tries to put the blame on the Gill-man. The Gill-man, witnessing the killing, and apparently comprehending that he is being blamed for the murder, goes on a rampage. After ripping down the confining electric fence, he kills Barton and then slowly walks back to the sea. He is last seen on a beach, advancing towards the ocean.
William Barton
Dr. William Barton is the main protagonist and antagonist of this film, who leads an expedition to capture the Gill Man. He is seen as a mentally unstable scientist and an apparently abusive husband to his wife Marcia, as he becomes very jealous and paranoid when Marcia is with other men. At the film's climax, he beats guide Jed Grant to death after learning he tried to rape Marcia. As punishment for his acts, the Gill Man chases him through his house up to the second floor and throws the paranoid protagonist to his death.Marcia Barton
Marcia Barton is the wife of Dr. William Barton. An extremely rebellious and free-spirited young woman, Marcia would hunt and go on daring adventures in order to escape the tedium of her unhappy marriage to the increasingly unbalanced and abusive William. When William and his research team set sail from their home in CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
for the Florida Everglades aboard the Vagabondia III to hunt for the Gill Man, Marcia goes along.
Her gung-ho attitude attracts the unwanted attention of the expedition's young guide, Jed Grant. Regardless of her dislike of her husband, Marcia is entirely uninterested in Jed, and tells him so. This does not stop him from making numerous passes at her, nor does it stop William from becoming paranoid
Paranoia
Paranoia [] is a thought process believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety or fear, often to the point of irrationality and delusion. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of conspiracy concerning a perceived threat towards oneself...
about the two.
During the remainder of the voyage, Marcia vents her frustration by shooting at shark
Shark
Sharks are a type of fish with a full cartilaginous skeleton and a highly streamlined body. The earliest known sharks date from more than 420 million years ago....
s from the deck of the Vagabondia, and later she accompanies Jed and Dr. Tom Morgan on their initial dive
Scuba diving
Scuba diving is a form of underwater diving in which a diver uses a scuba set to breathe underwater....
to look for the Gill Man, despite William's fierce objections. During the dive, Marcia swims too deep and is overcome with the "raptures of the deep," temporarily losing her mind and insisting on removing all her scuba gear
Scuba set
A scuba set is an independent breathing set that provides a scuba diver with the breathing gas necessary to breathe underwater during scuba diving. It is much used for sport diving and some sorts of work diving....
. This forces Jed and Tom to abandon their hunt for the Gill Man to swim back and save her.
After the Gill Man's eventual capture and surgical
Surgery
Surgery is an ancient medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a patient to investigate and/or treat a pathological condition such as disease or injury, or to help improve bodily function or appearance.An act of performing surgery may be called a surgical...
transformation by William, Tom and their colleagues Dr. Borg and Dr. Johnson, Marcia mistakenly believes that after such a success her husband would be in better spirits. On the contrary, after taking some criticism
Criticism
Criticism is the judgement of the merits and faults of the work or actions of an individual or group by another . To criticize does not necessarily imply to find fault, but the word is often taken to mean the simple expression of an objection against prejudice, or a disapproval.Another meaning of...
from Tom about the morality
Morality
Morality is the differentiation among intentions, decisions, and actions between those that are good and bad . A moral code is a system of morality and a moral is any one practice or teaching within a moral code...
of the procedure, William explodes and yells at his wife during a celebratory dinner party aboard the Vagabondia.
Afterwards, Jed, who is supposed to be guarding the creature, leaves his post and attempts to force himself onto Marcia. She is saved when the Gill Man breaks free from the operating room and attacks Jed, knocking him unconscious
Unconsciousness
Unconsciousness is the condition of being not conscious—in a mental state that involves complete or near-complete lack of responsiveness to people and other environmental stimuli. Being in a comatose state or coma is a type of unconsciousness. Fainting due to a drop in blood pressure and a...
before being recaptured by Tom. Later, the tension-filled expedition returns to California.
After William murdered Jed for trying to woo his wife, and William's own demise at the hands of the enraged Gill Man, Marcia decides that she had had enough, and moves as far away from their house and memories of William as possible, despite developing a mild romantic interest in Tom.
Jed Grant
This young man is hired by Doctors Barton and Tom Morgan to be their guide in the Florida Everglades during their hunt for the Gill Man. An extremely self-assured, amorous man, Grant becomes instantly infatuated with Barton's wife, Marcia, feeling that she should leave her abusive and mentally unstable husband and have an affairAffair
Affair may refer to professional, personal, or public business matters or to a particular business or private activity of a temporary duration, as in family affair, a private affair, or a romantic affair.-Political affair:...
with him instead.
Late one night following the capture and surgical
Surgery
Surgery is an ancient medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a patient to investigate and/or treat a pathological condition such as disease or injury, or to help improve bodily function or appearance.An act of performing surgery may be called a surgical...
transformation of the Gill Man by Barton and his team, Jed, who is supposed to watching over the recuperating creature in the operating room aboard the Vagabondia III, leaves his post and tries to get close to Marcia. This quickly develops into attempted sexual assault
Sexual assault
Sexual assault is an assault of a sexual nature on another person, or any sexual act committed without consent. Although sexual assaults most frequently are by a man on a woman, it may involve any combination of two or more men, women and children....
, but Jed is stopped when the Gill Man escapes from the operating room and strikes him across the midsection, knocking him unconscious
Unconsciousness
Unconsciousness is the condition of being not conscious—in a mental state that involves complete or near-complete lack of responsiveness to people and other environmental stimuli. Being in a comatose state or coma is a type of unconsciousness. Fainting due to a drop in blood pressure and a...
.
For unknown reasons, Marcia never tells anyone about the attempted sexual assault by Jed. Thus, Jed is welcomed as a guest at the Bartons' house in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, though Barton, who suspects that Marcia and Jed were having an affair, first tried to force Jed to leave. When Jed pushes the right button by muttering that Marcia hated her husband, an enraged Barton kills Jed by clubbing him to death with a pistol
Pistol
When distinguished as a subset of handguns, a pistol is a handgun with a chamber that is integral with the barrel, as opposed to a revolver, wherein the chamber is separate from the barrel as a revolving cylinder. Typically, pistols have an effective range of about 100 feet.-History:The pistol...
.
Cast
- Jeff Morrow (Dr. William Barton)
- Rex Reason (Dr. Thomas Morgan)
- Leigh Snowden (Marcia Benton)
- Gregg Palmer (Jed Grant)
- Ricou Browning (Gillman - In Water)
- Don Megowan (Gillman - On Land)
Production notes
Unlike the previous two Creature films, The Creature Walks Among Us was not filmed in 3-D3-D film
A 3-D film or S3D film is a motion picture that enhances the illusion of depth perception...
. The underwater scenes were filmed at Wakulla Springs
Wakulla Springs
Wakulla Springs is located south of Tallahassee, Florida and east of Crawfordville in Wakulla County, Florida at the crossroads of State Road 61 and State Road 267...
in North Florida
North Florida
North Florida refers to the northernmost part of the U.S. state of Florida, including some counties that border the state of Georgia. It also borders the Big Bend with Madison County and Taylor County to the east and the Central Florida region to its south....
, today a state park.