Tag Archives: Jack Arnold

DtH Episode 70 – Universal Creature Series

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Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954), Revenge of the Creature (1955), The Creature Walks Among Us (1956).

And now, we come to the end of our Universal Monster episodes, having made our way through all the Dracula films, Frankenstein, Invisible Man, Mummy, and the Wolf Man, we now take a dive into the Black Lagoon! Coming out a little less than a decade after the last Universal Monster film (no, I’m not counting A&B Meet Frankenstein), it gave birth to a whole new generation of monster fans that might not have been around for the first cycle. And it did make quite the splash amongst fans, enough to permanently give its spot in the Universal Monster class. And there is a reason for that.

Join us while we take a deep dive into these films, maybe pushing you into the deep end of some of them, discussing some things you maybe didn’t know about them, and hopefully, if we’re doing our jobs, make you revisit them and think about them a little differently, or at least a little more. That’s the beauty of films, that no matter how many times you may have seen it, you never know what the next viewing experience will bring you.

Films mentioned in this episode:

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Music Box Theatre in 3D!!!

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My favorite theater in Chicago is the Music Box, one that I have been going to for over 30 years and love the fact that something like this still exists in my world. I am truly honored every time I attend a screening there. If you have a theater like this in your neck of the woods, please make sure you support it to keep these places alive and well.

The Music Box has recently announced a 3D film series that starts in April. These are all in digital 3D so you don’t have the old-fashioned red & blue glasses. Nothing against the old way, but these new digital ones are pretty effective. While only a few of the titles announced are really in the horror genre, I think it is still an awesome idea! Especially because the film that starts the series is Jack Arnold’s 1954 film Creature from the Black Lagoon, which was originally filmed and presented in 3D. I cannot overstate just how amazing this film is when you see it in 3D. Granted, it is a classic in a regular format, but in 3D . . . just wow! So, if you haven’t had the opportunity to see this film in this format, PLEASE make plans to do so.

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New Criterion Blu-Rays

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Normally I don’t announce too many Blu-ray releases, namely because there are so many, but these two that Criterion just announced really are must buys for fans, especially for those that have never seen before.

Jack Arnold’s The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957), based on the book by Richard Matheson, is usually mentioned in the sci-fi genre, but is one that I will definitely argue that is really a horror film, but is really much more than that. As our hero Scott Carey slowly starts to shrink in size, he battles all sorts of obstacles, from real terrors like a cat or a spider that has now become huge to him, or the psychological impact as he tries to realize exactly what is happening to him.

Kaneto Shino’s 1964 film Onibaba is such an underrated classic that I couldn’t recommend it enough. It is a simple tale of two women struggling to survive in war-torn medieval Japan, having to kill wandering samurai and sell their belongings just to stay alive. An older woman awaits with her daughter-in-law for her son to return from the war, but really starts having doubts when his friend returns alone. Trying to keep her one companion from running off, she puts on a demonic looking mask to scare her and seals her fate.

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Book Review: The Creature Chronicles

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creaturechroniclesThe Creature Chronicles: Exploring the Black Lagoon Trilogy
Published by McFarland, 2014. 408 pages.
By Tom Weaver, David Schecter, & Steve Kronenberg

This should be a very simple review. If you want to know anything about Creature from the Black Lagoon, or its two sequels, Revenge of the Creature and/or The Creature Walks Among Us, then just buy this book. Just about anything and everything you need to know about those films is in this book. Tom Weaver, along with Schecter and Kronenberg, have researched and compiled so much information, from the cast and crew, premieres, design teams, press, music, down to all the screenwriters involved in them, all here in this book. It even has an introduction by Creature star Julia Adams.

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Horror History: Jack Arnold

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JackArnoldJack Arnold
Born Oct. 14th, 1916 – Died March 17th, 1992

Arnold is another unsung hero in the horror and sci-fi film genre. He started his movie career as a documentary filmmaker, even being nominated for an Oscar for his work. After a couple of feature films, he directed the one that would start his rise as a great sci-fi / horror film director, It Came From Outer Space  (1953). While very creepy, this alien invasion was much different than the other films at the time since this wasn’t really an “invasion” film at all. His next film would make him an even bigger name, creating another classic Universal Classic Monster, Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954). He would later go one to direct its sequel Revnge of the Creature (1955), Tarantula (1955), The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957), and a couple other minor titles.

With his films, Arnold tried to show audiences that maybe these aliens, creatures, and strange people were not as threatening as we’d like to think. And that message can still be seen and felt even today, all those years later. That shows just how good of a filmmaker Arnold was.