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The Creature Chronicles: Exploring the Black Lagoon Trilogy
He was the final addition to Universal's "royal family" of movie the Creature from the Black Lagoon. With his scaly armor, razor claws and a face only a mother octopus could love, this Amazon denizen was perhaps the most fearsome beast in the history of Hollywood's Studio of Horrors. But he also possessed a sympathetic quality which elevated him fathoms above the many aquatic monsters who swam in his wake. Everything you ever wanted to know about the Gill Man and his mid-1950s film career ( Creature from the Black Lagoon, Revenge of the Creature, The Creature Walks Among Us ) is collected in this book, packed to the gills with hour-by-hour production histories, cast bios, analyses, explorations of the music, script-to-screen comparisons, in-depth interviews and an ocean of fin-tastic photos.
- GenresFilmNonfiction
408 pages, Library Binding
First published June 15, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
July 25, 2019
THE ULTIMATE 'CREATURE' HISTORY.
Tom Weaver and his co-writers David Schecter and Steve Kronenberg have produced the ultimate history of the 'Black Lagoon' movies. A spectacular presentation, this large scale book from specialist publisher McFarland is an incredibly detailed history of the famous Universal trilogy plus relevant related material.
Nearly 400 pages of articles, interviews, notes and hundreds of priceless photos. An example of the comprehensive analysis is film music expert Schecter's study of the music for all three films, some fifty pages or so!
And if you have any of Mr. Weaver's many previous volumes, you know you are getting the real deal from this dedicated and renowned sci-fi/horror film historian with this impeccable tribute to Universal's iconic 'monster' from the fifties.
A smartly designed book with easy to follow chapters and informative text adds to the pleasure and makes this publication very accessible to the average reader.
You don't have to be a dedicated monster fan to appreciate this exhaustive and entertaining study. A bonus is the eight page introduction by star Julie Adams.
Tom Weaver and his co-writers David Schecter and Steve Kronenberg have produced the ultimate history of the 'Black Lagoon' movies. A spectacular presentation, this large scale book from specialist publisher McFarland is an incredibly detailed history of the famous Universal trilogy plus relevant related material.
Nearly 400 pages of articles, interviews, notes and hundreds of priceless photos. An example of the comprehensive analysis is film music expert Schecter's study of the music for all three films, some fifty pages or so!
And if you have any of Mr. Weaver's many previous volumes, you know you are getting the real deal from this dedicated and renowned sci-fi/horror film historian with this impeccable tribute to Universal's iconic 'monster' from the fifties.
A smartly designed book with easy to follow chapters and informative text adds to the pleasure and makes this publication very accessible to the average reader.
You don't have to be a dedicated monster fan to appreciate this exhaustive and entertaining study. A bonus is the eight page introduction by star Julie Adams.
January 18, 2015
Everything you might want to know about The Creature from the Black Lagoon and its two sequels (Revenge of the Creature and The Creature Walks Among Us) is included in Tom Weaver's (along with David Schecter and Steve Kronenberg) The Creature Chronicles: Exploring the Black Lagoon Trilogy. This is a gorgeous, coffee table book full of photographs and insight into the three Creature movies and the people who made them. The second part of the book also takes a closer look into the films' legacy (remakes, spoofs, remembrances, etc.). I'm thrilled I received this as a LibraryThing Early Reviewer.
December 27, 2015
If you long for the nostalgic days of the Universal Monsters, then The Creature Chronicles: Exploring the Black Lagoon Trilogy by Tom Weaver is a must for your library.
Though the Creature movies came well after such staples as Dracula, Frankenstein’s Monster, and the Wolf Man, fans have always held a special place in their hearts for that misunderstood scaly Gill Man from the ancient world. And what The Creature Chronicles does is give you deeper insight into the entire production of each of the three movies. From production notes to filming schedules to insider looks at the actors, The Creature Chronicles is a historical step-back that will make you feel as if you were there when each movie was being filmed. There is also an introduction by Julie Adams, who starred in the original film, “The Creature From the Black Lagoon,” and even detail about the movie soundtracks.
McFarland books went all out for this 408 page coffee-table hardcover by giving it a beautiful book jacket loaded with fantastic art and 295 pictures. While the price is high, if you are a Universal Monster lover, you won’t be able to resist and will be wanting a volume just like this for Dracula, the Wolf Man, and the rest of their pals.
Though the Creature movies came well after such staples as Dracula, Frankenstein’s Monster, and the Wolf Man, fans have always held a special place in their hearts for that misunderstood scaly Gill Man from the ancient world. And what The Creature Chronicles does is give you deeper insight into the entire production of each of the three movies. From production notes to filming schedules to insider looks at the actors, The Creature Chronicles is a historical step-back that will make you feel as if you were there when each movie was being filmed. There is also an introduction by Julie Adams, who starred in the original film, “The Creature From the Black Lagoon,” and even detail about the movie soundtracks.
McFarland books went all out for this 408 page coffee-table hardcover by giving it a beautiful book jacket loaded with fantastic art and 295 pictures. While the price is high, if you are a Universal Monster lover, you won’t be able to resist and will be wanting a volume just like this for Dracula, the Wolf Man, and the rest of their pals.
October 3, 2021
A couple of layout and copy editing issues, but the content was great. The bios of cast and crew can get ridiculously detailed (going so far as to speculate on falsified military service claims of one of the actors to play the Gill Man, for instance). A little curious why Millicent Patrick’s role in the Creature design and blackballing by Bud Westmore was heralded as such a revelation a few years ago when it’s all detailed here at an earlier publication date (and in Tom Weaver’s commentary track for the Creature from the Black Lagoon dvds recorded nearly two decades ago). Ah well, many paths to Buddha and all of that.
May 4, 2018
Exhaustive
This is a ridiculously well researched book offering more information on the Creature and it's influence than I thought possible (although neglecting to mention The Monster Squad) while still being fun
This is a ridiculously well researched book offering more information on the Creature and it's influence than I thought possible (although neglecting to mention The Monster Squad) while still being fun
June 14, 2024
If someone brings up creature from the black lagoon in conversation it's over for them bitches
November 12, 2014
Weaver's book with co-authors is a treat for horror-movie fans and those enjoying popular culture. It's a sort of "Everything You Wanted to Know about the Creature But Were Afraid to Ask." With his 14-book series (so far) of interviews with popular filmmakers, actors, and such in the genres of horror and science- fiction films and three previous books on popular films, Weaver is no stranger to readers of works in this field. He combines scholarly intelligence, interest, and meticulousness with a popular commentary and critical style as one sees in the film and arts reviews of the better newspapers and online media; although Weaver's content is obviously incomparably more lengthy and multidimensional. The engaging treatment of the Creature trilogy entails variously profiles of major and surrounding individuals, quotes from individuals on their experiences and points about the films which would otherwise never be known, production team and financing, marketing considerations, and continuities, references, and new angles for keeping the series popular and cogent while not predictable. Lively graphics involving numerous photos, some insets, and occasional red type keep the copious content fresh and engaging.
Weaver's generosity of treatment with an understanding of readers' love of trivia regarding such a popular-culture subject extends to the inclusion of two short chapters at the end before the back matter by David J. Schow. The first is about the short-lived fanzine "The Black Lagoon Bugle"; the second titled "Revenge of the Return of the Remake of 'Creature from the Black Lagoon'."
The three movies were made in the years 1954, 1955, and 1956. During that period and as late as 1971 with the film "Octaman" other movies attempted to capture the popularity of the Creature movies, though none succeeded so much. Weaver discusses these, thus illuminating more the achievement of the success of the Black Lagoon creature series and its long-term cultural notoriety while also giving a broader picture of this subgenre of horror films with monsters lurking in waters.
Weaver's book of incomparable labor and knowledge pursuing virtually every conceivable lead and subject of interest regarding the Creature from the Black Lagoon movies put together in a intelligent, readable, accessible style is self-evidently the definitive work on this short film series from the 1950s. His labor is found even in the notes, nearly all of which are like short, and in some cases not-so-short, essays. There's even more photos in the notes, as if alerting readers not to miss them.
The author does not try to interpret or read the movies as reflections of the American culture of the era—i. e., post World War II—as many books, particularly scholarly ones, taking up popular subjects do. This would make for an interesting study. But it is beyond the intention and scope of this work.
Weaver's generosity of treatment with an understanding of readers' love of trivia regarding such a popular-culture subject extends to the inclusion of two short chapters at the end before the back matter by David J. Schow. The first is about the short-lived fanzine "The Black Lagoon Bugle"; the second titled "Revenge of the Return of the Remake of 'Creature from the Black Lagoon'."
The three movies were made in the years 1954, 1955, and 1956. During that period and as late as 1971 with the film "Octaman" other movies attempted to capture the popularity of the Creature movies, though none succeeded so much. Weaver discusses these, thus illuminating more the achievement of the success of the Black Lagoon creature series and its long-term cultural notoriety while also giving a broader picture of this subgenre of horror films with monsters lurking in waters.
Weaver's book of incomparable labor and knowledge pursuing virtually every conceivable lead and subject of interest regarding the Creature from the Black Lagoon movies put together in a intelligent, readable, accessible style is self-evidently the definitive work on this short film series from the 1950s. His labor is found even in the notes, nearly all of which are like short, and in some cases not-so-short, essays. There's even more photos in the notes, as if alerting readers not to miss them.
The author does not try to interpret or read the movies as reflections of the American culture of the era—i. e., post World War II—as many books, particularly scholarly ones, taking up popular subjects do. This would make for an interesting study. But it is beyond the intention and scope of this work.
February 1, 2016
This is definitely a book for the serious movie buff, or series fan of the Creature movies. The sheer depth of knowledge and trivia in this book is mind boggling, the author clearly knows this topic from front to back and his love of the Creature movies shines through on every page.
There are behind the scene stories, histories of all of the major players both before, during and after the movies were filmed, many, many photographs, detailed descriptions of the filming and reactions to the films. This is an incredible all inclusive look at not just The Creature From The Black Lagoon movies but at Hollywood at the time they were made as well.
While I say that this book is for the serious movie fans that does not mean it isn't accessible to the casual movie history fan as well. The writing is very engaging and inviting and never feels stuffy or elitist, like it was written only for knowledgeable film fans, just the opposite, it felt as though this book was written to appeal to as many as possible to better spread the authors enthusiasm and love for the topic. And overall it works very well. There were a few sections that felt a bit overwhelming, the section on how the first movies score was created and how Universal reused music from movie to movie got to be a bit of a challenge to get through and once in a while I did feel as if I was being given to much information but overall this did not detract from the rest of the book.
I haven't seen any of these movies since I was a child and I deliberately decided to not watch any until after I had read the book to see how well this would hold of up someone who wasn't a major fan and it held up quite well, in fact it made me even more interested in seeing these movies and it gave me a deeper respect for the work and creativity that went into these movies.
There are behind the scene stories, histories of all of the major players both before, during and after the movies were filmed, many, many photographs, detailed descriptions of the filming and reactions to the films. This is an incredible all inclusive look at not just The Creature From The Black Lagoon movies but at Hollywood at the time they were made as well.
While I say that this book is for the serious movie fans that does not mean it isn't accessible to the casual movie history fan as well. The writing is very engaging and inviting and never feels stuffy or elitist, like it was written only for knowledgeable film fans, just the opposite, it felt as though this book was written to appeal to as many as possible to better spread the authors enthusiasm and love for the topic. And overall it works very well. There were a few sections that felt a bit overwhelming, the section on how the first movies score was created and how Universal reused music from movie to movie got to be a bit of a challenge to get through and once in a while I did feel as if I was being given to much information but overall this did not detract from the rest of the book.
I haven't seen any of these movies since I was a child and I deliberately decided to not watch any until after I had read the book to see how well this would hold of up someone who wasn't a major fan and it held up quite well, in fact it made me even more interested in seeing these movies and it gave me a deeper respect for the work and creativity that went into these movies.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews