I know there are some fans of older horror/science fiction movies here, who might be interested in the passing of Ricou Browning, who played the Gill Man in the underwater sequences of The Creature from the Black Lagoon and its sequels (Ben Chapman played the Creature on land). He was 93.
Browning was an experienced diver when he got the part, and was able to hold his breath for up to four minutes at a time. Thus he was able to play the Gill Man without the need for the costume to have any kind of built-in air tanks.
He later got into the production side of the film industry. He co-created the movie and TV series Flipper, and directed the underwater scenes in Thunderball.
It’s not easy to act when you’re fully encased in a rubber monster suit, but Ricou Browning managed it. The underwater sequences in the Creature films are some of the most memorable images from 50s SF.
We handed out 3-D glasses and projected The Creature from the Black Lagoon on our garage door last Halloween. A neighbor, a marine biologist and underwater photographer, knew all sorts of details about the production, like how there were two actors and two suits. Stuntman Ben Chapman in the tall suit used out of water. And the smaller suit fitted to Browning for the underwater scenes. Browning was a hell of a swimmer to perform in that suit while submerged and he did it so gracefully, especially in the scene where he mirrors Julie Adam’s.
He was involved in the creation of Weeki Wachee Springs mermaid theme park in Florida. As snowbirds living in Upstate New York, I remember visiting that as a kid in the 60s and 70s.
His wiki page said he could hold his breath underwater for up to 4 minutes!
During filming, Browning reportedly held his breath underwater for up to four minutes at a time.
I suspect that Ricou and that suit were the only reason that movie (and its sequels) were made. The character doesn’t make a lick of sense, and the plots were pretty ridiculous. But that suit and Browning’s performance in it has to be one of the best images of 1950s science fiction that doesn’t involve special effects.If it weren’t for the scenes of the swimming Gill Man and tthe use of 3D, there wouldn’t really be any reason to watch the movies at all.
(I think Creature from the Black Lagoon is one of the best 3D movies ever made, mainly because the three dimensional scenes arise so naturally, look so good, and aren’t obvious intrusions dropped in to exploit the technology.)
A film where most of the scenes are on a boat with a near shore moving behind it is tailor made for the effect. The other thing it has going for it, is that the copy used for digital media was pristine.
Does anyone remember the early 80s, perhaps 1981 or 1982, when they showed this on television in glorious 3D? I think you could get 3D glasses at 7-11 as part of a promotion.
It’s not that – it’s all the shots in the water, where things are naturally floating at different heights and at different distances from the camera (but close enough for parallax).