To this day, Creature from the Black Lagoon is the best swamp monster movie there is. Now, that might not be saying much (this subgenre lacks the number of films one might expect), but this really is a good movie. It also carries the themes of the misunderstood monster and of the beast who falls in love. While not particularly exciting or crafty (at least not anymore), this is an insightful 1950s sci-fi/horror featuring the best monster since King Kong.

In an expedition camp in the Amazon, something confusing and frightening is discovered: a fossil of a webbed claw attached to an arm. When ichthyologist couple David Reed and Kay Lawrence hear about it, they take a trip with their greedy boss, Mark Williams, to the heart of the Amazon. This area, known as the Black Lagoon, has remained unchanged for millions of years. Little do they know that there is a living version of the fossil they hope to find, and they find themselves at the mercy of a monstrously powerful man-fish (which would later become known as the "Gill Man").

At the heart of this story lies the conflict of humanity and science. As David explains, much could be learned from this creature. Other than the fact that it is an entirely new species, it is in a state of transition, presumably from fish to man, millions of years lagging the human race. Studying it alive at its home in the swamp could be invaluable in helping mankind reach its next step of evolution. Mark, though, sees it as the ultimate cash cow. He'd prefer just to kill the thing and drag it home. "Why settle for a photo when we can get the real thing?" he asks.

Mark's mindset leads, of course, to the classic monster-as-victim theme. The first time he sees it, he attacks it, so it's no wonder the Gill Man spends the rest of the film attacking the crew. All that the monster apparently cared about beforehand was the beauty of Kay. In one great scene, Kay goes for a casual swim in the swamp (probably a bad idea anyway), and the creature swims beneath her, looking up in awe. He is even intimidated by her, probably almost as much as she would be by him. He can hardly bring himself to even touch her, and when he does lightly tap her foot, he is so frightened that he darts away. The Gill Man follows the pattern that so many movie monsters have before him: he falls in love, he is attacked for being monstrous, and he spends the rest of his time doing horrible things to others while in search of love.

At the same time that the creature is misunderstood by the humans, the humans cannot understand each other, particularly members of the opposite sex. This is underscored in several conversations, one of which takes place between David and Kay. She tells him at one point, "You don't understand the species very well," meaning women. He responds, "Well, give me time. I thought I was doing well considering that we've only been together for six months." This exchange, like a few other moments in the film, draws a distinct parallel between the sexes understanding each other, and humanity understanding the Gill Man. The two opposite researching characters, David and Mark, are perfect for exploring this theme in relation to the creature. David wants to understand the creature, and Mark wants to conquer it. We have the same options with the other sex as with the monster: try to understand the other, or fight over your differences.

There is another thematic layer to this film, though, and that is its fear factor. As something the world has never encountered, the monster evokes the fear of the unknown, but it goes farther than that. The Gill Man is something that has been around forever. Unlike Godzilla, which would be released just months later in Japan, the Gill Man is not the product of radiation or some other human blunder. He is simply something we never discovered. Just as it comes from deep in the Amazon, in a place that has remained unaltered for millions of years, and just as it comes from the depths of its swamp, it can represent some awful thing deep within us that has never yet surfaced.

This is all good, but what made Creature really stand out, even though it had a fair number of similarities with other monster movies, is something that I have noticed is present in all of the most memorable monster-victim films -- the monster itself. Frankenstein (1931) was a feat in makeup and acting, King Kong (1933) was a feat in animation and diligence, and Creature was a feat in costume and acting. Nothing quite like the Gill Man had ever been seen. Sure, there had been monsters of more grotesque magnitude, like in the Creature director Jack Arnold's own It Came from Outer Space the previous year, but there had been nothing as flexible, agile, and lifelike as the Gill Man. The designers of the suit are of course largely responsible for this. The monster looks great and is truly unforgettable. The biggest thanks, however, goes to Ricou Browning (un-credited, amazingly), who wore the suit in the creature's underwater shots. The costume, made of foam rubber, was completely snug and was incredibly restricting, especially underwater. On top of that, it was incredibly heavy once submerged. One would never guess this, though, watching the film. Browning moves almost as easily and majestically as any man-fish probably would. This fluidity is simply amazing and creates a monster that moves naturally and believably.

Despite the numerous virtues of the film, there are several missteps. The most notable is its repetitiveness. For 1950s audiences, a swamp monster that looked like this was more than enough to captivate interest for an entire film, but nowadays the monster, though undeniably awesome, just does not have the same impact. This hurts the modern viewing of the film because it contains few other exciting elements. From the first real encounter with the Gill Man what ensues are simply more encounters. It attacks. It runs away. They see it underwater. It runs away. They capture it. It runs away. Sometimes it kills people. Sometimes it maims them. It would have helped if the writers could have found a way to get the characters out in the jungle, perhaps being hunted by the monster (it is half man after all), just to deliver another type of thrill at least, but that was not an issue back then. So, what we have is a noticeably great film that shows a bit of aging.

The other primary flaw is the film's gender politics. Kay is presented at first as an empowered woman. She is a scientist, and it is she who (albeit unknowingly) intimidates the monster. From the first time she sees the monster, though, her power is snuffed completely, and she becomes capable of nothing other than screaming -- your stereotypical horror chick. At perhaps the film's lowest point in this respect, the creature approaches her, and she simply falls down as she takes her first step to run away. If we are forgiving, we can say that the writers flubbed, and the gender views of this film came out confused. At the worst, we watch the film for what it is and see a self-reliant female who is rendered permanently and utterly helpless at the first sign of danger, indicating that women, even the powerful ones, are ultimately feeble beings. That's a pretty big oops. Luckily, this movie came out before second-wave feminism.

Creature may not carry the impact it used to, but there are many more reasons to like this film than to dislike it. Director Jack Arnold was a master of the sci-fi/horror genre, and this is generally considered one of his best films, probably tied for with It Came from Outer Space, so that alone makes it a must-see for fans of both science fiction and horror. But this movie is good for more than just nostalgia. It is one of those movies that always remains in your memory not because of shocks or twists but because of a great monster and a story that resonates within us.