Halloween Havoc!: THE CREATURE WALKS AMONG US (Universal-International 1956)

THE CREATURE WALKS AMONG US – and he’s not too happy about it! Can’t say that I blame him, as once again he’s used and abused by humans, kidnapped from his watery home, suffers third degree burns, and transformed into a landlubber! This third and final entry in The Gill-Man saga unfortunately isn’t as good as its two predecessors, with too much melodramatic nonsense spoiling what was an intriguing premise.

Dr. Bill Barton (Jeff Morrow ) leads a search in the Florida Everglades for the Creature, who escaped Ocean Harbor Oceanarium in the last film. Along with Barton are geneticist Dr. Tom Morgan (Rex Reason), Dr. Borg (Maurice Manson), Dr. Johnson (James Rawley), and macho guide Jed Grant (Gregg Palmer ). Also on board is Barton’s wife Marcia (Leigh Snowden), a beautiful blonde trapped in a loveless marriage with her insanely jealous, controlling prick of a husband.

The Creature is located thanks to Dr. Johnson’s sonar, subdued with a heavy dose of Rotinol (remember it from the first film?), and accidentally set aflame, causing permanent damage to his gills. But that’s alright with Barton, who planned all along to genetically alter the Gill-Man to a more human state to help in the ‘space race’ (I kid you not!). By inflating his already-there lungs, The Creature begins to mutate, getting loose and heading back to the water – which almost drowns him! The now gill-less Gill-Man is transported to Barton’s ranch in California and penned up with the sheep, seemingly helpless…

THE CREATURE WALKS AMONG US gets bogged down by the melodrama of the Bartons and horny Jed Grant looking to bed the lovely Mrs. Barton. Things perk up when The Creature is featured, but slow back down as the humans talk and talk and talk. It’s almost like two different movies, and horror lover that I am, I would have preferred more monster madness and less domestic drama. It’s the weakest of the trilogy, and though the end is ambiguous enough to leave the door open for a fourth sequel, it didn’t happen.

The underwater scenes are still cool, and Riccou Browning returned to play The Gill-Man in them once again. Don Megowan takes over on land, and the 6’7″, 300 pounder makes for a physically imposing Creature. Megowan was featured as the sheriff in another horror film that year, THE WEREWOLF, played the Monster in Hammer’s unsold 1958 TV pilot TALES OF FRANKENSTEIN, starred in the low-budget CREATION OF THE HUMANOIDS, and was featured in plenty of Westerns and action flicks calling for a burly mountain of a man.

Beautiful Leigh Snowden (1929-1982) first made a splash (pun intended!) doing a walk-on bit for Jack Benny’s Christmas show at San Diego Naval Base. Making her film debut in Robert Aldrich’s KISS ME DEADLY , she signed a contract with Universal-International, then moved on to programmers like FRANCIS IN THE NAVY, THE SQUARE JUNGLE, OUTSIDE THE LAW, HOT ROD RUMBLE, and the big-budget ALL THAT HEAVEN ALLOWS. She married accordion virtuoso Dick Contino (star of 1958’s DADDY-O), and retired from the screen after 1961’s THE COMANCHEROS.

And with that, we wrap up this special ‘Universal Horror’ edition of ‘Halloween Havoc!’. I hope you’ve enjoyed taking a look back with me at the films of Hollywood’s Monster Factory. These are the movies that first sparked my interest in classic cinema as a child, and it’s been a labor of love to write about them, but right now I’m exhausted! Think I’ll go lie down in my coffin awhile before those ghosts’n’goblins come rapping on my chamber door begging for candy. Happy Halloween to all, and to all a good fright!