Revenge of the Creature (1955)

_**Pedestrian retread**_ Released in 1955, "Revenge of the Creature" is an unimaginative reworking of the hit Universal film from the previous year, “Creature from the Black Lagoon.” The plot is the same: An expedition ventures to the remote backwaters of the Amazon and returns to Florida with a prehistoric man-fish, supposedly the last of its kind, but the ‘Gill-man’ and civilization don’t mix well. To make matters worse, the creature needs a whoa-man and sets its eyes on a lovely ichthyologist (Lori Nelson). The animal psychologist working with the creature (John Agar) assists authorities to save her and recapture the Gill-man. Ms. Nelson makes for a quality substitute for Julia Adams with Ginger Stanley doing stunt work for both; meanwhile John Agar is suitable as the male protagonist. But this sequel feels hackneyed and lacks the hypnotic charisma of the original. I suppose it doesn’t help that the creature is revealed right away and displayed often, which hinders a sense of mystery and suspense. Still, if you like the first film, this is more of the same, just nowhere near as effective. The third in the trilogy, “The Creature Walks Among Us,” would come out the next year. Interesting trivia: Clint Eastwood makes his film debut here in a cameo as a lab assistant. The tedious film feels overlong at a short 1 hour, 22 minutes. It was shot in Florida (Marineland, Jacksonville, Silver Springs & St. Augustine). GRADE: C

A largely disappointing follow-up to 'Creature from the Black Lagoon'. 'Revenge of the Creature' attempts some positives, with an intention to see how the Gill-man behaves, but for the majority it's a repeat of the very good 1954 film - just in the United States, rather than Brazil. It's all pretty lacklustre in my opinion. Neat to have Nestor Paiva, who I liked in the original, back, though he is the only main character (not counting Ricou Browning) to reprise their role. The newbies are alright, though do feel like carbon copies of the '54 trio - Lori Nelson is the pick here. Another cast member is a certain Clint Eastwood, who has a minor if decent cameo for his screen debut here - more on Mr. Eastwood below... Overall, it's a tame sequel. Here's hoping 'The Creature Walks Among Us' improved upon this. --
This marks the start of my Clint Eastwood watchathon. Between now and early February, I'm planning to watch Eastwood's entire acting/directing filmography. Why? Aside from him being a legendary name in cinema, it should also make for a fun journey through film from 1955 to 2021.