Episode 34: Return to the Black Lagoon

We've only mentioned him before, but today we go all out with our love for that mysterious and dangerous, yet misunderstood, monster from the depths - the Creature from the Black Lagoon! If you've been listening to Planet 8 for any length of time, you've probably heard us heap praises on Creech, but now we have a whole episode devoted to the Gill-Man.

Engineer Bob with Creech in Bob Burn's place

What is it about the Creature that makes him so appealing? Certainly he has a fantastic look. His design was ahead of his time, and so has become a classic. Your Planet 8 crew discusses that amazing suit, and some differences in the design for the water scenes versus land. There's been a lot of awareness of Millicent Patrick's role in designing the Creature lately, and we touch on that, as well as the work of Jack Kevan, Chris Mueller, and Bud Westmore. And of course, the men who wore the suit on land and underwater, Ben Chapman and Ricou Browning, must be recognized.

We'll take a look at each of the films (Creature from the Black Lagoon, Revenge of the Creature , The Creature Walks Among Us), and which is our favorite -and you might be surprised! And what would a fourth Creature film have been like?

It's hard to discuss the Creature without talking about his desire for human ladies -of course in the first film, it was Julie Adams, and the sequence with the Creature swimming below her has become iconic. This leads into a discussion of Shape of Water...

We all have our Creature Collectibles -Bob has a whole basement devoted to the Creature. His favorite Creature item though, is his Bally pinball machine. Karen's favorite (which she's mentioned many times before) is the Sideshow premium format figure of the Creature swimming. Last but not least, Larry's favorite is his Anchor Hocking Creature glass. 

Bob's Creature basement

Karen's Creech bust

All this, and so much more! It's a Creature-palooza this time on Planet 8!

For our Sensor Sweep, Karen shares an appropriate item: a wonderful book called The Creature Chronicles, by Tom Weaver, friend of the show David Schecter, and Steve Kronenberg. It's from McFarland Books, and you can order it from McFarland or Amazon. It has a wealth of info on the Creature, including overviews and inside info on each film, but also background on the music, other underwater monster films, and the Creature films that were never made. It would be a great addition to anyone's library.

That's it for us! As the late, great Julie Adams used to say, Stay out of dark water!

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Episode 21: The Beautiful Sounds of Monstrous Movie Music

David Schecter with the late, great Julie Adams

Music can make or break a film. It can set mood, create tension, tug on your heartstrings. And in a monster movie, the music really needs to heighten the excitement, the mystery, the fear factor. Some of the greatest film scores around can be found in the sci-fi and monster films of the 1950s. In this episode we talk with writer, film music historian and soundtrack producer David Schecter, owner of Monstrous Movie Music, about some of the most memorable genre soundtracks of the 50s and beyond. We learn from David how he got access to many missing film scores and re-recorded them with a full symphony. Some of the soundtracks Monstrous Movie Music has reproduced include Creature from the Black Lagoon, This Island Earth, Mighty Joe Young, It! Terror from Beyond Space, and dozens more. But that's not all! David also discusses his experiences with some of the stars of those films, like the wonderful Julie Adams from Creature from the Black Lagoon, Colleen Gray from The Leech Woman, and Joyce Meadows from The Brain from Planet Arous.

If you'd like to get some of these soundtracks for yourself, head on over to David's site and purchase a few, and experience the thrill of listening to this wonderful music outside of the films! For the Sensor Sweep this time, David made us aware of some new BluRay releases from SHOUT! Factory that he has done some commentary on - films like Tarantula, The Alligator People, The Land Unknown, The Strange Door, and others! Click HERE for info.

That's it for us this time. Let us know about your favorite sci-fi film music, either here, or at our other two hideouts:

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