It's About Time! The Long-Delayed "Revenge of the Creature" Tonight!

All right- we originally had tonight’s MeTV feature planned to air earlier this year- but some confusion about when it was actually available to us had us postpone its airing. Fortunately, everything is straightened out, and we are very happy to finally be able to bring you one of my all-time favorite monsters- the Gill Man- making the journey ( not by his own choice!) from the Black Lagoon along the Amazon  to the Sunshine State of Florida, land of Everglades and theme parks- the perfect place to inspire the "Revenge of the Creature"!

This movie was the second part of the Gill Man trilogy- and the sequel to the original "Creature from the Black Lagoon". Captain Lucas, the unsophisticated but savvy skipper from the first film, once again serves as the guide to that dangerous part of the Amazon where the Creature has dwelled for centuries. It would appear that the Gill Man's apparent demise at the conclusion of  the first film was fake news- which has encouraged this new expedition- at the request of scientist Clete and his blustery he-man pal Joe- to attempt to once again locate the monster. Lucas leads them to the lagoon, while warning the anxious researchers that they may not be too happy about it if they actually DO find the Creature. The plan -bring the Gill Man back to a Florida theme park where it will be studied (and , purely as a side effect, bring in huge crowds of paying customers to observe the Creature). A first encounter with the dangerous relic of a bygone era has the researchers licking their wounds- leaving them to use an equally dangerous tactic- "fishing with dynamite"- as a last resort to hopefully subdue the Gill Man. There is the problem of possibly doing fatal damage to this missing link in the evolutionary scale-  but also the chance that they can stun him enough to capture and bring him back alive to Florida.

Fortunately, the explosive scheme works- and they bring the unconscious Creature to their theme park, Ocean Harbor. They work non-stop to try to keep the comatose specimen breathing and bring him back to consciousness.  He begins to stir- that’s good! He begins to rage and fight back- that’s bad!  After a chaotic tussle, the Gill Man is finally subdued and moved to a safer underwater enclosure. To prevent him from escaping or attacking the public or the research team, they clamp his webbed, clawed foot into a shackle attached to the tank floor. Professor Clete enlists the aid of an ichthyology student who just happens to be a hot blonde ( ain’t science wonderful!) to  attempt to train the Gill Man to follow commands, with  a little help from a large underwater electric prod ( …hey- isn’t water a conductor of electricity? How come the people in the water don’t get zapped by the…okay, I’ll be quiet). The scientists learn a great deal about the Gill Man’s intelligence, as well as his physical make-up- while the Creature, true to form, finds  the new blonde in his life is just as enticing as the woman in the white bathing suit from the first movie. Eventually, the Gill Man’s frustrations with imprisonment- and reactions to certain outside stimulus- cause him to “hulk out”, escape confinement and the park- and head out to terrorize to the state of Florida! It’s up to Clete and the authorities to recapture the powerful amphibian/human hybrid- before he claims more victims – and his latest female crush !

This 1955 movie is a worthy addition to the Gill Man saga, making him a sort of “fish out of water” (pardon the pun) in a slightly different environment. Our cast includes John Agar ,John "Mr. Sportsman" Bromfield, and winsome Lori Nelson as the Gill Man's latest "love interest". This film is famous for its brief cameo by young Clint Eastwood as, of all things, a somewhat absent-minded lab assistant. We'll give you background on these and other cast members, give you some insight into who plays the Creature -and when ( and where you might see one of those guys OUTSIDE the suit in the movie) along with  Gill Man gags a plenty. This is another show that blends some of our old footage with new, so you will see our original coffin and set along the way. For those who were around, or may have just heard the stories -this IS the infamous movie I presented in 3-D back in the 80s in the Chicago market. Please be assured that this version is in the digital splendor of 2-D, and can be enjoyed without  any two-toned glasses – though I have heard rumors that Universal recently marketed a DVD of the film in 3-D - which had so many problems they have had to replace many of the discs!  

"Revenge of the Creature" surfaces tonight on MeTV  at 8 pm eastern/pacific, 7 central, or check listings in your area  ( or at www.metv.com ) for the time and channel to tune in to watch. In the Chicago viewing area, “Rodan” hits the air one more time on WCIU, the U, at 11 am.

Looking forward to meeting Sven fans tonight at the Lemont  Area Historical Society’s big “Night of Mystery and Magic” Masquerade event at the Slovenian Center in Lemont, IL. Info is available at www.lemonthistorical.org . Our October Halloween appearance schedule will be posted shortly, with a variety of events at various locales in Illinois and Indiana- and even some appearances in various media. Make sure you keep coming back to check the “appearances” tab on our site throughout the next few weeks!

Tonight- submerge yourself in aquatic terror as the Gill Man makes his comeback!