Creature Feature

Ben Chapman and Julia Adams in Creature From The Black Lagoon (Universal, 1954)

If only Julia Adams had known what was beneath that scaly, gill-covered costume once it was underwater, she may not have been so digusted.

Ricou Browning on the set of Creature

While the immensely tall Ben Chapman gave imposing height to the Creature for land scenes, the amphibian Creature was portrayed by suave Ricou Browning, who had been performing in and ultimately producing water shows in his native Florida. Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) was his first foray into films, which would prove to be a lucrative move: not only did Browning perform the underwater stunts for the two Creature sequels (making him the only actor to appear in all three films in the series), but he also went on the produce the film Flipper (1963) and write for the subsequent television show; and, most notably, direct the underwater action scenes for the James Bond blockbuster, Thunderball (1965).

Ricou Browning (left) and animal trainer Ric O'Feldman on the set of Flipper (MGM, 1963)

Ricou Browning (left) and unidentified assistant prepare for an underwater scene in Thunderball (UA, 1965)

Of course, the Creature films, like nearly all of Universal-International's "B" unit output of the 1950's, was a healthy source of beefcake, even without knowledge what was lurking underneath the monster makeup.

Richard Carlson and Richard Denning in Creature From The Black Lagoon (Universal, 1954)

John Bromfield with stunt man Tom Hennesy in Revenge Of The Creature (Universal, 1955)

Rex Reason in The Creature Walks Among Us (Universal, 1956)

However, we here at SSUWAT humbly propose that none of these fine specimens were nearly as dashing and handsome as Mr. Browning -- who, incidentally, also still walks among us, and is the last surviving legendary Universal "monster." So, who knows, darlings -- kiss a frog today, and see what happens!

Look Out, Miss Lotte Lenya

Here at SSUWAT, we often celebrate divas who, if necessary, could hide a switchblade in their hair. For our latest Mystery Guest, however, we chose one who could hide a lethal blade in her orthopedic shoes: Miss Lotte Lenya! As the widow of Kurt Weill, Lenya worked diligently to keep his work and name before the public, performing annual concerts of his music.

Perhaps Weill's most famous song, "Mack the Knife," was inspired by Lenya in 1928; and when Louis Armstrong and Bobby Darin recorded pop versions of it in the 1950's, Lenya was name-checked as an ad-lib lyric. Perhaps not too coincidentally, this rise in her mainstream profile was quickly followed by two showy supporting roles in major Hollywood films: as an impoverished countess in The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone (1961) and as the evil, blade-running Rosa Klebb in From Russia with Love (1963). For the former, Lenya earned a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nod.

The always-clever, ever-sophisticated Toby Worthington, naturally, was the first to guess. He has his pick between the two sensible-shoe-clad SPECTRE agents pictured above. Yours from SSUWAT with love, darling!