I've been reading a book called "America Before" by Graham Hancock. It's about the possibility that North and South America were inhabited by modern humans long before previously thought, perhaps up to 130,000 years ago, and that these people got here by means other than the traditionally attributed Siberian land bridge. It's a fascinating book, and right now I am in the middle of a chapter that deals with research in the Amazon River Basin. I never knew much about the Amazon, other than it's immense size and powerful flow, so it was mindboggling to learn that the land area of the River Basin is larger than China. Most of that area is rainforest, and even when deforestation is factored in, what's left of the Amazonian jungle is still gigantic, bigger than the subcontinent of India. The jungle is so thick that some parts are still impenetrable and remain unexplored.
I mention all of this because tonight I watched "Creature From The Black Lagoon", and coincidentally the setting was the Amazon. In his book, Graham Hancock has spent a lot of time examining the evidence for a lost civilisation in the River Basin, but so far he hasn't mentioned anything about The Creature or The Black Lagoon. Maybe I haven't gotten to that chapter yet, but if it's not in the book, I'll have to write to Mr. Hancock and inform him. The Creature was discovered in 1954, by Richard Carlson, Richard Denning and Julie Adams, with the assistance of Whit Bissell, who was along for the ride because his presence was required in all science fiction movies of the era.
Prior to their discovery, an archaeologist named Dr. Matos pried a fossil out of a rock in the same area, on the bank of a tributary deep in the jungle. The fossil was an intact arm of a long fingered.....hmmm, actually Dr. Matos isn't sure what it is. That's why he's contacted Richard Carlson, a marine biologist with expertise on exotic amphibians. But Carlson can't identify the fossil either. That's when they decide to undertake the expedition into the heart of the Amazon, where we'll continue our story in just a moment.
But first I have a question for ya. In reading about archaeological expeditions and the digging that goes on, I am interested in the subject of strata, the layers of sediment that are exposed in the course of a dig. What I want to know is this : why does strata form in demarcated layers? Why does it not just accumulate in one homogeneous and undifferentiated lump like dust?
Strata must form from an event, right? Something that starts, and deposits a layer, like a volcanic eruption or a massive flood? That would mean that strata would only be found in areas where such an enormous geological event has taken place. Am I right? In others areas of the world, where no such events have occurred, I would assume there would be no layers of strata, and if one were to dig, one would only find one undifferentiated thickness of earth, until perhaps one hit bedrock. So I guess my question is this, if a fossil were found deeply buried - say twenty feet down - in non-stratified earth, how would an archaeologist determine it's age?
Am I correct in my assumptions? Is there such a thing as non-stratified earth, and if so, have any fossils ever been found in such? Well, at any rate, let's get back to the story.
Richard Carlson may be the marine biologist, and he may be lucky enough to have Julie Adams swooning over him, but Richard Denning is paying for the expedition, so things are gonna be done his way. He's also got a thing for Julie and he lets her know it, which isn't gonna help matters. Denning is gung-ho, and once The Creature is spotted, he wants to immediately kill it and take it back to America for display. Denning has a big ego, needless to say. For him, the expedition is all about satisfying it.
Carlson, on the other hand, is a Man of Science who sees great promise in studying The Creature. He's of the opinion that it may be an evolutionary "bridge" between man and fish. After all, it can walk upright on land and breathe air. He wants The Creature taken alive.
The Creature doesn't give a toss what Denning or Carlson think. He's got his own ideas and they center on Julie Adams. You can't fault him on that score. Once he sees her in the water, he becomes fixated, and climbs aboard the boat to introduce himself. The only problem is that he's....er....how do I say this without being impolite?........well let's just say he's unconventional looking. Or how about non-traditionally handsome? In any case, his looks frighten the bejeezus out of the native guides, which for some reason makes The Creature want to strangle them. He always begins with a face palm before moving down to the throat.
So now, four guides are dead. Six members of the expedition remain. But after Whit Bissell is attacked, even Richard Carlson is having second thoughts about taking The Creature alive, because if you lose Whit Bissell, your movie is over.
The expedition has turned into a game of Ten Little Indians. Who will The Creature kill next? It won't be Julie Adams, that much is certain. So we have a Beauty & The Beast thing happening, too. The spear guns don't work against The Creature, he just pulls the spears out of his thick rubber hide and gets more pissed off than he was to begin with. Denning and Carlson decide that their only option is to flee. But wait! The Creature's taken a page from Wile E. Coyote. He's enough of an Evil Genius to block the boat's path by jamming up the river with tree branches. He wants Julie Adams, and he ain't leavin' till he gets her.
I can't say I blame him.
Look, you've seen the movie so you already know all of this. I was only recounting it because it happened to coincide with my reading of Hancock's book, and I was wondering if he had any current information on The Creature's whereabouts. He's probably still at The Black Lagoon, I'd imagine.
It goes without saying that "Creature From The Black Lagoon" is a perfect film. It's become legendary over the years and is included as one of Universal's classic Monster Movies, right up there with "Dracula" and "Frankenstein". You could classify it as Horror or Sci-Fi. It has a tight script with no fat (meaning no unnecessary scenes), and expert direction by Jack Arnold, who also made "It Came From Outer Space" and "Tarantula", masterpieces both. Also he directed many episodes of "Gilligan's Island". But "Creature" is his greatest work, and it gets Two Gigantic Thumbs Up from yours truly. ///
We're doin' about 85 degrees here on Tuesday Afternoon. As always, I trust you have The Moodies cued up. I'm gonna head over to the Libe to return some dvds, then back to Pearl's. I'll see you tonight at the Usual Time.
Tons of love. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
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