Today is the anniversary of the release in 1954 of the classic monster movie “Creature From The Black Lagoon.”
In the movie, a group of scientists in the Amazon come across a prehistoric creature nicknamed the Gill-man, and they try to capture him and bring him back to the US.
But the story of how the creature came to be – and who brought the Gill-man to life – is quite a story too.
It’s the story of Milicent Patrick, who trained as an artist and worked in the early days of the ink and paint department at Walt Disney Studios.
She helped make the landmark animation in “Fantasia,” among other projects.
Patrick went on to get small roles in live-action movies, and along the way met the head of the makeup department at Universal Pictures, the studio that was legendary for its movie monsters, including Dracula, the Wolf Man and the Bride of Frankenstein.
Patrick became makeup designer for “Creature From The Black Lagoon,” and ended up designing the Gill-man.
Universal decided to send her out on tour to promote the picture, advertising her as “The Beauty Who Created The Beast.”
But her boss made them rename the tour so that Patrick was no longer billed as the creator of the creature.
Then he replaced her name in the movie’s credits with his own, and fired her.
Fortunately, film lovers and fans kept spreading the word about her work and career, so that even if Milicent Patrick didn’t get the credit she deserved when her Creature first emerged from the Black Lagoon, she’s definitely getting it now.
Those who have been working from home for most of the last year have either found ways to make it work or found that it isn’t really working for them.
In Japan, one option for this second group is the Telecube, which is a bit like a work space inside a phone booth.
There’s a desk, internet, plugs, soundproofing and ventilation, and they’ve been installed not just at office buildings but inside places like convenience stores, though with a cost north of $8 an hour to reserve one.
On the other hand, snacks would be, like, right there.
Movie monster maker Milicent Patrick finally gets her due in ‘The Lady From the Black Lagoon’ (Los Angeles Times)
Get your work done inside Tokyo’s first convenience store private working booth (Sora News 24)
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Creature From the Black Lagoon poster by Reynold Brown, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
