Fond Farewell to the Beloved Universal Classic Monsters

With the passing of Ricou Browning on February 27, 2023, best known as the swimming actor for Gill-man in The Creature from Black Lagoon franchise, all of the actors who starred as the titular monsters in Universal’s Classic Monsters film canon have now passed on. Despite the attempts to revitalize the Universal monsters, most recently with The Invisble Man (2020), a success, and The Mummy (2017), a notorious flop, the original icons still loom large and likely will for time to come.

Ricou Browning, Gill-man in The Creature from the Black Lagoon Series (1930 – 2023)

By Florida Memory – Ricou Browning in his movie costume at Wakulla Springs, Public Domain, 

Origins of the Universal Classic Monsters

The Universal Monsters films began in the early 1930s with a Pre-Hays Code Dracula starring horror star and legend Bela Lugos that came to theatres in 1931i. Dracula, directed by Tod Browning and inspired by Hamilton Deane and John L. Balderston’s 1924 play Dracula, helped define much of the iconography surrounding the character Dracula along with the style of Universal Monster films to come.

The Heyday of Horror

Following the success of Dracula, which received critical praise, many monster films were developed by Universal throughout the 30s, 40s, and 50s, including iconic characters such as Frankenstein, Wolfman, The Mummy, and The Creature from the Black Lagoon’s Gill-man. Of these films some such as Dracula, The Bride of Frankenstein, The Wolf Man, garnered praise and would make stars of their films.

Abbott & Costello Meets the Monsters

Some of these characters even developed crossover appeal when they came together with two of the biggest comedians of their time Abbott and Costello, including Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein, Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man, and Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy.

The Last Monster

The Creature from the Black Lagoon is the last of the iconic monsters to be introduced, through the eponymous film directed by Jack Arnold and released in theatres in 1954. Ultimately Universal’s success, even with two subsequent Gill-man films, couldn’t last. The era of horror films Universal had ushered in helped bring in their replacements as well, such as Hammer Film Productions, along with a new love for Sci-Fi, especially as the era of Sputnik and the space race began.