:22:01
Creature's underwater
photography was in 1953.
:22:04
Keep in mind that 3-D was a new process
then with a lot of bugs to iron out,
:22:09
and here's Universal trying to figure out
a way to take a 3-D camera underwater.
:22:13
I think that's impressive enough,
but on top of that,
:22:16
it had to be a portable
motion-picture underwater camera,
:22:19
which was practically unheard-of then.
:22:21
This was 1953, when virtually every
underwater scene in any movie to date
:22:25
had been photographed by stationary
cameras or through glass tanks.
:22:29
Universal shot some test footage
with this underwater camera
:22:32
and showed it to Life magazine,
who were very impressed.
:22:35
Maybe it gave someone
at Universal the idea
:22:37
that a Life photographer, Peter Stackpole,
:22:40
be asked to take a three-week
leave of absence from work,
:22:43
go to Florida, and photograph
the underwater scenes for the movie.
:22:46
Peter Stackpole was one of the
four original photographers for Life
:22:50
and one of their top photographers, taking
lots of photos of film stars in Hollywood.
:22:54
He was also enthusiastic
about underwater photography,
:22:57
he was an expert swimmer and he had
cameras equipped for underwater filming.
:23:01
Also in the back of Universal's mind
was the fact that
:23:03
his participation would practically
ensure a layout on the movie in Life,
:23:07
and Universal would get lots of stills
of the underwater sequences for their use.
:23:11
I don't know if Stackpole
turned them down,
:23:14
but the guy Universal hired to direct the
underwater shots was James C Havens,
:23:19
and that's a funny story
that I'll save for later.
:23:29
The underwater scenes of Creature
were shot at Wakulla Spring, Florida.
:23:33
Movies had been shot there in the past,
:23:35
Tarzan pictures, like Tarzan's Secret
Treasure from the old Weissmuller days.
:23:39
The place was managed by
a fella named Newton Perry.
:23:43
Our first look at Ricou Browning
as the creature.
:23:45
Newton Perry was also involved with
Florida water shows and things like that.
:23:49
He was known in Hollywood,
:23:51
because when Universal decided to
shoot there, he was the man they called.
:23:55
They asked Perry
if he knew of any swimmers,
:23:58
and also if he knew any locations
where they might find something