:58:00
Mueller got a kick outta that, and
he used to enjoy telling that story.
:58:06
The gill-man outfit was
expensive, needless to say.
:58:09
According to Universal's publicity,
which probably inflated these figures,
:58:13
it was valued at $18,000,
:58:15
and was the product of eight-and-a-half
months of experimentation.
:58:19
"Fashioned of foam rubber, plastic,
:58:21
hidden controls
and specially-tailored fittings,
:58:24
the costume forms the end result of 76
body sketches, 32 different head models,
:58:29
and 176lb of foam rubber used
during the experimental stages."
:58:34
There were articles about
the suit in magazines,
:58:36
including non-movie magazines
like Mechanix Illustrated.
:58:39
There were also behind-the-scenes
photos and an article in Skin Diver.
:58:43
According to Skin Diver,
the August 1954 issue,
:58:46
Creature, which had only been out two
months, had already grossed two million.
:58:55
Hey, the cracked boom
has mysteriously fixed itself.
:58:58
I mentioned that
the gill-man outfit had flex gaps
:59:01
that gave the people inside
a little freedom, but not a lot,
:59:04
and it was a lot of trouble getting
the actors in and out of the costume.
:59:08
At lunchtime, Ben Chapman would take
off the helmet, boots and gloves,
:59:12
and they had for him a stand-up chair.
:59:14
It looked like a chaise lounge, except that
it stood straight up and had armrests.
:59:18
He'd get into that, and there would be
a high table for him to eat off of.
:59:22
Ben Chapman also played
the creature on TV in 1954.
:59:25
He had a gag-cameo appearance in an
episode of The Colgate Comedy Hour,
:59:29
with Abbott and Costello, and, as the
Frankenstein monster, Glenn Strange.
:59:33
Universal considered TV a threat, the way
most every other studio in Hollywood did,
:59:37
but they used it to promote
the movie anyway.
:59:39
They let Chapman go on
The Colgate Comedy Hour.
:59:42
Julie Adams made
some promotional appearances,
:59:44
and they even had a trailer for the movie
on TV, which caused a bit of a squawk.
:59:48
A couple of TV stations refused to run it,
:59:50
but one person at Universal took that
as a compliment to the movie, and wrote
:59:54
"I can't think of higher praise for
what we have to sell on TV for Creature,
:59:59
than to have a station refuse a spot
because the material was too scary."