Clint Eastwood is one of the biggest Hollywood icons of all time. From his amazing Westerns, blasting away the bad guys as Dirty Harry, hanging out with Clyde, and of course the numerous movies he has been behind the camera for. Clint Eastwood is a man who has done it all, but this legendary career had to have started somewhere and that is why today we are looking at Clint Eastwood’s first movie, Revenge of the Creature, and some fun facts and trivia about this sci-fi creature feature!
In this video, part of the series “Celebrities’ First Movie Appearance”, you can see Clint Eastwood in his very first movie role in Revenge of the Creature:
An Unnecessary Sequel?
Before we get to Clint Eastwood’s first ever movie role, we do have to talk about the movie, Revenge of the Creature first of all. Released in 1955 as a direct sequel to 1954’s Creature from the Black Lagoon, Revenge of the Creature saw the Gill-man surviving being blasted with bullets in the previous movie and taken to an aquarium. Where he would be studied by Clete Ferguson and Helen Dobson. The creature has a thing for Helen, manages to escape, and wreaks havoc in the process. The movie was not very well received, with many claiming it was massively inferior to its predecessor.
Clint Eastwood’s First Movie Role!
Like many actors who were starting out, Clint Eastwood in Revenge of the Creature is a very small role, as a matter of fact, he would go uncredited for this role for many years. He plays the role of a lab technician who goes by the name of Jennings. Jennings gets a bit of screen time with one of the main characters, Clete Ferguson in one of the more lighthearted scenes in the movie where he has lost a lab rat, only for it to appear in his pocket. It is interesting that the role was uncredited as he does actually speak so it is not like he was an extra just standing in the background.
Two Creatures For The Price Of One
While we are looking at Revenge of the Creature because it is Clint Eastwoods first film, the character we all really want to talk about is the Gill-man! All of the underwater scenes were done by the very talented stunt man, Ricou Browing who also played the Gill-man in the underwater scenes in the original, Creature from the Black Lagoon as well as the third movie The Creature Walks Among Us. However, Tom Hennesy would play the Gill-man when he was on land. Interestingly, the Gill-man when he was on land would be played by a different actor in each movie with Ben Chapman and Don Megowan playing Gill-man in the first and third movies.
Putting The Humanity In This Creature Feature!
The two lead roles in Revenge of the Creature are played by John Agar who is Professor. Clete Ferguson, an aquatic animal specialist who is trying to study, communicate, and understand the Gill-man. We also have Lori Nelson playing the role of Helen Dobson who is also studying the Gill-man and becomes the object of his affection, Lori Nelson would have a great career spanning many movies and TV shows, including a run of nearly 60 episodes on the TV series, How to Marry a Millionaire. However, it is John Agar who is the most interesting here, he is most well known for appearing in a series of movies with John Wayne. You may think that the “Western” thing is what links him and Clint Eastwood together and that is partially true. However, John Agar would appear in many classic horror and sci-fi B-movies, one of which Tarantula, also from 1955 would see him once again appear in a sci-fi horror with Clint Eastwood!
Say My Name
A neat bit of trivia about Revenge of the Creature that is not tied to it being Clint Eastwood’s first movie is its name. These days the movie is pretty much known by its standard title (no need to repeat that again. However, it has also been called Return of the Creature and Return of Creature from the Black Lagoon depending on the region you are from. Interestingly, this is the only movie in the trilogy that has this naming confusion as Creature from the Black Lagoon and 1956’s The Creature Walks Among Us never had alternative names.
Clint Eastwood In 3D
While the 3D fad that had a big deal and seen a real boom at the cinema earlier in the 50s was dying down in 1955, like Creature from the Black Lagoon, Universal would release Revenge of the Creature in 3D as well as “flat”. It has been reported that the 2D version of Revenge of the Creature did better at the box office than the 3D version as moviegoers had tired of the 3D gimmick by 1955. The next movie, The Creature Walks Among Us would not have a 3D release.
The Remakes We Never Got
Ok, so no one was ever going to remake Revenge of the Creature, but for decades a remake/reboot of Creature from the Black Lagoon has been in the works. In the early 90s, John Carpenter was trying to make it happen, but it never came to anything. Then in the late 90s, after the success of The Mummy starring Brenden Fraser, Universal once again wanted to reboot Creature from the Black Lagoon, and shortly after, Guillermo del Toro who is a massive fan of the original movie was attached to the project. While that would not happen. Guillermo del Toro’s 2017 movie, The Shape of Water was heavily inspired by his love for Creature from the Black Lagoon. Most recently, James Wan of Saw, Insidious, and The Conjuring has been attached to handle a remake and this one does sound very promising. Of course, whether or not James Wan can get Clint Eastwood to do a cameo in the movie is not something that has been discussed as of yet, but we think it would be very cool.
So there you have it, Clint Eastwood’s first movie! While it was a small role, he did actually get to speak which is more than some other Hollywood A-listers can say about their theatrical debuts. Clint Eastwood without question has had a legendary career and it is awesome that this legendary movie career started opposite one of the most legendary movie monsters of all time, Creature from the Black Lagoon!