Clint Eastwood’s First Acting Role Was In A Largely Forgotten Horror Sequel

A late addition to the Universal Monsters canon, Jack Arnold’s “Creature from the Black Lagoon” was released in 1954, a full 23 years after the premiere of Tod Browning’s classic adaptation of “Dracula” starring Bela Lugosi.

Some might argue that the Universal Monsters had already established itself with “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” (1915), “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” (1923), and “The Phantom of the Opera” (1925), but I feel it wasn’t until Carl Laemmle Jr. took over the monster arm of Universal in 1931 that the canon would officially form. Within the next 15 years, Universal would churn out 25 monster movies that existed within the same continuity, making it the Marvel Cinematic Universe of its day. Indeed, just like in the MCU, the characters frequently met one another in epic crossover films like “House of Frankenstein” and “House of Dracula.”

“Creature from the Black Lagoon” came when the classic Monster canon was more or less moribund and audiences had turned their attention to atomic monsters like Godzilla. Somehow, though, the Creature snuck its way into the vault with the other famous vampires and zombies to become one of the core group of greats. It was likely because of the amazing Gillman design by Milicent Patrick. The suit could be worn underwater and shots of the humanoid fish lumbering toward Julie Adams have remained part of the pop consciousness for 70 years.

“Creature” was a hit, so Universal kept the monster canon rolling for a few more years after its release, making two sequels called “Revenge of the Creature” in 1955 and “The Creature Walks Among Us” in 1956. After that, the classic Universal monsters era was officially at an end. The Creature managed to push the franchise along for a few more precious years.

“Revenge of the Creature” may have marked the end of an era, but, thanks to a notable cameo, also represented the beginning of another. Legendary actor/director Clint Eastwood appeared in “Revenge of the Creature” as an unnamed lab technician. It was his feature film debut. He was 25.

Although shot to death in Brazil in the original “Creature from the Black Lagoon,” the Gillman (Tom Hennesy on land, Ricou Browning underwater) survived somehow. The creature was then packed in a crate and shipped to Florida for study, coming under the specific scrutiny of Professor Clete Ferguson (John Agar) and his comely assistant Helen (Lori Nelson). As we learned from the first film, the Gillman is attracted to human women in bikinis, and he soon gives his captors the slip and flees into the open ocean.

The 82-minute film climaxes when the Creature, obsessed, captures Helen from a restaurant and attempts to drag her down to a watery death. The poor fish-man is shot to death, and the film ends.

Right at the beginning of the film, however, is when Eastwood turns up. Clete is in his laboratory, studying various animals and talking about how apes and humans may have comparable intelligence. He is then called over to a second experiment by a lab assistant, played by Eastwood. The assistant talks briefly about his own experiment, wherein a cat is conditioned to live with rats without eating them. There are no natural enemies, he says, if the animals are all well-fed. Well, one of the rats is missing, leading Eastwood to assume the cat became hungry and the experiment was a failure. He then idly reaches into his pocket … and extracts the fourth rat. “How did he get in here?” Yuk yuk. An inauspicious start to a 75-year career.

Many audiences may only know about “Revenge of the Creature” from its appearance on “Mystery Science Theater 3000,” the long-running TV shows that offered flippant running commentary for bad, obscure movies. As “MST3K” movies go, “Revenge of the Creature” is one of the better ones.

Also, it’s work noting that Eastwood may have only had a small role as a comedic buffoon, but he plays the part with utter professionalism. He’s not rolling his eyes, nor does he misunderstand the part. He does the job that was asked of him. It’s no wonder he went on to star in a few more movies.