Creature from the Haunted Sea (1961)

Director:

Roger Corman

Writer:

Charles B. Griffith (screenplay)

Release Date:

June 1961 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Horror

Tagline:

This Gangster's "Single Partner" Isn't Even Human!

Plot:

A crook decides to bump off members of his inept crew and blame their deaths on a legendary sea creature. What he doesn't know is that the creature is real.

Plot Keywords:

Sea Monster | Boat | Cuba | Gangster | Gangster's Moll

US TV Schedule:

Tue. Dec. 15

10:00 AM

TCM

Cast

Antony Carbone	...	Renzo Capetto
Betsy Jones-Moreland	...	Mary-Belle Monahan
Robert Towne	...	Sparks Moran / Agent XK150 / Narrator (as Edward Wain)
Beach Dickerson	...	Pete Peterson Jr. (Capeto's chief henchman) (as Beech Dickerson)
Robert Bean	...	Happy Jack Monahan (Mary-Belle's brother)
Esther Sandoval
Sonia Noemí González	...	Mango Perez (as Sonia Noemi Gonzalez)
Edmundo Rivera Álvarez	...	Gen. Tostada (as Edmund Rivera Alvarez)
Terry Nevin
Elisio López		(as Elsio Lopez)
Tanner Hunt
Blanquita Romero
Armando Rowra

Runtime:

63 min | USA:75 min (TV version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Canada:PG (Ontario) | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Puerto Rico

Company:

Roger Corman Productions

Trivia:

The scene of the Cuban military officers saluting as the little boat they are floating in sinks was not planned; it actually began sinking as they were completing the shot. Roger Corman told the actors to stand and salute as the boat sank and filmed every moment, later stating that it 'wasn't very deep' there. He also gave high praise for the Mexican actors that played the officers for taking direction so well.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When the monster attacks the ship at the end of the movie, you can see human skin where the costume sleeves didn't reach the gloves.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Sparks Moran: [narrating] I had to go the Santo Domingo bar and I had to find Agent XK-120, whom I'd never met.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 50 Worst Movies Ever Made (2004) (V)

Soundtrack:

The Creature from the Haunted Sea

A very misunderstood film.

So many people seem to believe that this was supposed to be a straight-up horror film. It is anything but that. Creature From the Haunted Sea is a broad farce first, a political satire second, and finally a horror film/creature feature third. In fact, the said creature in the title has barely a presence in this film at all.

Roger Corman obviously wanted to make a silly comedy with political undertones about the times, but always the businessman, he knew to throw in a monster and cool sounding title to bring in the ticket buying public. Folks need to realize when they watch this to not expect a nail biting thriller or blood curdling horror film. This is comedy all the way.

The film is about an American gangster who agrees to transport a couple of Cuban military officers and some of their men off the island after Castro's revolution. They also bring along a large part of the Cuban treasury. Also aboard the boat is an undercover spy for the American government, who is trying to figure out what all is going on. The gangster also has his girlfriend with him and a couple of hired hands, one of which is his girlfriends brother and the other a strange fellow who makes animal noises all the time. The gangster decides he would like the money the Cubans have brought along for his own and decides to bump them off one by one, blaming things on a local legend about a sea monster. Unfortunately for him, it turns out that the legend is true and there is really a sea monster.

The acting in this film is fine for what it is and the actors play their roles like they should. Its a Corman picture so you know its a cheapie, as the monster is one of the silliest looking creatures I have ever seen. I really didn't laugh at anything in the movie, though it caused me to elicit a small chuckle a couple of times. The picture moved along briskly enough and wasn't a bore, though it didn't thrill me either. My biggest gripe is that so many DVD companies who have released this try to pass it off as a serious horror film. Anyone expecting that will be sadly disappointed.

Not a terrible movie, but not what you would probably expect either.