Creature from the Haunted Sea
About Creature from the Haunted Sea
During the Cuban Revolution, Renzo Capetto agrees to take General Tostada and his loyalists, plus a slice of the Cuban treasury, off the island by yacht. American agent XK150, calling himself Sparks Moran, gets aboard and narrates the job, but he is distracted by Mary-Belle Monahan. Capetto means to kill the Cubans, fake claw marks and plunger footprints, and blame a legend called the Creature from the Haunted Sea. The creature is real. He sinks the boat in thirty feet of water off an island. The gang dives for the gold. The monster kills everyone except Sparks and Carmelita Rodriguez. It sits on the treasure, picking its teeth and burping bubbles.
Cast & crew
More about Creature from the Haunted Sea
Roger Corman directed and produced it with Charles Hannawalt. Charles B. Griffith wrote the parody. Filmgroup released it in June 1961 on a double bill with Devil's Partner. Antony Carbone plays Capetto. Robert Towne, billed as Edward Wain, plays Sparks Moran. Betsy Jones-Moreland plays Mary-Belle. Beach Dickerson plays Pete Peterson Jr. Robert Bean plays Happy Jack Monahan. Fred Katz's score had been written for A Bucket of Blood. The theatrical cut runs 60 minutes. A 1963 television version runs 74.
Themes
Making
Corman shot the spoof in Puerto Rico and dressed the monster from household scraps. Katz did not write a new score. The music is the one he had made for A Bucket of Blood.
Reviews
TV Guide scored it 2 out of 4 and called it entertaining. Dennis Schwartz, on Ozus' World Movie Reviews, graded it D and called the comedy juvenile.
Music
Fred Katz's score, first used in A Bucket of Blood.
Preservation
The 60-minute theatrical cut and a 74-minute 1963 television version both survive.
Notes
- The fake monster tracks are a toilet plunger, olive oil, and green ink.
- The suit is a wetsuit with moss, Brillo pads, tennis balls for eyes, ping-pong balls for pupils, and pipe cleaners for claws, covered in black oilcloth.
- Esther Sandoval plays Porcina Perez. Sonia Noemí González plays Mango Perez. Blanquita Romero plays Carmelita. Edmundo Rivera Álvarez plays General Tostada.
- Happy Jack courts Mango. Pete courts Porcina. Carmelita likes Sparks.
- TV Guide gave it two stars out of four and called it entertaining.
- A colorized copy circulates beside the black-and-white theatrical cut.
Scenes
- Capetto fakes the creature's footprints with a toilet plunger.
- The real monster sits on the recovered treasure and burps a stream of bubbles.
Influenced by
- Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)
Also available
- Internet Archive (CreatureFromTheHauntedSea)
- Wikimedia Commons (Creature from the Haunted Sea (1961) by Roger Corman, colorized.webm)
