Pair of gloves from the gill man costume used in Creature from the Black Lagoon: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

Pair of “gill man” costume gloves used in the production of the 1954 horror film Creature From the Black Lagoon. The green latex rubbber gloves have webbed fingers and talon-like nails with suction cup-like markings on the underside. The gill man costume was primarily designed by Millicent Patrick, with contributions and supervision by Bud Westmore, head of Universal Studios' makeup department.

Creature From the Black Lagoon is a monster horror film made by Universal Studios and released in 1954. Directed by Jack Arnold from a screenplay by Harry Essex and Arthur Ross, the film starred Richard Carlson, Julia Adams, and Ben Chapman (land) and Ricou Browning (water) as the “Gill man,” the eponymous monster. The film tells the story of a group of scientists who encounter an ancient amphibious humanoid creature from the Devonian period while on an expedition to the Amazon. The creature kills several members of the expedition and stalks female scientist Kay, attempting to take her as a mate, before he is shot and left for dead by the departing humans. Producer William Alland first heard a story about legendary half-fish, half-human creatures living along the Amazon River from Mexican cinematographer Gabriel Figueroa; he wrote the story notes for the film using Beauty and the Beast and King Kong as inspiration for a modern take on the legend. Creature From the Black Lagoon was the first of a series of three films (Revenge of the Creature - 1955, The Creature Walks Among Us – 1956) but the only one to be shot in a 3D format – it was released just as the fad for 3D films was dying out.

The film is one of the most significant and influential of the monster movie genre, inspiring filmmakers and fans for decades since its release. Guillermo del Toro's 2017 film The Shape of Water was inspired by Creature from the Black Lagoon, a film he remembered fondly from his childhood. In Shape of Water, the director changed the story to have a reciprocated romance and a happier ending, while retaining its dark exploration of the violence inherent in human nature. Its costuming and special effects have been extremely influential, inspiring films from Jaws to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, to name just a few. The gill man costume has earned a reputation as one of the most innovative and successful monster costumes in film history, with its “realistic” anatomy (based on Patrick’s extensive research into fish biology as well as medieval sea monster lore), detailed construction (including built-in “breathing” gills), and naturalistic flexibility. The bodysuit was created from Patrick’s design by veteran makeup artist Jack Kevan, who had also made prosthetics for amputees during World War II, while Chris Mueller, Jr. sculpted the gill man’s head mask.

Materials, dates and provenance

• date made: ca 1954
• maker: Patrick, Milicent
• maker: Kevan, Jack
• maker: Westmore, Bud
• Object Name: gloves
• Physical Description: latex rubber (overall material)
• Measurements: each glove: 8 in x 8 in x 1 in; 20.32 cm x 20.32 cm x 2.54 cm
• place made: United States: California, Los Angeles
• associated subject: Entertainment, Film
• associated subject: Motion Pictures
• ID Number: 2023.0121.01
• catalog number: 2023.0121.01
• accession number: 2023.0121
• Credit Line: Gift of the Westmore Family
• Data Source: National Museum of American History

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of American History through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed.