A Salute To Julie Adams

This last week we lost Julie Adams, who was SIMPLY THE FINEST LAND-BASED RECRUITING OPERATIVE WE HAD WORKING FOR THE FISH ARMY IN THE PREVIOUS CENTURY.  Above you can see a scene from her best-known role in The Creature From The Black Lagoon, the ULTIMATE CLASSIC in piscatorial love stories and just about the last movie I, personally, ever expected to see come out of Universal Studios.

Ms. Adams had a long and varied career in movies and TV, but THIS FILM IS THE ONLY REASON MOST PEOPLE HAVE EVER HEARD OF HER -- the one about her doomed romance with the Gill Man, played on land by Ben Chapman and underwater by Ricou Browning.

THIS IS AS GOOD A TIME AS ANY to watch the movie again, ladies, and observe the CHEMISTRY between the land creature and the aquatic one.  His intense interest; her hesitation; and the way he SIMPLY CLAIMS HER FOR HIS OWN without endangering a hair on her head for an instant, in spite of the movie's horror-story trappings.  This is an older, more aggressive style of recruitment no longer practical for most recruiters.  THESE DAYS THERE'S NOTHING YOU CAN DO WITHOUT BEING LIVE-STREAMED ON THE INTERNET, and seeing that in the future forced us to revert to subtler forms of persuasion.

The film attempts to paint Kay Lawrence, Julie Adams's character in the movie, as a fainting damsel in distress who needs rescuing by the menfolk, but SHE IS NOTHING OF THE KIND.  Her character has a sharp mind and as you can see in this gif, there's NOTHING WRONG WITH HER MUSCLE TONE, EITHER.  Please note as you watch the movie that she never raises a finger to stop the Gill Man's plans.  OBVIOUSLY SHE WAS IN ON IT ALL ALONG.  She's a better swimmer than most of the men in this movie, frankly, and if the Gill Man had gotten her all the way back to his lair and started her transformation into a fish, she might have had a better scissor stroke than the Gill Man did himself...AND THE CHILDREN THEY WOULD HAVE HAD!

...WOULDA, COULDA, SHOULDA.

If fish could speak, THERE WOULD STILL BE NO WORDS FOR US TO DESCRIBE the size or scope of her contribution to Piscatorial Love.  As compelling and attractive as the Gill Man was, it was her reactions to him that DREW WOMEN BY THE MILLION INTO THE WATER, LIKE LEMMINGS.

Julie and Ben, TOGETHER FOREVER!