It's horribly dated, the acting's lousy, the 3D effects are worthless and the monster is a man in a rubber suit. Yet Creature from the Black Lagoon remains one of the all-time classic monster movies. The by-the-numbers plot - explorers encounter a half-man, half-fish that has the hots for Julia Adams - is enlivened by director Jack Arnold's atmospheric use of the Florida Everglades locations and a sympathetic portrait of the "Gill-Man". (Champion swimmer Ricou Browning was picked for the role because he could hold his breath for four minutes at a time.) The underwater sequences are particularly memorable, while the scene where Adams swims alone with the creature watching from below plays upon all our fears of what may lurk beneath the sea. (That same fear was brilliantly exploited decades later in Jaws.) A massive hit in its day, the Gill-Man justly entered the horror hall of fame alongside Universal's other great monsters, Dracula and Frankenstein. Avoid the two turgid sequels that followed.

When scientists exploring the Amazon River stumble on a “missing link” connecting humans and fish, they plan to capture it for later study. But the Creature has plans of his own, and has set his sights on the lead scientist's beautiful fiancée, Kay.