The Lady from the Black Lagoon: Hollywood Monsters and the Lost Legacy of Milicent Patrick, written by Mallory O’Meara, centers on a unique world of film artistry and special effects that many of us are intrigued by but have not experienced firsthand. Unfortunately, the book details a second world that women around the world are all too familiar with: misogyny and sexism.

Underwater scenes in the movie Creature From the Black Lagoon were filmed at Edward Ball Wakulla Springs State Park, located about 14 miles outside of Tallahassee. If you’ve talked to any of the employees or taken a ride on their boat tours, then you’ve surely heard about the park’s claim to fame. 

This 1950’s monster horror film was a favorite of O’Meara’s. She’s now an indie film producer who grew up fascinated with the horror film genre and particularly with the Creature From the Black Lagoon. As a teenager, scrolling through internet research, O’Meara stumbled upon a photograph of Milicent Patrick painting the mask of the Creature. The caption stated that Patrick was an animator and creature designer and O’Meara was immediately entranced. The chance of finding a woman in the design department of a film set in the 1950s was slim to none. It might surprise you to know that in the 21st century there hasn’t been a great leap forward in representation of women in the film industry.

The introductory chapter from O’Meara was especially striking. She provided stat after stat that showed the lack of female work. 

• At the time of the publishing of this book (2019):
  • In the Oscars category for Best Visual Effects, “women have only been nominated three times since 1939, and only won once.”  
  • “There has only been one female cinematographer even nominated for an Oscar.” 
  • “Eighty-one percent of films do not have female production designers.”  
• “One hundred percent of the top American films of 1954, the year Creature from the Black Lagoon was released, were directed by men.”
• “Ninety-six percent of the top American films for 2016, the year I started writing this book, were directed by men.”

And we must also acknowledge the privilege Patrick held as a white woman. For women of color, the reality is more stark with even less representation. 

Up until recently, Patrick went uncredited for her work as the artist who designed the Creature. A jealous man grasped and took the credit for her talent and brilliance. Universal sent Patrick on a press tour to promote the film and her work in imagining the Creature. But, the head of the makeup department, Bud Westmore, was stewing in anger and resentment. He wanted the attention for himself. Patrick was not credited in the film for the Creature, Westmore was. By the time Patrick returned from her tour, Westmore had removed her from all film projects and she found herself without a job. 

She was one of the first female animators who was employed at the Walt Disney Studios, and her work appeared in the film Fantasia. She also took on several acting roles and worked as a makeup artist in the film industry. After the Creature of the Black Lagoon, she never again created another monster for film. She instead put her artistic talents toward designing her own outfits and making portrait sketches of others.

This is a story we’re all too familiar with — one where a woman’s talents are suffocated for the ego of a man. O’Meara’s book works to somewhat right this wrong by giving Patrick’s name her overdue credit. It follows O’Meara on her search to learn about Patrick, her life, her work, and to posthumously pull her name out of the lagoon of obscurity.

Check out this independent Florida bookstore, if you’re interested in purchasing The Lady from the Black Lagoon: Hollywood Monsters and the Lost Legacy of Milicent Patrick.