Movies
The Woman Behind the Creature from the Black Lagoon
Who Was Milicent Patrick? The Unsung Hero of Universal Monsters
Before the first female special effects artist at Universal took charge of designing the Gill-man, things were looking dismal for the picture. The props department had previously been responsible for creating the Creature from the Black Lagoon, but early looks for the monster were not received well.
Director William Alland reportedly loved these initial designs, derisively known as The Pollywog – but he was the only one.
After a test screening, actor Ricou Browning remembers that the higher-ups at Universal Studios, James Pratt and Edward Muhl, said the costume “sucked.”
Meanwhile, Frank Westmore, (the brother of the head of the makeup department, Bud Westmore) recalled: “Instead of projecting menace, he looked like a man swimming around in long rubber underwear…”
Chris Mueller, in charge of sculpting, is the one who named him The Pollywog, a fitting name for what looks reminiscent of a 1960s Batman villain.
Before Milicent Patrick got to work on the Creature from the Black Lagoon, the Gill-man was far from the Universal monster we know him as today.
Who Was Milicent Patrick? The Unsung Hero of Universal Monsters
Before the first female special effects artist at Universal took charge of designing the Gill-man, things were looking dismal for the picture. The props department had previously been responsible for creating the Creature from the Black Lagoon, but early looks for the monster were not received well.
Director William Alland reportedly loved these initial designs, derisively known as The Pollywog – but he was the only one.
After a test screening, actor Ricou Browning remembers that the higher-ups at Universal Studios, James Pratt and Edward Muhl, said the costume “sucked.”
Meanwhile, Frank Westmore, (the brother of the head of the makeup department, Bud Westmore) recalled: “Instead of projecting menace, he looked like a man swimming around in long rubber underwear…”
Eight years earlier, studio chief William Goetz had ordered that no more “B” monster movies be made. After all, at that point, Universal Pictures already had Dracula, Frankenstein, and The Wolf-man (among many others) under its belt. Each with groundbreaking effects for its time. A made-for-TV villain was far below the par of what had come to be expected from the studio.
It was at that point a redesign was in order. The makeup department took over, and with it, came Universal Studios’ first female special effects artist.
Milicent Patrick’s Artistic Journey: From Disney to Universal
By the age of 25, she had worked on Fantasia, including the skit “A Night on Bald Mountain”, designing the winged Chernabog. This was more than likely the first monster she ever worked on for a wide audience.
After being laid off by Disney following a strike, she worked in modeling for a short while.
Then, she shifted her work to acting, where she worked small parts in front of the camera, such as the “Tavern Girl” in Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd, and an uncredited role in Bride of Vengeance. It was in 1952 that she met the head of the makeup department Bud Westmore who offered her a job behind the scenes immediately after seeing her designs.
She did uncredited special effects work on It Came from Outer Space, Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, This Island Earth, Against All Flags, and Sign of the Pagan. But it’s her work on Creature from the Black Lagoon that brings us here today.
After the prop department’s Pollywog was laughed out of existence, Milicent Patrick spent six weeks painstakingly designing the creature that would come to be known as the Gill-man.
I’d say the rest is history but unfortunately, Bud Westmore attempted to erase much of this history – and it’s all because Universal’s publicity department loved Milicent Patrick.
Bud Westmore’s Role in Erasing Milicent Patrick’s Legacy
But Bud Westmore was reportedly furious and tried to have the whole tour canceled. He was the head of the makeup department after all, and felt that saying someone else created the creature didn’t give him credit for heading the project.
Bud insisted Milicent Patrick be called “The Beauty Who Lives With the Beast” instead.
He made other demands for Milicent Patrick’s tour, eventually including that she must tell interviewers that Bud Westmore himself created the Gill-man from start to finish.
This – of course – was far from true, as Milicent Patrick did the design, Chris Mueller sculpted the head, and Jack Kevan oversaw the project. But Milicent was so happy to be on tour, that she tried to oblige Bud Westmore’s outrageous demands.
But, the press loved Milicent Patrick too. Any comments she made about Bud Westmore were dismissed because they only wanted to know more about Milicent. The tour was extended and Milicent Patrick did more than forty interviews.
Unfortunately, by the time the tour ended, she was ultimately fired from the project by Bud Westmore.
Bud Westmore Takes Credit for Milicent’s Work
As was customary, Bud Westmore’s name would be the only one to show up in the credits for makeup design in the movie. But the credit for Milicent’s creation was largely stolen after that, with Bud Westmore publicly refuting any claims that he wasn’t responsible for the design.
To give a brief overview of Bud Westmore’s character, enjoy this quote a columnist named Mike Molony made in 1950:
“Hollywood is highly amused at the slip makeup artist Bud Westmore made when he related in an interview how he was responsible for that classic cosmetic creation, the Frankenstein monster. This, of course, is pure foopypoop. Ace makeup artist Jack Pierce made Boris Karloff into the monster back in 1931, when Bud hadn’t long been graduated from diapers, and his older brothers were busy learning the makeup business, working at Max Factor’s.”
The publicity department at Universal tried to great avail to convince Bud Westmore to let Milicent Patrick come back, up to a week after Creature from the Black Lagoon was released, but he refused to relent.
Milicent Patrick kept her career in front of the camera after that but unfortunately, most of those parts went on to also be uncredited.
After Bud Westmore died in 1973, Milicent tried to come out with the truth. Despite being featured in a “Queen of the Monster Makers” piece by Famous Monsters in 1978, many remained skeptical for years about the depth of Milicent’s involvement until a producer/screenwriter changed everything.
Mallory O’Meara’s Mission to Restore Milicent Patrick’s Legacy
Few people know of the injustice Milicent Patrick was dealt, and the woman is owed her flowers. Unfortunately, she is no longer here to claim them as she passed away in 1998; never living to see the credit her work was owed.
To Milicent Patrick, The Beauty Who Created the Beast.
For more about the making of Creature From the Black Lagoon, see our Horror Trivia Tuesday video on Instagram or TikTok!
The Coffee Table hit the U.S. streets in 2024 and imprinted itself on the brains of Horror fans (I am Horror fans). If you have not seen it, I can guarantee it’s like nothing you’ve seen before. The film follows a couple, Jesus and Maria, who have just become parents, and decide to buy a new coffee table. This decision has unexpected consequences. I highly recommend checking out this movie; you will be changed. You can catch it streaming (at the time of this article) on Tubi, AMC+, Shudder, and VOD. When I watched it for the first time, I rented it, and it was worth every penny.
I contacted Casas’ team and sent over a few questions about his inspiration for The Coffee Table and a memory with his dad. Please note that the responses have been translated from Spanish to English.
An Interview with Director Caye Casas
Jazzmin Crawley: What was your inspiration for The Coffee Table?
Caye Casas: I hadn’t filmed anything in five years, and I hadn’t come up with any projects. I thought I’d never be able to make another film. But I wanted to try to make one last film, one that would be powerful and that anyone who saw it would never forget.
I had the script for The Coffee Table in a drawer, written years ago. I knew I could do it on a tight budget, and a friend let me use her apartment for free, so we dove in and shot it in only 10 days. I wanted to tell a great tragedy with touches of dark humor, and based on some real news stories about these types of accidents, so we wrote the film.
We wanted to make a terrifying film, but not a typical horror film. Here, there’s only a dining table and a cruel fate, and a tragedy that can happen to any of us.
What was your favorite part of making this film?
My favorite part was getting back to filming after so much time. It’s something I needed at the core. I always say that having a passion for filmmaking is a curse, since it’s so hard to get the money, and life goes by, and you shoot very little. And if you ask me specifically about this film, my favorite part was shooting the kitchen sequence with Maria’s (Estafanía de los Santos) laughter. It was very funny, and I think it’s a sequence of cruelty and dark humor.
The design of the coffee table is interesting! Was it created for the film, or was it something you found? Is there a story behind this design?
We didn’t have the money to create a table, but we knew we wanted it to be kitsch, ugly, and different. Luckily, an antique dealer friend had this table in his warehouse. We asked him if he’d sell it to us at a good price, and he gifted it to us! We painted it gold, added the “unbreakable” glass, and it became the star of the movie.
Now I have it in my house, but without the glass.
I’m writing this article for Father’s Day. Do you have a memory with your dad you’d like to share?
Honestly, my best memory of my dad is when he used to take me to Camp Nou to watch FC Barcelona play. I’m a huge Barça (short for FC Barcelona) fan, and that’s thanks to my dad. My greatest passions are Barça, movies, and retro toys…in that order!
You have a history of working in the comedy and horror genres. Why do you like this medium?
Dark humor is my brand; it’s what defines me. I like to mix genres and put dark humor into a great tragedy, like life itself. Life isn’t just one genre, it’s many. I always use the example that sometimes you’re at a funeral, and humor comes up. Life can be contradictory, and the same thing happens in my films.
That’s why I’m passionate about mixing those two genres; for me, it’s really fun.
What would be your dream project?
Shooting the next film! I have various scripts written, and I’m looking for financing. There are multiple projects. Aside from that, I’m developing a script for a U.S. film. I hope something comes out of all this! You never stop chipping away at the stone in this business, at least in my case. My dream project is to make films for a living.
If you can talk about this, what’s next for you?
As I’ve told you, I have my own projects, some commissions, but nothing’s confirmed. We’re working on it, looking for money, investors, you know, that tedious phase of looking for money under every rock. But I assure you, the films made will be as talked about, if not more so, than The Coffee Table.
End of Interview
It was great to get an opportunity to ask Casas questions and get insight on this darkly funny project. The Coffee Table will live rent-free in the minds of Horror fans everywhere. We must fund and support independent filmmakers. If Casas could make something like The Coffee Table on such a small budget, imagine what he could do given ample funding.
Independent filmmaking is where some of the most unique ideas live. I hope we are able to see what Casas has in store next. If we want to see new and refreshing films, we have to support the teams behind them.
Movies
This Queer 2015 Slasher Desperately Deserves A Cult Following
Dive into “You’re Killing Me,” a 2015 queer horror slasher that’s equal parts romance, comedy, and bloody thrills. Follow Joe, a budding serial killer, as he navigates love and West Hollywood’s apathetic social scene in this vibrant, satirical coming-out allegory. A must-watch for queer horror fans!
This Pride Month on Horror Press, one of our main missions is to spread the word about queer horror movies that have actually, explicitly queer characters. Throw your queer theory textbook out the window today and put away those notes about the subtext of Fright Night. Today we’re diving deep into an example of one of my favorite movie genres (slasher) that features one of my favorite human genres (queer people). That’s right, we’re here to talk about 2015’s You’re Killing Me, a movie that celebrates the 10th anniversary of its OutFest premiere in July and desperately needs to have developed a proper cult following by the 20th anniversary, if there is any justice in the universe. Or the 15th anniversary. Or hell, the 11th.
The Queer Classic That Is You’re Killing Me
In brief, You’re Killing Me is a romantic comedy about social misfit Joe (Matthew McKelligon) meeting George (Jeffery Self). The pair fall in love and Joe insinuates himself with George’s West Hollywood friend group, including George’s co-star in his online videos, Barnes (Bryan Safi). It’s all very sweet, except for one wrinkle. Joe is a budding serial killer, and every time he talks about coming into his own as a murderer, his new boyfriend – who is too busy thinking about his favorite subject, himself – just assumes that he’s kidding.
Not only is You’re Killing Me a movie jam-packed with queer characters, it tells an entirely unique queer story through the allegory of Joe’s murders. Its true intentions may be hidden behind rivulets of blood, but it’s a coming-out story, too. It’s a rather unique “hero killer” story (to steal a phrase referring to movies that have their killer as the protagonist from Brian Collins, who may – in all fairness – have stolen it from somebody else). While the story does have a strong dash of Dexter to it, it’s got a much more focused coming-out metaphor, about trying to self-actualize and live one’s truth while surrounded by people who aren’t pushing back but rather could not give a shit about anything beyond the surface level of a person or a situation.
A Slasher With Heart
While the movie clearly has a lot of affection for the characters that it is lovingly satirizing, it harshly critiques their inability to connect with Joe properly, and their punishment for not listening to him is an increasingly deadly rampage. Joe mistakes their lack of processing as actual encouragement, and his self-actualization is allowed to spin wildly down a destructive path. However, by making the scenes where Joe commits his murders more lush, colorful, and beautiful than everything else, the movie hints that the character is much more alive than the dead-eyed WeHo-ites who surround him, by dint of actually living his truth.
While I’m not saying the movie justifies murder, per se, it definitely calls out the evil inherent to apathy, and that’s another way that it is much more queer and textured and interesting than the average slasher movie. So why isn’t it a cult classic just yet? You tell me! It just boils the blood. But I’m trying to build said cult here, so allow me to continue my pitch.
The Queer People Behind You’re Killing Me
As much as there is ample queerness to be seen in You’re Killing Me, there is just as much offscreen. Just like the West Hollywood culture the movie heavily satirizes, this group of gay people has a strong tendency to trend white, cis, and male (though longtime ally and LGBTQ+ advocate Mindy Cohn is also floating around the cast!), which, sure, could be a knock against it, but let’s take a quick journey through who we have here!
Director/Co-Writer/Producer Jim Hansen
Jim Hansen (not to be confused with the muppet pioneer of almost the same name) is primarily known for his work in the costume department of various major projects, including being the costume designer for Another Gay Movie and a costumer for Bring It On, Kill Bill Vol 1 & 2, and Wizards of Waverly Place.
He is also the co-creator of The Chloe Videos, which feature Drew Droege (who also appears in You’re Killing Me) in drag as Chloë Sevigny. Currently, You’re Killing Me is his final directorial feature, because the moral arc of the universe does not bend toward justice. However, his career is still ongoing, and more recently he has been the costume supervisor for shows like One Day at a Time, Bunk’d, and Happy’s Place.
Co-Writer/Star/Producer Jeffery Self
Comedian, actor, and writer Jeffery Self is best known to me as Liz’s gay cousin from 30 Rock, but he has a wide range of credits under his belt. Star of Search Party, author of the young adult novel A Very Very Bad Thing, host of the MTV aftershow Scream: After Dark, writer of salacious Fire Island recaps where he details the fact that he used to date one of the stars… this man has done it all. He’s also currently in theaters playing a supporting role in Christopher Landon’s Drop!
Notably, his Self-insert character (so to speak), George, is perhaps the most wicked person in this movie about a serial killer. This speaks to a willingness to make oneself the butt of the joke that is refreshing in screenwriters providing parts for themselves.
Star Matthew McKelligon
McKelligon is a mainstay of YouTube web series turned Logo TV web series turned Netflix series EastSiders, which was created by Kit Williamson and co-starred Constance Wu!
Star Bryan Safi
Actor and general man-about-town Bryan Safi played a major role in You season 3, but he is perhaps best known as the co-host (with Erin Gibson) of the LGBTQ+/women’s news comedy podcast Attitudes! (formerly Throwing Shade).
Supporting Cast
In addition to Drew Droege, of course, You’re Killing Me also features notable queer supporting players including Matthew Wilkas (star of Gayby and thus former onscreen love interest for Adam Driver, as well as being a former real-life love interest for gay Olympian Gus Kenworthy), Jack Plotnick (who has lived the gay dream, starring in both Gods and Monsters and Buffy the Vampire Slayer), and Sam Pancake (gay character actor extraordinaire who you’ve seen everywhere from Friends to Arrested Development to Search Party to Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde).
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