Campus Monster
Universal was the studio that gave America its monsters. Well, it wasn’t Universal alone, but the initial—almost canonical—line-up of monsters were Universal productions. As horror grew to be more influenced by science-fiction in the 1950s, Universal kept at the monster-themed movies, cranking out many that I missed and on which I’ve been trying to catch up. Monster on the Campus is interesting in a number of ways. Directed by Jack Arnold, of Gilligan’s Island fame (or future fame, since this movie was earlier), it’s a story built around evolution. Pipe-smoking professor Donald Blake has a coelacanth delivered to his lab. ...