Jun 16, 2011 The creature was played on land by stuntman Ben Chapman and underwater by champion swimmer Ricou Browning - who was forced to hold his breath. In a 1993 interview, Chapman explained that there were really two actors who played the Gill Man. He was the creature on land; Ricou Browning was the actor in water sequences. However, Chapman was the one who participated in Creature related events.
| Manufacturer | Midway |
|---|---|
| Release date | December 1992 |
| System | Midway WPC (Fliptronics II) |
| Design | John Trudeau |
| Programming | Jeff Johnson |
| Artwork | Kevin O'Connor |
| Mechanics | Ernie Pizarro |
| Music | Paul Heitsch |
| Sound | Paul Heitsch |
| Voices | Matt Booty, Paul Heitsch, Jeff Johnson, Allison Quant |
| Production run | 7,841 |
Creature from the Black Lagoon is a pinball machine designed by John Trudeau ('Dr. Flash') and released by Midway (under the Bally brand name). It is loosely based on the movie of the same name. The game's theme is 1950's drive-in theater. The pinball game was licensed from Universal Studios by Bally so that all backglass and cabinet artwork and creature depictions would resemble those of the original movie.[1]
Hologram[edit]
The centerpiece of the table's playfield is a holographic depiction of the titular Creature, illuminated and in motion during multiball play within its 'Black Lagoon habitat' (the space beneath the playfield visible through a customized window). The green hologram was produced by Polaroid and is affixed to a metal plate that is divided into three sections which are designed so that the hologram appears to float. A cam behind one of sections presses against the back of the plate, gently bending the hologram's surface, so that the Creature appears to 'ripple' as if underwater and to swipe at the player with its claw. A 2nd motor mounted in the bottom of the cabinet oscillates the light reflecting mirror, changing the direction of the light source and causing the image of the creature to slowly turn from side to side.
Gameplay[edit]
The main objective of the game is to collect the four letters in F-I-L-M to activate the game's wizard mode, Rescue the Girl. They are, from left-to-right:
F: Shoot the ball into the left K-I-S-S scoop four times to collect the letter F. The letter F can also be collected on the skill shot.
I: Light the four menu targets to open the Snack Bar and collect the letter I. Menu targets can also be lit by shooting into the Snack Bar.
L: Complete the P-A-I-D rollovers at the top right of the playfield to collect the letter L. The letter L can also be collected on the skill shot, by shooting the ball into whichever rollover is flashing.
M: Shoot the ball into the Slide (right scoop) to collect the letter M.
F-I-L-M letters can also be collected as Snack Bar rewards. Once the four letters in F-I-L-M are collected, shoot the ball into the left or right scoop to begin a 2-ball multiball. The Creature will randomly hide the girl in one of three locations: the left scoop, the Snack Bar scoop, or the right scoop. Shooting the ball into the correct scoop, then into the Snack Bar scoop, then again into the Snack Bar scoop, scores a Jackpot. The Jackpot value starts at 40 million, but increases with each jet bumper hit. Once the Jackpot has been collected, after a certain number of jet bumper hits, the Super Jackpot will light up. Shooting into the Snack Bar scoop will score a Super Jackpot, whose value is twice the current Jackpot value, multiplied by the field multiplier currently on the board.
Additional scoring modes or methods include:
Snack Bar: When the Snack Bar is open, shooting into this scoop gives a random reward.
Mega Menu: The four menu targets are lit. These targets are worth 5, 10, 15, and 20 million.
Playground Award: The game activates one of the following three modes at random.
- Unlimited Millions: The left ramp is worth 3, 6, 9, ... million until the timer expires. This mode lasts for 25 seconds.
- Fighter Jets: The jet bumpers are 1 million per hit. This mode lasts for 25 seconds.
- Intermission Time: Both ramps are worth 5 million each. This lasts for 15 seconds.
Big Millions: The right ramp is worth 5, 10, 15, ... million. This lasts for 10 seconds.
Move Your Car: After a certain number of center shots, Move Your Car is activated. A score on the display starts at 8 million and decreases rapidly until reaching 2 million. Shooting a center shot scores the current score on the display and starts a 15 second timer. Successive center shots score 2x, 3x, and 4x the score of the first center shot.
Double Feature: Shoot the left ramp several times in succession. The Double Feature score starts at 500,000 and doubles up to a maximum of 16 million for each consecutive left ramp shot. Shoot the center ramp immediately afterwards to score the Double Feature.
Snack Attack: After shooting the right scoop 4 times, Snack Attack begins. A score on the display starts at 20 million and rapidly decreases. Shooting the Snack Bar scores the amount shown on the display.
Video Mode: After shooting the right scoop 8 times, shoot either the left or right scoop to begin Video Mode. In this mode, a peeping Tom appears, and the player must engage the left or right flippers to punch the peeping Tom a certain number of times.
Super Mode: After shooting the right scoop 12 times, a 12 second timer starts. Shoot the Snack Bar scoop to begin Super Mode. In Super Mode, the Mega Menu, Big Millions, Snack Attack, Unlimited Millions, and Intermission Time scoring modes are activated. This mode lasts for 25 seconds.
Super Creature Feature: During Super Mode, shoot the ball into the left ramp within the first 10 seconds. This will send the ball into the whirlpool. Each spin in the whirlpool is worth 5, 10, 15, ... million up to a maximum of 35 million.
Songs[edit]
There were five 1950's songs put in the game. These are:
- 'Rock Around the Clock' by Bill Haley and the Comets
- 'Get a Job' by The Silhouettes
- 'Summertime Blues' by Eddie Cochran
- 'Willie and the Hand Jive' by Johnny Otis
- 'Red River Rock' (Johnny and the Hurricanes version)
All of the songs are synthesizer-based instrumental versions played by the game's sound hardware.
Digital versions[edit]
Creature from the Black Lagoon is available as a licensed table of The Pinball Arcade for several platforms. Due to licensing issues however only three of the five songs have been kept intact for this version. In addition to the three songs, two Easter Eggs which refer to Mortal Kombat are disabled since the game's Family Mode is permanently activated in the Pinball Arcade incarnation. This table is also included in Williams Pinball Classics (2001) for PC.[2]
References[edit]
- ^http://www.ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=588
- ^'Archived copy'. Archived from the original on 2015-09-24. Retrieved 2013-08-09.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
External links[edit]
- Creature from the Black Lagoon at the Internet Pinball Database
- Interview with the Creature from the Black Lagoon team, part 1 archived article at Wayback Machine
- Interview with the Creature from the Black Lagoon team, part 2 archived article at Wayback Machine
Chapman as the Gill-man | |
| Born | October 29, 1928 Oakland, California, U.S. |
|---|---|
| Died | February 21, 2008 (aged 79) |
| Years active | 1949–2006 |
| Spouse(s) | Merrilee Kazarian (m. 1982) |
| Children | 2 |
| Website | http://www.the-reelgillman.com |
Benjamin F. Chapman, Jr. (October 29, 1928 – February 21, 2008) was an American actor best known as playing the Gill-man on land in the 1954 horror film Creature from the Black Lagoon.
Early life[edit]
Born in Oakland, California, he spent much of his childhood in Tahiti and moved to San Francisco at age 12 or 13.[1]
A Marine Corps veteran of the Korean War he served with the 1st Marine Division.[2] He was believed to have earned a Silver Star, a Bronze Star, and two Purple Hearts for battle injuries.[1][3][4] However, after his death, the Marine Corps Times began an investigation of these claims based on the improbability of the claim of receiving Purple Hearts in the Chosin Reservoir campaign. Information from Marine Corps records, which were received a month after obituaries with the claims awards of valor and of serving at the Chosin Reservoir, reveal that Chapman did serve in Korea. The Marine Corps Times reports that, 'according to Marine Corps officials and a copy of Chapman’s military Report of Separation,' Chapman never received the Silver Star, Bronze Star or Purple Hearts.[5]
Before he played the Creature, he worked as a real estate executive.[1]
Gill Man[edit]
Chapman was selected as the Gill Man due to his large size at 6'5'.[1] His famous suit was made out of a foam-rubber body suit and a large-lipped headpiece.[1] He cited horror film predecessors Lon Chaney Sr. in The Phantom of the Opera and The Hunchback of Notre Dame in the 1920s, Bela Lugosi in Dracula and Boris Karloff in Frankenstein and The Mummy in the 1930s, and Lon Chaney Jr. in The Wolf Man in the 1940s as inspirations to his character.[1]
In a 1993 interview, Chapman explained that there were really two actors who played the Gill Man.[1] He was the creature on land; Ricou Browning was the actor in water sequences.[1] However, Chapman was the one who participated in Creature related events.[1] Chapman further relayed that the studio did not want the public to know that the Gill Man was a man in a suit [6] The suit, made of latex rubber, made it impossible for Chapman to sit down so during breaks from filming he would rest in a studio back lot lake to keep from overheating.[7]
Death[edit]
Ben Chapman died shortly after midnight on February 21, 2008 at the Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu, Hawaii.[1] His son Ben Chapman III stated that he had '... heart problems [and] breathing problems.'[1] Other survivors include his wife of 25 years, self-proclaimed 'Mrs Creature' Taylor Schlewitz; another son, Grant Chapman; stepdaughter Elyse Maree Raljevich; sister Moea (Harry) Baty; and 'several' nieces and nephews.[1] Chapman's ashes are to be scattered off Waikiki.[1]
Ilene Wong, co-producer along with Wayne Maeda of the Hawai'i All-Collectors Show which Chapman attended from 1999 to 2007, said that he was
| “ | ...always very happy and so giving. People would ask him about the movie, or Hollywood, and he would always provide the answers, help out. Ben would bring his briefcase and inside he had his memorabilia – posters, 8-by-10 glossies – and a good pen for autographs. He was just wonderful. In fact, we expected him this year. I think we will make a shrine for him.[1] | ” |
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ abcdefghijklmn''Black Lagoon' star Ben Chapman, 79'. Honolulu Advertiser. 2008-02-22. Retrieved 2008-02-23.
- ^'KAOS2000 Magazine interview with Ben Chapman: The original Creature From The Black Lagoon'. 2018-01-20. Archived from the original on 2018-01-20. Retrieved 2019-02-09.
- ^'Horror movie legend, a former Marine, dies'. Marine Corps Times. March 1, 2008. Archived from the original(online version) on February 13, 2012. Retrieved 2008-03-17.
- ^Lamothe, Dan (March 10, 2008). 'Creature from the Chosin Reservoir: Gill Man star dies at age 79'. Marine Corps Times. p. 4 (print edition).
- ^Lamothe, Dan (March 17, 2008). 'Records do not support award claims by actor'. Marine Corps Times. Archived from the original on 23 March 2008. Retrieved 2008-03-17.
- ^'An aerobic, sashaying Gill Man'.
- ^'Split Screen: The men behind the masks'. Yahoo! Movies. 26 October 2012. Retrieved 26 October 2012.
Who Played The Creature In The Movie Creature From The Black Lagoon
External links[edit]
| Wikiquote has quotations related to: Ben Chapman (actor) |
Who Was The Monster In Creature From The Black Lagoon
- Ben Chapman on IMDb
- Ben Chapman at the TCM Movie Database
- Ben Chapman at AllMovie