The Lady from the Black Lagoon: Hollywood Monsters and the Lost Legacy of Milicent Patrick

by Mallory O'Meara

In a low-cut, tight-fitting black crepe dress, worn under a white lace coat, with flashing necklace, earrings and bracelets, Miss Patrick, who is of Italian German descent, looked a lot more like a fashion illustration herself than a creator of bizarre monsters. Unmarried, she admits to no current romance. “Why should I bother with the Hollywood wolves?” she murmured. “I’m happy with my monsters.” —Milicent Patrick in an interview with journalist Jane Corby for the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Valentine’s Day, 1954

The stunning 2017 film The Shape of Water is an example of this.137 Guillermo del Toro’s creature masterpiece swept the awards season, ultimately winning well-deserved Oscars for Best Picture and Best Director. The movie was nominated for 234 awards total, winning 82 of them. The film is both a monster movie and a love story, centered on a mute cleaning woman who falls in love with the Gill Man–esque

“You mean Aunt Mid?”

“Everyone is beautiful. Some choose to share it, while others hide it. It’s much better to share!”