The initial appearance of its monster - one scaly claw clutching at the shore on emergence from the water - is a splendid piece of stage-management by director Jack Arnold (who made Tarantula! and The Incredible Shrinking Man in the same period). Julia Adams, in unscientific brief shorts, is a screaming heroine in the most vulnerable tradition of Fay Wray. Ricou Browning who plays the `creature', later became a specialist in underwater direction - on such diverse entertainments as `Thunderball' and `Flipper'.