BEAUTY DREW THE BEASTS........THE AMAZING STORY OF "THE LADY FROM THE BLACK LAGOON"

The Lady From The Black Lagoon by Mallory 'O Meara (2019)    What a wondrous, fascinating and ultimately sad true story..........

                 Mallory 'O Meara, a young producer-writer of horror films, unearthed, through dogged research and detective work, the life of Millicent Patrick.........a stunning, glamorous beauty who moved through 40's and 50's Hollywood as an actress, an animator, an artist-illustrator...........

                  .......in that last capacity, she forever became a part of film history........as the woman who created and designed the most iconic movie monster of the 50's.......The Creature From The Black Lagoon..........

                   Always the lover of fashion and glamour, Millicent never went anywhere unless dressed to the nines........the quintessential photo of her shows her working in the Universal Studios art department, sketching the Creature while dressed in pearls, an evening dress and high heels......

                    No wonder the studio sent her out in public on a "Beauty who lives with the Beasts" tour to coincide with the release of "The Creature From the Black Lagoon"..........which tragically incurred the jealous wrath of her boss, the studio's make-up chief Bud Westmore.

                   Westmore, a vile scumbucket, engineered the destruction of Millicent's Hollywood designing career, getting her fired and taking all the credit for her work, which also included creating the monsters of "It Came From Outer Space" and "This Island Earth"........

                    Author 'O Meara, possessed of a wicked wit, cleverly compares the ups and downs of Millicent Patrick's career with 'O Meara's own struggles to establish herself in the rocky, rough world of filmmaking..........where the discrimination and harassment of women has barely improved, even with the onset of the MeToo movement.......

                   Not only a great read.........but a long overdue account that re-discovers the lost legacy of an ill-used cinema artist..........make space for it on your night table and dive into this story ASAP.      4 stars (****)