Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)

Plot hole: The creature gets caught in the fishing net and (after a struggle that shook the whole boat) freed itself. The scientists, upon drawing up the net, find one of the creature's claws, and thus they now seek its source. Shortly after, while Mark is busy loading a harpoon gun, Dave is protesting, stating, "This...this thing *alive* and in it's natural habitat..." It would seem that at this point, they know the creature is *not* dead, but very much alive. They dive, they see it, Mark shoots it with a harpoon, and then upon surfacing, they argue a bit before reporting what they saw to everyone else. So why after seeing it underwater, fully knowing that "this thing (is) alive," do they act so surprised to see it, as if they didn't have a clue it could possibly still exist?

redbaron2000

Dr. Thompson: Demon, eh? Well, it's no more far-fetched than your gillman.
Lucas: There are many strange legends in the Amazon. Even I, Lucas, have heard the legend of a man-fish.

Trivia: William Alland who produced The Creature From The Black Lagoon, acted in Citizen Kane as the reporter who investigates Kane's career. During the filming Alland met Mexican cinematographer Gabriel Figueroa Mateos, who told him a legend of an amphibious creature who comes out of the River Amazon to seize women. Alland wrote a story based on the legend, which would form the basis of this 1954 horror film.

Rob Halliday