The Lady From the Black Lagoon: Hollywood Monsters and the Lost Legacy of Milicent Patrick - Mallory O’Meara Audiobook

Written by Mallory O’Meara
Read by Mallory O’Meara
Format: MP3
Bitrate: 64 Kbps
Unabridged

Publisher: Harlequin Audio
Release date: March 5, 2019
Duration: 09:19:39

The Lady from the Black Lagoon uncovers the life and work of Milicent Patrick—one of Disney’s first female animators and the only woman in history to create one of Hollywood’s classic movie monsters

As a teenager, Mallory O’Meara was thrilled to discover that one of her favorite movies, Creature from the Black Lagoon, featured a monster designed by a woman, Milicent Patrick. But for someone who should have been hailed as a pioneer in the genre, there was little information available. For, as O’Meara soon discovered, Patrick’s contribution had been claimed by a jealous male colleague, her career had been cut short and she soon after had disappeared from film history. No one even knew if she was still alive.

A true-life detective story and a celebration of a forgotten feminist trailblazer, Mallory O’Meara’s The Lady from the Black Lagoon establishes Patrick in her rightful place in film history while calling out a Hollywood culture where little has changed since.

Particularly timely in light of the #MeToo movement, this book is more than simply a tribute to a forgotten pioneer of special effects and makeup design, Milicent Patrick. The creator of the iconic mask used in Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954), and one of the first female animators for Walt Disney, Patrick seemed destined for a memorable career before encountering the sexism of male coworkers threatened by her talents.

When she was a child, her father had been superintendent of construction at newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst’s Hearst Castle, so readers are also treated to a fascinating side story about life in and around San Simeon, CA, as well as the peripatetic life of Patrick’s family.

But it’s the book’s subtitle that clearly has a twofold meaning for author, screenwriter, and producer O’Meara, reflecting her passion for the project. The individuals she discusses are also those who are part of the internalized misogyny of the industry, and she and her subject had to handle very similar situations and prejudices.

Some reviewers were highly critical of the author who they felt was using the book to further her own agenda…..
Mallory O’Meara offers her first audiobook after a career in the independent film and new media industries. Her pleasant but mostly unvaried narration does little to shed light on her well-researched portrait of the first of very few women who have designed monsters for horror films, former Disney animator and special effects designer Milicent Patrick.
Much of the audiobook is about O’Meara herself and the sexist discrimination she and Patrick have met since the release of THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON in 1954. O’Meara’s tone and vulgar language often reflect her anger toward the predominantly male film industry. Patrick, who also acted on the silver screen, was a woman ahead of her time, but O’Meara’s framing of the interesting bits within a strongly feminist agenda does little to boost understanding of the accomplishments of the Creature’s creator. W.A.G. � AudioFile 2019

My thanks to the original uploader…