Book Review: The Lady from the Black Lagoon: Hollywood Monsters and the Lost Legacy of Milicent Patrick by Mallory O'Meara

The Lady from the Black Lagoon: Hollywood Monsters and the Lost Legacy of Milicent Patrick by Mallory O'Meara

336 pages

Published March 5th 2019 by Hanover Square Press

Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for History & Biography (2019)

As a huge horror nerd, I admit that I had never heard of Milicent Patrick or her role in one of the all-time classic monsters - the Creature from the Black Lagoon. On the surface, this book is about Milicent Patrick who was an interesting woman who worked as an actor and make-up artist in all timey Hollywood. That is a key and important story but much of this book is a detective story as it is a biography. The sleuth in the middle of this tale is the author and major monster nerd, Mallory O'Meara.

I was surprised at first but you have to understand part of the issue at hand here is just how hard it was to get information on Milicent at all. She was a cool lady that had an interesting childhood and provides a personal window on the old days of Hollywood. What really interested me about that was her point of view. Mostly we here about the golden era of Hollywood through the eyes of the biggest stars and celebrities of the era. We don't often get the view of a woman who worked mostly as an extra who transitioned into special make-up effects.

Milicent Patrick is interesting but honestly, Mallory O'Meara had an uphill battle trying to fill a whole book about her. It is not the author's fault the information just doesn't exist. So in a very smart and entertaining way, O'Meara puts her wit and investigation front and central for much of the book. It wouldn't work if O'Meara didn't have a clear and entertaining voice. Throughout the book, she points out that she had to call on her fellow monster nerds.

Monster nerd-dom is huge in this book. As a fan of author David J. Schow, I enjoyed reading a chapter all about Schow and O'Meara nerding out over tiny details of Milicent Patrick's life. So that is the thing if you are a monster nerd this book is fun because it is like hanging out with one of your peeps. That is really the best thing I can say about it. I am not sure it is essential reading for everyone but if you are a monster nerd or a fan of classic Hollywood it sure is.