To this up-and-coming Universal Studios starlet, being asked to appear opposite a scaly, six-foot, prehistoric amphibian was a trifle insulting. Lori Nelson, among the hardest-working contract players on the lot, was miffed at the time, but has since grown to love the Gill Man as much as the legion of fans that sustains his legend. "Little did I know," she laughs, "that it would be the one [film] I would be most remembered for."

At the time of her casting, science fiction and horror films were considered a step backward in a promising career. Nelson may have had second thoughts at the time, but any dubious notions concerning the genre have long-since vanished.