No, it was just a matter of Universal taking their two big May releases (THUNDER BAY and IT CAME) and releasing them in their new wide-screen process. Hard mattes were really unheard of, with the exception of VistaVision prints, until about the late '50s. Ironically, Universal was one of the first studios to employ this.

Universal was one of the first studios to go wide-screen and one to pick the narrowest ratio-- 2-1. I'm watching CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON matted at 2-1 right now and it's quite obvious that the film was shot for this ratio.