It Came from Beneath the Sea (1955)

Very disappointing...

Best movie of this year hands down!

Funny, strange, confrontational and subversive, this is one of the most interesting experiences you'll have at the cinema this year.

A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

Even though this movie contains all the staples of a 1950's monster movie, it's still pretty good.Of course there's plenty of scientists and military personnel and even a person who is considered insane because he saw a giant octopus.The special effects are great and there's plenty of action, not a lot of time where nothing is happening(like most monster movies).The only bad thing about this movie is that it centers around a female scientist who is always trying to prove she is as good as a man, while at the same time being pursued by two different men.The only thing missing was the main military guy being her dad.But it's not enough to hurt this flick.This is a must see.

A US atomic submarine has an underwater encounter with a giant octopus. Commander Mathews manages to get the boat back to Pearl Harbor. Marine biologists Lesley Joyce and John Carter are called in. They propose the creature is radioactive and driven out of its home by the underwater nuclear testing. Ships are attacked and the scientists investigate. The creature then attacks the Oregon coast and approaches San Francisco.This is strictly a B-horror movie. The acting is stiff. The most interesting thing is the stop-motion animated octopus by Ray Harryhausen. It's the only worthwhile thing in the whole movie but even there, the studio limits Harryhausen to six tentacles. The movie is only 79 minutes and I would still cut out most of the non-creature scenes. Those are excruciating. The creature feature part is cool but the tentacles move too slowly. Harryhausen does a good job to give the tentacles power but it needs more speed. Overall this is a movie only for Harryhausen fans.

I have to give some credit to where credit is due, Ray Harryhausen truly made this movie watchable. I'm not saying the Director Robert Gordon and others did a horrible job. I'm just saying besides the visuals in the film, there is nothing worth saying about the film. It was just another Sci-fi B-movie with a simple plot. It had a lot to say about what the nuclear tests and waste products of the day could do to living things. Like other Sci-Fi films at the time, without really looking into the science books, or watching old films that show that being expose to radiation or radioactive material would cause sickness or death. The movie has a make-believe field day by saying that Atom-Bomb cause things to get larger. Throughout the 1950's, you had a number of these types of clichés film. Example of objects in movies getting larger by being expose by radiation are ants, reptiles, and now octopuses! This film had an atomic size octopus from the deepest realms of the Pacific threatens the world's oceans wrecking and shipping anything that touches the water. Navy Captain Pete Mathews (Kenneth Tobey) and two expert marine-biologists, John Carter (Donald Curtis) and Lesley Joyce (Faith Domergue), work around the clock to find a way to stop the creature. The highlight of the film in my opinion, is where the creature create havoc on San Francisco Bay looking for some food supplies. The octopus's food supply have their own internal Geiger Counter to dying off the radiation was never explained, and doesn't make any real scientific sense. Anyways it's driven off, and found the Bay Area to being yummy! It wraps its tentacles around Golden Gate Bridge is amazing stop-moment action even if it's missing two. Ray trying to save money gave the Octopus only six tentacles than eight. I love the scene where the creature attacked the Ferry Building. It's kinda funny that cars are still passing by the Embarcadero while the creature was attacking. I think the movie makers forgot to cut the cars from that shot. There is a shot of the Octopus attacking the submarine that was pretty worthy that might pay tribute to Jules Verne or trying to rip his idea of a Giant Octopus attacking the submarine off. While I think it's pretty good, I have to say the Octopus that was attacking the Nautilus in Disney's 20000 Leagues under the Sea (1954) was better visual than this. Plus, this film didn't have Captain Nemo that would make the film, even better. Although this movie plot is little more than a rehash of earlier Atomic Age horrors movies like The Beast from 20,000 (1953), another Ray Harryhausen movie. The romantic sub plot is annoying to the point, it ruins the movie. There was a scene where they were testing the nuclear radiation. Three scientists are wearing protective suits while examining the specimen. Dr. Joyce stupidly removes her radiation suit, and Pete Matthews falls in love with her, rather than caring about her just being expose to radiation just then. Dr. Lesley is the worst scientist in the world. Rather than doing her job that could have save hundreds of Americans lives, she falls in love with a sea captain and spent more time with wooing him than solving this case. This story is presented as a documentary, as there is a narrator narrating pointless dilogue that isn't needed. Show, don't tell, movie. There are two versions of this film. One in color in newer DVDs while the older has it in black and white. In my opinion, I think it is best to leave the B&W movies in their original form. Overall: the film pace is slow, is filled with stereotypes, and despairingly old fashioned. Still: it's a lot of cheesy fun. Columbia booked this as a double bill with Creature with the Atom Brain all across the US. I wish it came with it. I would had love that. This is the film that brought together producer Charles H. Schneer and special effects legend Ray Harryhausen. Their professional relationship would last until Clash of the Titans, the final feature for both men. I deeply saddened by the loss of special effects pioneer Ray Harryhausen, whose stop-motion animation skills brought ancient gods and monsters to life for several generations of moviegoers. He will be miss.

"It Came from Beneath the Sea" may get overshadowed by movies like "Them!" and "Tarantula" when it comes to the giant monster movies of the Atomic Age, but it's a good and enjoyable example of the genre.The "It" of the title is an enormous octopus that has become radioactive thanks to A Bomb testing and, because its prey can now be alerted to its presence, it's been forced to move out of its natural habitat and look for sustenance elsewhere. Among the people figuring out how to track down the beast and destroy it are intrepid submarine commander Pete Matthews (Kenneth Tobey) and scientists Lesley Joyce (Faith Domergue) and John Carter (Donald Curtis).The movie is typical of its kind in the way that an ever present narrator provides us with a generous amount of exposition. It is admittedly somewhat slow and dialogue heavy much of the time, and truthfully doesn't feature a whole lot of good octopus action, but in a way this does help in the appreciation of all of those moments when the monster makes its presence known.This was the first collaboration between producer Charles H. Schneer and legendary stop motion expert Ray Harryhausen, and Harryhausen's effects are as always quite fun to watch. Even if budget constraints necessitated the octopus possess six tentacles rather than eight, the effects still work incredibly well. Robert Gordon's direction is efficient right down the line, up to the big finish which is equal parts exciting and suspenseful. Of course, with an engaging Tobey in the lead, this is highly watchable on that merit alone, as he'd proved himself a reliable hero in this and the other 50's science fiction efforts "The Thing from Another World" and "The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms". The beautiful Domergue is good, with her character in the mold of other leading ladies from the era: intelligent and capable, and more than eye candy. Curtis is solid in a no-nonsense role and the three main characters also figure in a love triangle that takes up a little too much of the running time. A fine supporting cast also includes Ian Keith, Dean Maddox Jr., Chuck Griffiths, Harry Lauter, Richard W. Peterson, and Del Courtney. Anybody who enjoys the genre, Harryhausen's work, or the actors is sure to have a good time with "It Came from Beneath the Sea".Seven out of 10.