The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953)

Director:

Eugène Lourié

Writers:

Ray Bradbury (story)
Fred Freiberger (writer)

Release Date:

13 June 1953 (USA)

Genre:

Sci-Fi | Horror

Tagline:

It's alive !

Plot:

A ferocious dinosaur awakened by an Arctic atomic test terrorizes the North Atlantic and ultimately New York City.

Plot Keywords:

Monster | Beast | Rhedosaurus | Arctic | Dinosaur

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Paul Hubschmid	...	Professor Tom Nesbitt (as Paul Christian)
Paula Raymond	...	Lee Hunter
Cecil Kellaway	...	Prof. Thurgood Elson
Kenneth Tobey	...	Col. Jack Evans
Donald Woods	...	Capt. Phil Jackson
Lee Van Cleef	...	Cpl. Stone
Steve Brodie	...	Sgt. Loomis
Ross Elliott	...	George Ritchie
Jack Pennick	...	Jacob Bowman
Ray Hyke	...	Sgt. Willistead
Paula Hill	...	Miss Nelson (as Mary Hill)
Michael Fox	...	ER Doctor
Alvin Greenman	...	1st Radar Man
Frank Ferguson	...	Dr. Morton
King Donovan	...	Dr. Ingersoll

Also Known As:

Monster from Beneath the Sea (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

80 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Black and White (Sepiatone)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (PCA #16143, General Audience) | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Brooklyn Bridge, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Jack Dietz Productions

Trivia:

Vera Miles and 'Paul Picerni (I)' appear in the trailer for this film, but not in the film itself.

Goofs:

Continuity: Shortly after Nesbitt has awakened in the hospital he notices something in the newspaper. This something is below the fold, but when he shows it to the nurse, it is above the fold.

Quotes:

Professor Tom Nesbitt: The world's been here for millions of years. Man's been walking upright for a comparatively shoret time. Mentally we're still crawling.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Corporation (2003)

Forget about Jurassic Park...

To hell with over-budgeted movies like Jurassic Park, Godzilla, Reign of Fire and God knows which others...Sure you can watch those with your mouth wide wide open wondering what great computer specialists are behind this but...where's the LOVE ??? If you're looking for charming monster films, turn back your clock towards the 50's. Without a doubt the greatest decade for movies like this. Tons of movies like this one were made back then but every single title was made with a lot of love. Them! , the Swarm and the Giant Spider Invasion are probably the best known ones. The Beast from 20.000 Fathoms handles about a ... dinosaur !!! A rethosaurus, aged one million years, comes to live again. It got frozen during the change of the eras and now, because of the enormous heat of a nuclear experiment, it's back . The creature ( about as big as a skyscraper ) goes directly into the ocean. He attacks a few boats and the people who claimed to have seen him are called crazy in the beginning...( can you blame them ? ). But, when our dinosaur sets foot in New York, the city faces the biggest terror it ever saw. The Beast is definitely not the best monster movie coming from the 50's, but still. If you admire the older days of cinema more as well, you'll love it a hell of a lot more than then nowadays stuff. The creature is well made, but it shouldn't move too much. The fight shown between the shark and the octopus is really impressive, that must be said. The ants in Them! were a lot more real, but hey, this fella is ten times as big. Lovely B-movie fun