The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Eugène Lourié

Writers:

Ray Bradbury (story)
Fred Freiberger (writer)
(more)

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 | Rhedosaurus | New York | 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
Michael Fox	...	ER Doctor
Alvin Greenman	...	1st Radar Man
Frank Ferguson	...	Dr. Morton
King Donovan	...	Dr. Ingersoll
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Vera Miles	...	Announcer in trailer (scenes deleted)
Paul Picerni	...	Announcer in trailer (scenes deleted)
Fred Aldrich	...	Radio Operator (uncredited)
James Best	...	Charlie - Radar man (uncredited)
Edward Clark	...	Lighthouse Keeper (uncredited)
Louise Colombet	...	Nun / Nurse (uncredited)
Robert Easton	...	Deckhand (uncredited)
Roy Engel	...	Maj. Evans (uncredited)
Franklyn Farnum	...	Ballet-Goer (uncredited)
Bess Flowers	...	Ballet-Goer (uncredited)
Joe Gray	...	Longshoreman (uncredited)
Merv Griffin	...	Radio Announcer (uncredited) (voice)
Mary Hill	...	Miss Nelson (uncredited)
Kenner G. Kemp	...	Cop with Rifle (uncredited)
Vivian Mason	...	Miss Ryan - Secretary (uncredited)
Lee Phelps	...	Cop (uncredited)
Hugh Prosser	...	Doctor (uncredited)
William Woodson	...	Radio Announcer (uncredited)

Directed by
Eugène Lourié

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Ray Bradbury		story "The Fog Horn"
Fred Freiberger		writer
Daniel James		uncredited
Eugène Lourié		writer
Lou Morheim		writer (as Louis Morheim)
Robert Smith		writer

Produced by
Bernard W. Burton	....	co-producer
Hal E. Chester	....	co-producer
Jack Dietz	....	producer

Original Music by
David Buttolph

Cinematography by
John L. Russell		(as Jack Russell)

Film Editing by
Bernard W. Burton

Production Design by
Eugène Lourié

Set Decoration by
Edward G. Boyle

Makeup Department
Louis Phillipi	....	makeup artist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Horace Hough	....	assistant director

Art Department
Hal Waller	....	assistant art director

Sound Department
George Groves	....	sound
Max M. Hutchinson	....	sound

Special Effects by
Willis Cook	....	special effects
Ray Harryhausen	....	animation effects
George Lofgren	....	special effects
Eugène Lourié	....	special effects

Stunts
Gil Perkins	....	stunts (uncredited)

Music Department
Maurice De Packh	....	orchestrator

Other crew
Michael Fox	....	dialogue director

Production Companies

• Jack Dietz Productions (as Mutual Pictures of California)

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1953) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner Home Video (1994) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD)

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:

Before the film was sold to Warner Brothers, it contained an original music score composed by Michel Michelet. Execs at Warners felt Michelet's score wasn't powerful enough so they replaced it with an original score by David Buttolph.

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:

Radio Operator: New York is like a city besieged.A state of emergency has been delcared... and the entire police force put on 24-hour duty. Civilian defense is fully mobolized... and shelters have been opened in an effort to stop the mounting hysteria. All traffic has been halted. And Times Square, the heart of New York, has stopped beating. The National Guard has been called out, fully armed. to repell the invader.This is full-scale war against a terrible enemy...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Braindead (1992)

Superior F/X Sets This One Apart...

"The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms" is one of many "nuclear explosion thaws out the pre-historic monster" movies popular in the 1950's. What sets this film apart from other similarly themed films, are the superior special effects created by the legendary Ray Harryhausen.

His dinosaur is as good as you will see in any sci-fi movie. It moves without that jerky motion common in so many stop-motion monsters (i.e. King Kong). The "monster destroys the city" sequence is outstanding. There is also an excellent fight between an octopus and a shark that is very exciting. The best sequence takes place at the end of the film when the monster is cornered in an amusement park.

As in all such movies, the human actors are incidental to the plot. The German/Swiss actor Paul Christian (aka Hubschmid) plays the requisite scientist, Paula Raymond and Cecil Kellaway are the "dinosaur experts" and Kenneth Tobey and Donald Woods play the sceptical military types. There are also a number of recognizable "B" movie faces from the period such as Lee Van Cleef, Steve Brodie, Jack Pennick and James Best.

One of the best atomic monster movies from the 50s.