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20000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954)
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Overview
Release Date:
23 December 1954 (USA) moreTagline:
Walt Disney's Mighty, Magnificent, Memorable 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea! morePlot:
A ship sent to investigate a wave of mysterious sinkings encounters the advanced submarine, the Nautilus, commanded by Captain Nemo. full summary | add synopsisAwards:
Won 2 Oscars. Another 2 nominations moreNewsDesk:
(4 articles)
Famed Disney Effects Artist Ellenshaw Dead at 93 (From Studio Briefing. 15 February 2007)
Veteran Director Richard Fleischer Dead at 89 (From Studio Briefing. 27 March 2006)
User Comments:
Cuz He Swears By His Tattoo moreCast
(Complete credited cast)| Kirk Douglas | ... | Ned Land | |
| James Mason | ... | Captain Nemo | |
| Paul Lukas | ... | Prof. Pierre Arronax | |
| Peter Lorre | ... | Conseil | |
| Robert J. Wilke | ... | First Mate of the Nautilus | |
| Ted de Corsia | ... | Capt. Farragut | |
| Carleton Young | ... | John Howard | |
| J.M. Kerrigan | ... | Old Billy | |
| Percy Helton | ... | Coach Driver | |
| Ted Cooper | ... | Mate on 'Lincoln' |
Additional Details
Also Known As:
Jules Verne's 20000 Leagues Under the Sea (USA) (complete title)Walt Disney's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (USA) (poster title)
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Parents Guide:
View content advisory for parentsRuntime:
127 minCountry:
USALanguage:
EnglishColor:
Color (Technicolor)Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 moreSound Mix:
4-Track Stereo (RCA Sound Recording)Certification:
Australia:G (TV rating) | Iceland:L | Canada:G (video rating) | Portugal:M/6 | Finland:K-8 (1976) | Finland:K-12 (1955) | Australia:PG | Canada:F (Ontario) | France:U | Norway:11 | Spain:T | Sweden:15 | UK:U | USA:Approved (PCA #17073) | Canada:G (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Quebec) | USA:G (re-rating) (1970) | West Germany:12Filming Locations:
20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA moreMOVIEmeter: 
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
In the scene where Kirk Douglas arrives at the Nautilus on a lifeboat that lies upside-down in the water, a diver under the boat holds it to keep it steady. moreGoofs:
Revealing mistakes: Ned Land rushes to Captain Nemo's observation window to witness a sinking ship, we switch to the Nautilus' underwater point of view. However, the Nautilus' nose can be seen entering the screen from the right side. [widescreen version] moreQuotes:
Captain Nemo: I am not what is called a civilized man, Professor. I have done with society for reasons that seem good to me. Therefore, I do not obey its laws. moreSoundtrack:
A Whale of a Tale moreFAQ
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Message Boards
Discuss this title with other users on IMDb message board for 20000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954)| Recent Posts (updated daily) | User |
|---|---|
| They should remake it... | bdunlap-2 |
| Remake? | wvu1313 |
| The Lost Ride | freakyteenager666 |
| What ever happened? | jwohio |
| kirk | lmoonracer22 |
| Nemo a Villain?? | mortimerj190 |
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There's something out there roaming the Pacific Ocean destroying a whole lot of shipping and killing a lot of people. The more maritime the nation, the more losses it's suffering. Jules Verne's story has the United States of America taking the first crack at finding what's going on in the Pacific.
On a ship commanded by Ted DeCorsia are two Frenchmen, renowned scientist Paul Lukas and his assistant Peter Lorre. Also along is Kirk Douglas who is crack whaling harpooner.
Of course they meet up with the beast and it's no living thing, but a submarine. This was all new back then, although prototype submarines were used in the Civil War they had limited effectiveness. In fact this particular kind of submarine was something unheard of until the middle of the last century. It's captain is a misanthropic fellow named Nemo, played by James Mason. He's taking it out on the nation's of the world for some personal losses sustained.
His brilliance as a scientist, his refinement also attracts Paul Lukas. But Kirk Douglas just wants to escape because for all of Douglas's carefree philistinism, he sees Nemo as a murderer and a menace. The conflict between both is what drives the story.
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea won Oscars for both Special Effects and Art direction. It is probably Walt Disney's most successful live action film ever done, even beating out Mary Poppins dare I say. Even in this day of computer generated effects, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea still holds its own with more modern films.
Kirk Douglas enjoyed the part of Ned Land the harpooner and it's a favorite of his today. He might have made a few more films for Walt Disney but for an incident that took place after the film.
Disney was also at the same time creating his first theme park, Disneyland in Anahem, California. When it was opening he invited Kirk and his family to spend the day there on him and he even agreed to furnish a camera crew to follow the Douglas family around as they enjoyed the park attractions.
So Kirk took his wife and his sons and they had a grand old time and got some free home movies as a souvenir. But Walt Disney kept the negative and the films showed up on his Walt Disney Presents television show. Of course Kirk never got paid for this appearance and neither did any of the rest of his family including young Michael Douglas.
Even though this left a sour taste in Kirk Douglas's mouth as he related in his memoirs, The Ragman's Son, he liked his work in this film very much and the part certainly has the same kind of exuberance we expect from a Kirk Douglas movie. Kirk even gets to sing in the film, a nice little sea chantey called A Whale of a Tale. He even made a record of it and I'm sure if you can find it, the item might be worth a few dollars as a collectible.
Right around the time 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea was released the United States Navy launched it's first atomic submarine. In tribute to that most popular of French authors with American audiences, the Navy named the ship the Nautilus. A great tribute to a great writer of fabulous tales of imagination. And Walt Disney couldn't have gotten better publicity had he paid for it.
Don't believe me, I swear by my tattoo.