It Came from Beneath the Sea (1955)

Director:

Robert Gordon

Writers:

George Worthing Yates (screenplay) &
Hal Smith (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

July 1955 (USA)

Genre:

Fantasy | Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

IT CRUSHES! KILLS! DESTROYS! (original print ad - all caps)

Plot:

A Giant Octopus, whose feeding habits have been affected by radiation from H-Bomb tests, rises from the Mindanao Deep to terrorize the California Coast.

Plot Keywords:

Octopus | Scientist | Golden Gate Bridge | Submarine | San Francisco California

Cast

Kenneth Tobey	...	Cmdr. Pete Mathews
Faith Domergue	...	Prof. Lesley Joyce
Donald Curtis	...	Dr. John Carter
Ian Keith	...	Adm. Burns
Dean Maddox Jr.	...	Adm. Norman
Chuck Griffiths	...	Lt. Griff, USN
Harry Lauter	...	Deputy Bill Nash
Richard W. Peterson	...	Capt. Stacy

Also Known As:

Monster from Beneath the Sea

Runtime:

79 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #17332) | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | UK:PG

Filming Locations:

Imperial County, California, USA

Company:

Clover Productions

Trivia:

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 (1981), the final feature for both men.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the helicopter carrying Carter lands, he gets into a police car, which drives off with the Golden Gate Bridge in full view in the background. This is right after the octopus has begun pulling itself up on the bridge's south tower, yet in the shot the octopus is plainly not on the bridge. Soon after, Carter drives that same police car out onto the bridge, but when he arrives in mid-span, the car is a different make, model and year, matching the (miniature) police car subsequently crushed by the octopus's tentacle.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Narrator: From her beginnings on a Navy drawing board, through the months of secret field experiments out on the Western desert, then through the desperate search for new metals with the properties she needed, she was designed to be the nation's greatest weapon of the seas - the atom-powered submarine...
[...]

Movie Connections:

Edited into Fantastic Dinosaurs of the Movies (1990) (V)

I Left My Tentacle in San Francisco

Ray Harryhausen wonderfully creates a giant octopus ravaging the Pacific Coast and then rooting itself in San Francisco Bay. The octopus is quite stunning and a marvel of stop-motion animation. Viewers are treated to it actually climbing on the Golden Gate Bridge(a model of course), squeezing a submarine, literally bringing a ship down to the depths, and throwing tentacles all over pedestrians in the San Francisco harbour. My only regret is that this is all too infrequent and most of it arriving at the end of the film. The rest of the story centers around Kenneth Tobey, Faith Domerge and Donald Curtis trying to discover what it is that held Tobey's submarine. There is also a weird love triangle among the three as well which enhances the story I believe. All in all this is a fine piece of classic science fiction entertainment.