20 Million Miles to Earth (1957)

The first U.S. spaceship to Venus crash-lands off the coast of Sicily on its return trip. A dangerous, lizard-like creature comes with it and quickly grows gigantic.

Director:

Nathan Juran

Writers:

Robert Creighton Williams (screenplay), Christopher Knopf (screenplay),

Stars:

William Hopper, Joan Taylor, Frank Puglia

Cast

Complete credited cast:
William Hopper	...	Col. Robert Calder
Joan Taylor	...	Marisa Leonardo
Frank Puglia	...	Dr. Leonardo
John Zaremba	...	Dr. Judson Uhl
Thomas Browne Henry	...	Maj. Gen. A.D. McIntosh (as Thomas B. Henry)
Tito Vuolo	...	Commissario Charra
Jan Arvan	...	Signore Contino - Government Official
Arthur Space	...	Dr. Sharman
Bart Braverman	...	Pepe (as Bart Bradley)

Storyline

The first spaceship to visit Venus crash lands in the sea, freeing a small native Venusian creature called the Ymir. Eventually growing to enormous size, it threatens the city of Rome.

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Plot Keywords:

venusian | military | alien | sicily | astronaut | 

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Taglines:

Out-Of-Space Creature Invades the Earth!

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Genres:

Fantasy | Horror | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

June 1957 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Giant Ymir

Filming Locations:

Hyperion Water Treatment Facility - 12000 Vista Del Mar, Playa del Rey, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation, Morningside Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

82 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Ymir roars in the film are variations of elephant roars sped up and modulated in pitches at different rates.

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Goofs

During the fight between the Ymir and the elephant, there is a tight shot of three men hiding behind a pillar of the viaduct. When the two animals get close, the turn and flee, one of them falling backwards, and another tripping over him. In a wider shot scene a few seconds later we see the same pillar, the same men run up to it, hide and watch the fight as before then turn and run, as before, tripping over each other. It's then same shot used two times closer/farther perspectives.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Mondello: Pepe! Is it your desire that the fishes, they swim away? Come on! Pull up on the net, here.

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Connections

Referenced in Piranha (1978)

User Reviews

Better than average

This is a simple enough film. Rocket returning from Venus crashes near Sicily and a foetal thing grows to become a giant lizardy humanoid type thing. The acting is ordinary and the script predictable.

What makes it better than average for a 1950s monster movie is the Ray Harryhausen animated Venusian, called a Ymir here. Photographed in atmospheric black and white, its progress from small caged creature to being loose and dangerous on the streets of Rome and fighting an elephant is engrossing. You can't help rooting for the Ymir, attacked along the way by dogs and soldiers. The Ymir becomes a character like Frankenstein's creation or the Creature from the Black Lagoon. Excellent work by Harryhausen, and far more interesting than the CGI dinosaurs from Spielberg's over praised (and underwhelming) Jurassic Park trilogy.