Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1961) User Reviews

In the Wake of the Nautilus, the U.S.S. Seaview

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 10 May 2005]

I still remember seeing this film at movie theaters way back when I was a lad. Of course I didn't hear very much of it due to all the shrieks and squeals from the teenage girls in the audience over Frankie Avalon. That curiously enough didn't matter because Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea is a very visual film.

It might seem a little old hat today, but we've been through two more generations that have seen the United States Navy become an atomic fleet of submarines and surface carriers. It was only seven years earlier, in 1955 that the U.S.S. Nautilus was launched as our first atomic submarine. In homage to that wonderful visionary Jules Verne who foresaw atomic power one hundred years earlier the Navy named it after that famous undersea ship of Verne's great novel 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. The nuclear submarine was a wondrous thing in 1961.

The idea of a nuclear power submarine was the brainchild of Admiral Hyman Rickover. Rickover was a tough minded s.o.b. who usually got whatever he wanted by any mean necessary including bullying. Hard to believe that the gentlemanly Walter Pigeon could play him, but he did and well as Admiral Harry Nelson, the ersatz Rickover.

What's happened here is that the Van Allen radiation belt that surrounds the Earth has caught fire and temperatures are climbing all over the world. The planet is doomed, but Walter Pigeon's got an idea to save it. Fire a missile and seed the belt with more radiation, kind of a nuclear backfire and the blaze will end.

A lot of people are telling him it won't work, but Pigeon brushes them all aside. The only two who have faith in him are his assistants played by Peter Lorre and Barbara Eden. But our intrepid admiral pushes through.

Of course the U.S.S. Seaview encounters all kinds of obstacles along the way, but that's the rest of the story.

The cast does very well for itself and young Frankie Avalon as a junior officer comes off rather nicely. Frankie sings over the title credits, but during the movie plays a trumpet. Avalon in fact was a trumpet virtuoso and a singing career was an afterthought. The fickle finger of fate.

Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea still a nice science fiction adventure even though it is dated.

Thrilling and exciting submarine movie dealing with the Van Allen radiation that threatens Earth

[ma-cortes · 6/10 · 19 October 2010]

As the trailer movie explains ¨In all the world of fact and fiction..There has never been an adventure like Irwin Allen's Voyage to the bottom of the sea . Prepare for the most exciting experience , you have ever a motion picture theatre¡ ¨ . This is a Sci-fi thriller in which Admiral Harriman Nelson (Walter Pidgeon) as the commander of an experimental, extraordinarily designed US sea sub called ¨Seaview¨ and as second-in-command captain Lee Crane (Robert Sterling) take on several hazards and risks that are threatening all life on Earth . They encounter in the Arctic that suffers from melting iceberg caused by a burning radiation belt called Van Allen . Nelson is called into rescue a castaway (Michael Ansara) trapped on the remaining of an ice floe . Later on , there appears a saboteur aboard and the atomic submarine sit races to set off the torpedoes which Adm. Harriman knows will explode the dangerous radiation.

Acceptable submarine movie blends adventure , action, intrigue , disaster spectacle, hokey fun ,suspense and emotional happenings with romance included . Our heroes incarnated by a throughly believable casting of the splendid character players get stuck in the ship before the world explodes , undertaking numerous adventures and suffering innumerable perils .It includes a series of interesting ideas that benefit from a decent screenplay and nice special effects to make regular-size Octopus seem like deep-sea giant. There are also mine fields, large squids and attacking sub courtesy of the flamboyant FX team . The protagonists spend most of their time devising intelligent ways for avoid to die from solar radiation . The underwater scenes , burning skies, explosion , pyrotechnics, floods are spectacular but the film is just another usual Hollywood product . High level all star cast as it stars Walter Pidgeon as efficient Nelson , Peter Lorre as his scientific assistant and Robert Sterling and Barbara Eden as intimate couple , plus the singer Frankie Avalon and the fanatic religious Michael Ansara and of course the attractive Joan Fontaine . Lively score musical fitting to action by Paul Sawtell and colorful cinematography by Winton C Hoch . Lavishly produced and directed by Irwin Allen who would go on filmmaking millionaire products as ¨The Poseidon adventure¨, ¨The towering inferno¨¨ and ¨Beyond of Poseidon¨ this picture is one of the last Allen's flops along with ¨Swarm¨and ¨When the time ran out¨ . It's followed by a successful and long running series , a TV show with the well known characters starred by Richard Basehart as Nelson and David Hedison as captain. Rating : Good family fare , acceptable and passable Sci-fi movie ; kids and teenagers will have a fine time.

A silly and not particularly exciting sea voyage

[TheLittleSongbird · 5/10 · 19 January 2018]

Saw 'Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea' as somebody who considers the cast very talented and who has liked some of Irwin Allen's other films (i.e. 'The Towering Inferno' and 'The Poseidon Adventure' that he produced). The premise was great also.

'Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea' unfortunately is not one of Allen's better efforts though and doesn't live up to its great premise. It's one of the more famous submarine films but for me not one of the best ones. This saddens me to say that, absolutely no vindictiveness here, because there was a lot of talent on board, who can go wrong with Walter Pidgeon, Peter Lorre and Joan Fontaine. Can see why some people find it entertaining and why others find it underwhelming, but it generally didn't do much for me.

Starting with the positives, the submarine is quite rightly the star here and a very big one it is too. It is aided by some colourful and atmospheric cinematography. The lively music score also adds a lot and the theme song is a memorable one and a deserving one.

The film's underwater sequences look pretty good still and while ridiculous the climax is entertaining. Generally the cast are not used to their full potential, but Walter Pidgeon is good in the lead, while Michael Ansara and Barbara Eden add some charm to the proceedings.

Peter Lorre on the other hand is criminally underutilised and looked like he was in ill health. Like Joan Fontaine a lot, but she was out of her depth and out of place while the rest of the cast were better off not being there. While the underwater sequences don't look too bad, they generally lack excitement and go on far longer than they needed to, also not placed very well. Some of the effects, like the octopus, look really hokey now.

Furthermore, the pace tends to be ponderous, trimming the underwater sequences would have helped, the film is too long and the direction is stodgy. Add to that a silly and too talky script and a story that lacks suspense, surprises and excitement and falls on the wrong side of daft and nonsensical constantly and you have a far from terrible but very problematic film.

Recommended for a one-time watch, but there is not enough to make me want to see it on repeat viewings. 5/10 Bethany Cox

smoke gets in your eyes

[march9hare · 6 April 2004]

Walter Pidgeon leads fellow iconoclasts aboard a giant, futuristic (for 1961) submarine in a desperate race to save the world from firey oblivion. Another reviewer once commented that there was plenty of action but precious little logic in this film, but so what? If one views it as escapist nonsense, it's pretty enjoyable, even if the plot does get a little overheated (sorry, we couldn't resist) toward the end. Van Allen belt catching fire? Absurd. Three thousand foot crush depth for a Thresher-class attack sub? Ridiculous. But again, so what? The effects hold up pretty well, there's a solid cast including Peter Lorre (not his last film but clearly his days were numbered), Michael Ansara, and Frankie Avalon, who was thrown into the mix to attract a younger audience, and, of course, the giant octopus. The octopus scene was actually shot in reverse, since octopi are quite timid and this one could not be coaxed into attaching itself to the submarine for any usable length of time. Seriously though, in spite of bad science and stupendous leaps of questionable logic, "Voyage" is a better than average vintage sci-fi flick. Make a big bowl of popcorn and enjoy the ride!

global warming's got nothing on what happens here

[lee_eisenberg · 7/10 · 3 August 2006]

As we keep hearing more about how global warming is rising the earth's temperatures slowly but surely, Irwin Allen's "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea" becomes even more interesting. Walter Pigeon plays an admiral leading his submarine to a coordinate in the Pacific Ocean to fire a missile at the Van Allen belt to stop it from blowing the world up. Completely outlandish? It sure is, but cool as can be. And let's face it, the movie's not pretending to be "Citizen Kane"; it's nice, unadulterated fun.

I would suspect that when the movie first came out, Walter Pigeon, Joan Fontaine, Peter Lorre and Frankie Avalon were the most recognizable faces in it. To us in the 21st century, the most recognizable face is probably none other than Barbara Eden (playing a secretary), just a few years before she became famous as a certain Arabian harem. She wears one of those hokey secretary suits, but it looks good on her (as any outfit would). Also starring is her then-husband Michael Ansara, as a man found on an iceberg.

All in all, very enjoyable. And I still wonder how Barbara Eden looked under that secretary suit...

great sci-fi film

[KyleFurr2 · 7/10 · 28 August 2005]

This is a disaster and science fiction movie all rolled into one. Walter Pigeon plays the captain of the ship and Joan Fontaine plays a doctor who has just recently come on board. When the come back up and find the sky is on fire and that the world is going to be destroyed when the heat is going to go too high, Pigeon comes up with a plan to save the world. Pideon goes to the UN with Peter Lorre, who plays a loyal scientist to Pigeon, but several other scientists disagree with Pigeon's plan and try to stop him. Pigeon has only two weeks to get to a certain spot on the other side of the world and his crew begins to turn on him and there is a saboteur on board who is trying to kill him. This is a bad title for this movie since they never even go down that deep. This is good for what it is and you should watch it.

Irwin Allen Does Van Allen

[ferbs54 · 7/10 · 4 September 2009]

I have been a huge fan of Irwin Allen's TV show "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea" for over 45 years now, and have come to regard it as "Star Trek" underwater. (Actually, since "Voyage" preceded Capt. Kirk & Co. by two years, it might be fairer to regard "Star Trek" as "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea" in outer space!) Somehow, however, I had never watched Allen's original 1961 film on which the television program was based...until last night, that is. Now I realize that the film works as a nice introduction to the superior series, and that even though it avoids the silliness that would be the hallmark of the TV incarnation's Season 4, it still remains a strangely corny sci-fi outing. Fortunately, it also features a top-notch cast and better-than-adequate FX; how impressive they must have looked on the 1961 CinemaScope screen! During the course of the film, Adm. Nelson races his new atomic sub, the Seaview, halfway across the world to a spot in the Pacific, where he hopes to shoot a rocket at (and thus extinguish) the suddenly blazing Van Allen belt that is threatening all life on Earth. En route, Nelson and crew face what is by now a familiar roster of "Voyage to" problems: minefields, sea monsters, sabotage attempts, an attacking sub and squabbling amongst themselves. It's all great fun for both young and old alike, but well done as it all is, I kept finding myself yearning for the familiar cast and crew that I'd grown to love by dint of watching those 110 TV episodes over and over again for decades. Walter Pidgeon and Robert Sterling just don't seem as likable to me as Richard Basehart and David Hedison in the Adm. Nelson and Capt. Crane roles. Also, I find Frankie Avalon's title song here sappy and inappropriate, the saboteur's motivations dubious, and the film's conclusion way too abrupt. Nice to see Del Monroe on board, though, with his Kowalski character (here, in this early incarnation, called Kowski). Oh...one of the film's stars, Barbara Eden, gives a very interesting interview on the "Voyage to" DVD, and even four decades later, still looks fantastic; she must have asked for the gift of eternal beauty from a genie in a bottle somewhere....

Delightful and entertaining

[pietclausen · 7/10 · 24 April 2019]

This is an early 60's disaster adventure and a pleasure to watch. A number of reviewers complained that the science is wrong and the submarine looks phony, etc. Sure, but one must not forget that this movie is almost 60 years old and that scientific knowledge and film props in those days were in its infancy.

As a sci-fi and/or an adventure movie it fits the bill perfectly and I am glad to have seen it for the very first time in 2019. If present day movies were made to this caliber, films would be much more enjoyable, as the mumbo jumbo today is also out of this world!

There's an immutable Hollywood law . . .

[dkelsey · 2/10 · 5 February 2012]

. . . that says "Any film written, produced and directed by one person will be a stinker." This film is no exception.

It is not science fiction but science rubbish. The Van Allen belt catching fire is as likely as the force of gravity going rusty. The "world famous scientist" admiral makes his crucial calculations on a slide rule. When he asks the captain "Just exactly where are we?", the captain turns to a map of the world, jabs his finger at the South Atlantic Ocean and says "We're right here, Sir." The conventional submarine chasing them EXplodes because it has gone too deep. When the captain orders the engine room "All stop," the sub comes to a dead halt. And so on, ad nauseam.

It would be funny were it not for the truly frightening message that underlies the plot, namely that in any global crisis a US commander may take it upon himself to "save the world," and his chosen solution will be to nuke the problem. Half a century later we still hover on the brink of that precipice today.

Old but good sci-fi

[amantea · 7/10 · 10 July 2006]

I saw this at the theater in 1961 and thought it was the last word in science fiction. I recently saw it on the tube and cringed a bit at the unlikely plot and cheesy dialog, but it's still great early sci-fi. Those familiar with Irwin Allen's overwrought disaster films (the original Poseidon, the Towering Inferno) will recognize his touch but find Voyage a more enjoyable film. The photography is beautiful as is the sub itself (the innovative Seaview, a design still unmatched by the world's navies), and the movie features a good mix of older and younger stars, including a very cute, pre-Jeannie Barbara Eden (and her then-husband Michael Ansara).

Watch and appreciate this movie for what it is: a fun, groundbreaking, modern sci-fi prototype.

disaster movie pretends to be sci-fi/fantasy

[funkyfry · 3/10 · 14 December 2007]

I really wanted to like this movie. Great cast – Walter Pidgeon in a role that reminds us of his iconic "Forbidden Planet," Barbara Eden and Robert Sterling as young lovers, Frankie Avalon as a musically inclined sailor (is a guy on a submarine a sailor?), even Peter Lorre as a scientist with a fondness for sharks. Maybe it's a good kiddie movie but I had trouble staying awake. Lorre was severely underused. I guess he was a red herring, like Pidgeon – you expect him to maybe go nuts and try to throw the hero or his gal in the shark tank. No such luck. By the way, why is there a shark tank on a submarine? It's typical of the movie's lack of ambition. They explain why Lorre is walking the shark back and forth (because we're seeing it) but just expect us to accept the fact that there's a shark on this sub for some reason. "Research?" Yeah, scientists are always doing that research stuff, who can understand them? Of course, if there wasn't a shark, who would kill the evil psychologist lady (Joan Fontaine)? I'm sorry but even kid's movies in the 50s are capable of being less predictable and frankly idiotic (not to mention exploitative).

The first 10 or 15 minutes really got my hopes up. Great theme song sung by Frankie Avalon. Pidgeon leading Floyd the Barber (Howard McNear actually, sorry Howie loved ya in "Blue Hawaii") and Joan Fontaine on a guided tour, careful to skip the room with the huge "WARNING" sign on the door, past Peter Lorre with aforementioned sharks, and then we see a full screen shot of Eden shaking her moneymaker to Avalon's impassioned horn playing! The movie quickly goes downstream from there. There's no real explanation for the firestorm threatening the Earth, so there's a distinct lack of dramatic tension and no villain to boot. Instead Pidgeon's character is made into an unconvincing red herring vaguely of the Ahab variety (I guess "The Caine Mutiny" was still fresh in people's minds), and Fontaine's character suddenly turns evil for no reason at the end. Oh, I suppose the reason is that it's a surprise for the audience. And it is kind of surprising, since the only negative thing she's done is to talk bad about the captain's mental health and there's STILL no reason why she did the sabotage after she's revealed to be the villain. Very poorly done and unconvincing. The guy who was the pessimistic bible nut was better – at least his character made sense.

So what else could go wrong? Endless, interminable scuba-diving footage. I never understand the appeal of that kind of thing. A giant squid attacks the ship for a minute, just so there's a monster for the theatrical trailer. Maybe that fooled some people into thinking it was going to be a fantasy adventure film, instead of a half-baked suspense movie about military scientists who are never wrong. Yes – perhaps worst of all, it's barely a fantasy movie much less a science fiction movie. It never did anything for my imagination because the whole premise was nothing but another disaster/apocalypse and these characters never experience any feelings of wonder or discovery. I'm through with Irwin Allen. I never liked his later movies anyway, but this one got me by pretending to be Jules Verne when it's really just another formula exercise in disaster escapism. The whole movie is just waiting to see which character will improbably turn evil and die. He always hired an actor/actress with a charming and personable screen persona to play these roles and that's the only element of "surprise" to be found since there's no logic to these characters anyway. What a pathetic waste of time for these actors. George Pal's movies are 100 times better (the only one that was lame was "Atlantis," which, not coincidentally, was the most Allen-esquire), full of wonder and excitement and – think of it! – ideas! Other than a few effects scenes and Barbara Eden, there's nothing worth seeing here in my opinion. I guess it's good fun for those who are into disaster movies, but I think they are a hollow and dull genre of films.

A Beautifully Filmed Movie

[ryon-2 · 8/10 · 4 June 2005]

I had ordered Voyage to The Bottom of The Sea on DVD and at 3:00 in the morning I found myself watching it. Okay, the idea of the Van Allen radiation belt catching on fire is silly, but it's just the premise for a really good sci-fi adventure film that I wish I could've seen in the theaters on a wide screen. But the rich colors on the DVD and Dolby sound is a good substitute for the real thing.

In looking at it, I can't help but compare the movie with the series that followed as there are some of the actors from the movie who ended up in the show. Seeing this Lee Crane constantly arguing and second-guessing Admiral Nelson is a little disturbing, yet the movie inspired one of the best sci-fi series of the '60s. And the movie itself, like Fantastic Voyage, shows great creativity. Irwin Allen is always being underestimated by people with 60 second attention spans, but this movie shows how much of a creative artist that Allen was.

I gladly give this movie 8/10

Snotty Italians, nuclear bombs and Peter Lorre!

[TheOtherFool · 7/10 · 7 July 2004]

I expected a sort of 'Journey to the Centre of the Earth', but I got an early Crimson Tide instead! You won't hear me complaining.

Admiral Nelson designed a new sort of submarine, and he wants to convince the world his project was worthy. So he invites a vice admiral and a congressman along for it's first ride, towards the north pole. Also on the ship are Captain Crane, his love interest and secretary Luitenant Connors and famous female psychologist Dr. Hiller, among with a variety of members of the crew.

When the submarine encounters some difficulties underneath, the sub is brought back to the surface. At then I thought the movie would go for some surreal angle, as the sky is literally on fire. But it turns out it's like that all over the world. So the sub rushes back to New York where the top scientists in the UN building decide what to do next. Snotty Italian guy Dr. Zucco suggests we do nothing, as the reign of fire eventually will destroy itself. But admiral Nelson can't wait for that long, and against the will of the UN guides his sub towards the pacific, where he wants to fire a nuclear rocket into the sky. Meanwhile, there are all sorts of trouble, as the sub is attacked by giant sea-monsters and UN submarines. Also, there is a saboteur amongst the crew, mutiny is about to break loose and who is that mysterious Mr. Alvarez?

This sure is a fun-packed movie from the sixties. It really looks terrific and the acting is great. Such a surprise to see Peter Lorre suddenly appear in it! The tension is rising throughout the movie, I just couldn't stop watching! The scenes in the UN are hilarious, and when the Admiral says 'I don't listen to the UN, I only listen to the President of the USA', you can't help but wonder... was this movie recently shown in the White House?

7/10.

Not waving but drowning

[Lejink · 4/10 · 13 September 2017]

I really wanted to like this movie, from which sprung one of my favourite TV series I loved as a kid in the 60's, but in the end, rather like "M.A.S.H" or "Alice", I find I much prefer the small-screen version.

To me, it just looks like it scoops up three or four plot ideas which might have played out better in individual TV episodes, with the main one I suppose being the submarine's race to fire a missile into a lightning storm which naturally is threatening the world.

Along the way there are clichéd situations a-plenty, like the underwater encounter with a rubbery-looking giant squid, which scene for some reason gets near-repeated close to the end when an equally inanimate giant octopus wraps the sub in a death grip, there's a renegade if lugubrious suicide-bomber on board, a mutiny on the Seaview and an undercover traitor trying to sabotage the rescue mission.

Some of the scenes are unintentionally funny, like when the crew gets thrown from their tables while eating in the canteen as the ship dives to literally the bottom of the sea, reminding me of the guy trying to shave himself in "Airplane" as the plane prepares to crash-land, dinky Barbara Eden runs onto the waterlogged deck in heels and fighting crew- members make-up like best-buddies seconds after knocking seven bells out of each other but maybe the daftest of them all is the religious argument put forward by the bomber to justify his actions. The model work of the submarines, ocean and sea monsters don't exactly convince, while the interior work makes the film feel very studio-bound.

The acting isn't the best either, Walter Pidgeon is no Gregory Peck, who might have made a difference, as Admiral Nelson (seriously!), Peter Lorre looks ill and pained throughout while Joan Fontaine isn't stretched either as a visiting psychologist studying the crew's behaviour. The best you can say about pop star Frankie Avalon's lame performance is that he doesn't sing at any point.

Producer / director Allen's talents reaped greater rewards on television where characterisation and plot depth aren't often important. Here, however, his fortunes take a dive in a film which I'd have to say in the end was sub-standard.

Before Roddenberry's Star Trek, there was Allen's "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea"

[Blueghost · 17 March 2008]

A solid piece of science fiction that's fairly dated, "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea" was a film from the old school of exposition film making. Half docu-drama and half science-fiction, Allen's production makes an effort to mix the world of tomorrow, as it was perceived in the late 50s and early 60s, with then contemporary drama. The result is somewhat stilted, and immature in a very innocent sort of way, but worth a look if you need some vintage sci-fi on your screen.

The exposition of what Irwin Allen felt "the future" of scientific defense in the realm of the world's oceans feels like a Disney documentary. The drama almost seems as an afterthought to the technology being depicted (which I'm sure isn't too far off the mark), and doesn't really ever click in.

An egalitarian para-military that is the crew of the USOS Seaview, was no doubt an inspiration for the Star Trek franchise as it was first conceived, as were probably the scientific functions of a government vessel manned by what is ostensibly a crew serving aboard a vessel whose role is part defensive and part scientific. It is in this capacity that the story takes shape, and challenges sub and crew as the fate of mankind hangs in the balance.

Scientific loopholes abound: Ice floats (the breakup of an iceberg would not produce sinking chinks of ice), radiation doesn't catch fire (the Van Allen belt is speculated to be a result of USAF atmospheric nuclear tests in the 1950s), the most advanced attack subs today can not dive beyond 1300 feet, active sonar is rarely used, etc. etc. etc. But, if you can get by all that, and forgive some of the earlier film making stylings in this film, then it's worth a look.

It's not classic vintage sci-fi in the conventional sense, but one clearly sees how it influenced generations of sci-fi films to come afterwards, as well as spawning the eventual TV series that evolved from this film.

Give it a chance, but don't expect too much. If you're a younger viewer reading this review, then you'll probably get somewhat impatient with it. Even so, try to keep in mind the kind of film it is, and the time in which it was made.

God's will is written above the heavens.

[hitchcockthelegend · 7/10 · 17 July 2010]

Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea is produced and directed by Irwin Allen out of 20th Century Fox. The story was written by Irwin Allen and Charles Bennett and it stars Walter Pidgeon, Robert Sterling, Joan Fontaine, Barbara Eden, Michael Ansara, and Peter Lorre. The theme song was sung by Frankie Avalon, who also appears in the film. Winton Hoch is the cinematographer and the score is a joint collaboration by Paul Sawtell & Bert Shefter. It's a CinemaScope/De Luxe presentation.

Admiral Harriman Nelson (Pidgeon) is commander of his new, state of the art nuclear submarine, The Seaview, which is on diving trials in the Arctic Ocean. When the sub surfaces the crew find the sky is burning, it seems that a meteor shower had occurred and a piece has fractured the Van Allen Radiation Belt causing it to catch fire, the result of which is a world-threatening increase in heat all across the Earth. Nelson proposes to the U.N. to detonate a Polaris nuclear missile in the belt to hopefully send it on a reverse spin into outer space. However, his idea is shot down at the meeting and he decides to take matters into his own hands. Setting off for the calculated launching point in the Marianas Trench, the crew of The Seaview must tackle terrors of the deep, pursuing hostile submarines and severe in fighting as the crew start to come apart under pressure.

To those of us who were reared on pre Star Wars sci-fi it's hard to grasp the complaints of the modern audience about old time genre movies and the effects that reside within. Before George Lucas took sci-fi and cinema watching to a different level involving pacey action every other frame, explosions a plenty and money inspired effects: our tastes were happily catered for by solid stories, character development and the odd bit of inspired for its time effects. Enter Irwin Allen's "Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea" which boasts all those latter points mentioned.

That the film was turned into a television series that ran for 5 seasons (64-68) is arguably the biggest legacy. For at the time of its release the critics gave it a very mixed response, and yet the public made it a hit. Made for roughly $2 million it comfortably made $7 million at the box office to justify Allen's faith in the movie. Watching it now as an adult it has lost none of the charm it had for me as a child. Only differences now are that I can sensibly think about such things as the science involved, observe a cheeky pro-nuclear stance in the Cold War era, and of course admire the form of Barbara Eden in a way I wouldn't have done as a spotty faced kid!.

It's now also a film, thanks to the advent of home entertainment technology, that looks and sounds great. There's plenty of De Luxe colour eye candy visuals, some vintage effects and good quality underwater photography. The production design holds up well, while The Seaview itself, with its on board aquarium and unique eight-window bow view port, remains an indelible piece of sci-fi folklore. The acting isn't called on to be much, but they all deliver professional turns, while Avalon's title song is a catchy piece of harmony. All that and you also get Peter Lorre brooding and taking a shark for a walk!.

Red sky at night is a slice of sci-fi pie delight. 7/10

Entertaining

[Sergiodave · 6/10 · 29 December 2020]

Best way of describing this movie is it's a cross between 'Crimson Tide' and 'The Day the Earth caught fire', though not as good as either. A very good cast with Walter Pidgeon as the eccentric and Uber-intelligent admiral, Joan Fontaine, Peter Lorre, Barbara Eden and Frankie Avalon. It's fun and better than some of the early 60's sci-fi, though nothing special.

Classic Irwin Allen

[TVholic · 7/10 · 16 March 2008]

Back in the '70s, this movie was on the 4:30 Movie after school on WABC several times. Even though it was on only a handful of times, it made an impression on me, probably because I also liked the show back then. This was Irwin Allen's own version of "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea." Admiral Nelson was as much the iconoclastic genius as Captain Nemo ever was. If Walt Disney had a fight with a giant squid, the eventual Master of Disaster decided to go him one better with both a giant octopus and a giant squid. I didn't see it again until the '90s, but I enjoyed it more then than years before.

Unlike the series, this, for the most part, tried to be serious. Save for a few decent episodes, the series was the epitome of campiness, seemingly a specialty of Allen's. It's part of the reason that today, I don't watch the show anymore, preferring to watch this movie every once in a while. Although, like most of Allen's writing, there's virtually no character development. You're given a couple of hooks into each character and that's it. The admiral is brilliant, irascible and smokes cigars. The captain looks out for his men and is engaged. His fiancée is the admiral's secretary and always believes in him. Alvarez is a religious nutjob. Frankie Avalon's lieutenant plays the trumpet. Beyond things like that, Allen preferred action scenes rather than showing what motivated them.

It's a pity the show never had a female regular. Sure, Barbara Eden was better off starring in "I Dream of Jeannie," but a regular female touch would have been more pleasing than the all-boys boat of the series (plus occasional female guest stars). Only one cast member would return for the series. Square-jawed Del Monroe played rebellious crewman Kowski, but as show regular and sonar operator Kowalski, became just the opposite, loyal to a fault to his captain and admiral.

It's arguable whether Walter Pidgeon's Admiral Nelson was better than Richard Basehart's. Certainly Basehart's became more familiar over the course of four seasons. This Captain Crane is far more irritating than David Hedison's, though. It seemed that he spent an awful lot of time just walking around the sub rather than being in the control room. And when he wasn't doing that, he was sulking, snapping at his crew, second-guessing the Admiral and just generally being borderline insubordinate.

There are subtle differences between this USOS Seaview and the SSRN Seaview of the show. Foremost is the observation lounge in the nose. Many have decried that the nose exterior has eight windows while the lounge only has four (a problem fixed when they built a new model later in the show), but eight windows actually make more sense here than in the show. Unlike the show, the observation lounge is not a direct extension of the control room, but on the deck below, reached by the spiral staircase. It's conceivable that there were four more windows above the lounge, at the same level as the control room. The exterior is still a distinctive design even today, although modern subs designed for possible arctic operations eschew diving planes on the sail to avoid damage to them when breaching polar ice. And many modern subs do use an X-shaped tailfin configuration, although Allen chose it for a different reason (he liked the tailfins on his car).

I definitely don't miss everyone rocking from one side of the sub to the other and back as the rubber-suited monster of the week clutched the eight-foot model of the Seaview.

The science was, as usual for Allen, laughable. A radiation belt that "burns." Ice that sinks. They're too deep for divers, so they use a minisub. But the men inside the the minisub are wearing scuba gear, so it's a "wet" sub that wouldn't protect them against outside water pressure. Not to mention numerous inconsistencies. The reactor room is shown early on to have an alarm system, but a saboteur easily walks past it on the way in and out without setting it off.

The Master of Recycling eventually reused numerous scenes from the movie in the series, sometimes the same scene in several different episodes. And these weren't just the usual "Seaview under way" stock footage, but things like them being chased by the attack sub or the men searching for the undersea telephone cable/octopus fight.

The Vidiot Reviews...

[capone666 · 6/10 · 17 January 2019]

Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea

The worst thing about living in a submarine is that everyone on Tinder is onboard.

Even worse, the celestial event in this disaster picture is affecting the Internet.

When a meteor ignites the Van Allen belt and sets Earth temperatures soaring, the only solution to extinguish the sky-fire rests on an experimental submarine training near the Arctic Circle. It's now up to Admiral Nelson (Walter Pidgeon), his crew (Barbara Eden, Frankie Avalon, Peter Lorre) and the on-board psychologist (Joan Fontaine) to get to the Mariana Trench and launch their nuclear missiles at the fiery heavens.

Saturated in vivid colours, diverse characters and giant sea-creatures, this 1961 speculative tale is pure Irwin Allen. Backed by an overly talented cast, the Master of Disaster is able to give some creditability to this campy adventure that also spawned a hit TV series.

As for what's on the bottom of the sea: Mermaid graveyard. Yellow Light

Neat premise but but writing and bad underwater effects consign this to kid's stuff.

[planktonrules · 3/10 · 3 September 2017]

The idea behind "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea" was pretty cool and could have worked very well. Imagine...a super submarine controlled by a super-genius that is called upon to save the world....cool stuff. But so much of the film came off badly...especially the dialog and underwater effects. Because of this, I could see kids enjoying it but adults simply suffering through it.

Before I say more, however, I should point out that I have never seen the television show that this movie spawned. I did grow up during the 60s and 70s and the show was re-run on TV often but for some reason I never bothered watching the program. How close this movie is to the show, I have no idea. I do know that the case was quite different.

As for the plot. The the Van Allen Belt has somehow gone wonky. As a result, the Earth begins heating up and unless something stops this, we're all gonna die. At a meeting at the UN, the Admiral (Walter Pidgeon) announces a plan...to take his submarine to the Marianas and launch a missile into space with a nuclear bomb...to blow the Belt away from the Earth and save everyone. However, a really stupid scientist argues that the best thing to do is nothing...even though folks are dying all over the planet he says that the fiery skies will reverse themselves eventually(???). The Admiral ignores this idiot and sets sail for the Marianas to complete his mission.

During the rest of the film, a crew of well-trained navy men all begin acting VERY unprofessional, threaten mutiny and act like idiots. Many of the crew want to return home to die with their families...instead of trying to save the planet!! This makes no sense at all nor do the folks who suddenly start trying to sabotage the sub! Think about it, the sub is the only hope of the planet and about half the people on the sub want to scuttle the mission. Does this make ANY sense?! Of course not...nor does the dialog make any sense either.

The bottom line for me is that Irwin Allen films had big spectacle and explosions...but often the dialog and characters were completely one-dimensional like they are here. Add the garish underwater scenes to the mix and you have a movie that simply misses the mark.

Grumpy old men save the world!

[Anne_Sharp · 6/10 · 16 July 2001]

The main thing wrong with this movie is that it was made in color with too much money. Some nice grainy black and white film stock, a cast of relative unknowns, and it would have been just about right. But in full-color widescreen with all those big-name (if aging and relatively inexpensive) performers it's just embarrassingly overproduced. The film's only really graceful element is Peter Lorre, giving his patented demonstration of fifty different ways to smoke a cigarette as Walter Pidgeon vigorously emotes besides him. Questions: has anybody ever looked into the eerie similarities between this movie's theme song and "An Octopus' Garden"? And what exactly IS that octopus doing to the Seaview?

Ed Wood Fiction? No, Irwin Allen's...

[quaquaque · 2/10 · 28 February 2012]

What a laughable movie this is, it's so bad that makes you laugh all the way through! A mess from beginning to end, the story goes with a nuclear sub that at the first scene raises from the bottom of the sea literally like a dolphin would (you can imagine the crew jumping like tennis balls inside) , receiving civilians inside(Joan Fontaine as a doctor is one of them) and giving a tour through the sub... a submarine that looks like a five stars hotel, big rooms full of space, an admiral that is also a top scientist and an inventor (Walter Pidgeon) with an officer(Peter Lorre)always beside him that no one knows what the heck he does in the sub, except for babysit a tiny white shark that no one knows why on earth is in the sub... a romance between the captain (Robert Sterling) and the admiral's secretary (a gorgeous Barbara Eden) and Frankie Avalon to get teenage audience... suddenly the Van Allen ring is on fire (why, or better HOW a belt of radiation in the middle of the space WITHOUT OXYGEN can catch fire is, of course, never explained) and the earth temperature rises up to 70 Celsius degrees!! at that moment most of the crew appears at surface and they sweat like in a really hot day!! my god they all should die roasted... everything in this movie is laughable, like the United Nations gathering with at most 30 people, including 2 geishas, 3 African fellows, 2 Muslims, a Moroccan guy, an Hindu one... the US guy should wear a cowboy hat and side pistols, what the heck!! the admiral's plan to save the earth: nuke the ring with a missile (again no one wonder how a missile could possibly reach the space), and in the road to do the task more crazy nonsense stuff: two giants octopusses attacking for no reason, a mine field in the middle of nowhere just to create some tension, a doctor who knows how to sabotage a nuclear reactor, then go nuts and tries to murder the admiral, and ends up eaten by the white shark (that's why is in the sub!) an so on and on... Barbara Eden in her tight dress and high heels -yes, heels for women is common fashion in US nuclear subs- is the only thing worth to watch, otherwise a complete and forgettable disaster!

Great SciFi Classic !

[bfm_1017 · 8/10 · 4 December 2005]

Like most of us, I saw this movie as a kid paying 50 cents I recall. Now it is shown on Fox Movie Channel in letterbox and full-length, so I can really enjoy it again. Folks, this is 1961, before the Cuban Missile Crisis, President Kennedy was in office, and the U.S. was ready for the space age. Movies like this one showed to me a bright future for the world. It had an acute global warming problem, and a world organization arguing how best to deal with it. No one could save the world without the Seaview, and a nuclear missile. How futuristic was that! In many ways, this is in the same category as Forbidden Planet to me. Of course the story doesn't compare, but the ideas portrayed in both surely inspired some people to pursue science and technology in their lives. It is also reminiscent of Star Trek in many ways. Casting was decent using popular, safe actors of the time. Having the "mysterious" Michael Ansara, the beautiful Barbara Eden, handsome Frankie Avalon, and even Floyd the Barber from Andy Griffith ("What DID Calvin Coolidge say."). Also the mature and beautiful Joan Fontaine added to the movie. A lot has happened in the world since I first saw this movie, some good some not so good. However for me personally, I love this movie, and when it's on, like today, I'll skip the NFL games, kick my shoes off, and make some popcorn to watch this classic. Who knows, I might even get a short nap in. Great for a December afternoon.

Voyage to the Bottom of Fun

[utgard14 · 7/10 · 25 October 2013]

Enjoyable and entertaining film with a strong likable cast. The story is not for people who like to over-think things. It's one of those movies you have to sit back and enjoy for what it is: a silly sci-fi adventure about a crew aboard a super submarine that are out to save the world. Vets Walter Pidgeon, Peter Lorre and Joan Fontaine are all immensely enjoyable. Movie stars back in the day had a certain something extra I think. Speaking of Joan Fontaine, one thing I don't see mentioned enough here is how lovely she looks at this point in her career, well past her leading lady days. Another beauty is Barbara Eden, one of the prettiest actresses of her era. She doesn't get a lot to work with but she does fine. The only character I found myself disliking was Lee Crane (Robert Sterling). His seeming failure to grasp the situation at hand and gripe over every decision Admiral Nelson made was a little annoying. But this was more of a problem with the script than Sterling's acting. Anyway, this is a fun, colorful movie I would recommend to anyone whose rear is sans stick.

Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea

[phubbs · 3/10 · 26 October 2013]

The film that kick started the long long long TV series that was basically Star Trek under the sea. So the success of this film of course lead to the TV show which in turn was a big success and encouraged the creator Irwin Allen to go ahead and make other sci-fi TV series that all had a similar look and feel about them...'Lost In Space' 'Land of the Giants' and 'The Time Tunnel'. So this original film was the spark that ignited a whole genre of classic TV.

Yet despite all that...holy crapenstein this film was errrr...crap!. Now I've seen a lot of these old fantasy flicks from the 60's but this has to be the most boring sci-fi I've ever seen I kid you not. The plot is nuts, something about a meteor shower that is on fire threatening the Earth with an extreme rise in heat temperatures. So the Captain of this fancy ass submarine comes up with a plan to extinguish these flaming meteors by firing a nuke at them on a certain day and at a certain time. It has to be this exact time and day so the nuke will put out the flames and blast the meteors back into space. Wut?? say again? repeat all after the plot is nuts.

The 'excitement' comes from the fact that this plan is rejected (really?) and only the US President can authorise it. So the devious Captain ignores this, gets his sub into position and tries to get in contact with El Presidente before the time slot is missed, of course there is a saboteur on board which makes things even more exciting!.

I mean seriously there is nothing happening in this film! the plot is too stupid for words and makes no sense. When you watch the film you do agree with UN that the main plan is nuts and its probably best to leave the meteors alone. So you spend the entire film thinking this bunch of sailors on this fancy sub are doing something really really dangerous and stupid...without permission!. Of course we all know it will work but you still know its utterly stupid.

There are various issues the subs crew must battle against to try and complete their illegal mission, typical stuff like under sea mines, debris, a mutiny, equipment being damaged blah blah blah, oh and a giant squid attack too. Yep that's right, you can't have an underwater adventure without a giant sea beast of some sort attacking the main vessel. So right away that compromises the films semi realistic approach, at first I thought it was sort of serious, outlandish sci-fi but kinda serious with sensible elements. The giant squid kinda turns the whole thing into complete fantasy and ruins that feel, I mean what next? mermaids saving the crew?.

I think one of the main issues for me was the fact the film just looks totally dull, the action is lifeless and visually its just bland and plain. All the sets are clearly sets (they used the same sets for the TV show), the colours are stale, the costumes are drab, the sub model looks like something you'd see in 'Flesh Gordon' (a dildo with a windscreen) and most of the film is set within this monochrome tin can. I get the feeling the sub has been designed like a spacecraft, sleek, smooth and intimidating like a shark, as apposed to the steampunk-like design of the classic Nautilus. A wondrous and fantastical craft ready to set sail into unknown deep sea adventures...so what happened?.

There are a few scenes outside the sub but nothing much inspiring goes on, the only sequence with some life is the squid attack naturally...but don't go expecting anything of Disney standards now.

Imagine the original Star Trek show but without any planet hopping or alien encounters, just the crew on the ship having mechanical issues and chats...constantly. Yep well this is pretty much this film to a tee, a tonne of blokes on a sub with the obligatory blonde female sidekick doing virtually nothing but talk, with the odd shaky cam action sequence for good measure (with obligatory red flashing emergency light). I don't think any of this film cast star in the TV show, but it really doesn't matter as even the likes of Peter Lorre can't make this film any better.

The films title sounds awesome and thrilling, how wrong could it be!. I was straining to get through this, I do recall the TV show being pretty boring when I was a kid but I hoped this would be much better seeing as it was the acorn that spawned the oak tree. I can't see how this was popular I really can't, there were so many other better fantasy/sci-fi films out around this time and this film totally pales in comparison.

3.5/10