City Beneath the Sea (1971) (TV)

User Rating:

4.8/10   

Director:

Irwin Allen

Writers:

Irwin Allen (story)
John Meredyth Lucas (screenplay)

Release Date:

25 January 1971 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Theirs was the most dangerous mission in history . . . to save the world from total destruction!

Plot:

A group of 21st-century colonists inhabit an underwater city called Pacifica. They find that they must defend their city against hostile alien forces.

Plot Keywords:

Underwater | Undersea City | Environmental Issues | Unsold TV Series Pilot | Futuristic

Cast

Stuart Whitman	...	Admiral Michael Matthews
Robert Wagner	...	Brett
Rosemary Forsyth	...	Lia Holmes
Robert Colbert	...	Commander Woody Patterson
Burr DeBenning	...	Aguila (as Burr De Benning)
Susana Miranda	...	Elena
Richard Basehart	...	The President
Joseph Cotten	...	Dr. Ziegler
James Darren	...	Dr. Talty
Paul Stewart	...	Barton
Sugar Ray Robinson	...	Captain Hunter
Whit Bissell	...	Professor Holmes
Larry Pennell	...	Bill Holmes
Tom Drake	...	General Putnam
Sheila Allen	...	Blonde Woman (as Sheila Mathews)

Also Known As:

One Hour to Doomsday (UK) (theatrical title)

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

Iceland:L | Finland:K-16 | Germany:12 | UK:U

Company:

Kent Productions

Trivia:

The main set, Tritan Control, was re-dressed, painted black and used as the Ape Training Center in Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972).

Movie Connections:

Remake of City Beneath the Sea (1969) (TV)

Irwin Allen series recycling extravaganza

This is Irwin Allen at his Irwin Allen-est. This whole show while entertaining is a recycling of a failed pilot and a bevy of canceled sci-fi series.

The failed pilot starred Glen Corbett and Lloyd Bochner. This was made in 1967. The TV movie came out in 1971.

The first thing you notice in the movie is the Flying Sub from "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea". The next thing is Robert Colbert from "The Time Tunnel". Looking closely at Pacifica, this city beneath the sea, you will see the Jupiter II from "Lost in Space" as a dome sitting on top of a tower. The submarine "Seaview" is seen prowling the depths of the underwater streets of the city. Later we see Richard Basehart as the President of the US (VTBOS), Whit Bissel (TT) and Jame Darren as a scientist(TT). And the props -- computers, laser guns, radios, video telephones -- all recycled from his series from the '60s. The sound effects are familiar ones. The costumes are too.

Some throw away cameos were added -- boxer Sugar Ray Robinson and veteran actor Joseph Cotten (he was in "Citizen Kane" for god's sake). Even Edward G. Robinson's son is added for good measure.

The plot is cross between "Armageddon" (an asteroid is headed toward impact on the earth) and "Ocean's 11" (a heist of the vault containing the US's Fort Knox gold reserve and the "highly fissionable H128"). It is fairly pedestrian. The fun in this movie is seeing all of Irwin's old shows being brought back in some form. Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Lost in Space, Time Tunnel, and Land of the Giants were all canceled by the time this movie came out. Watch this one if you can find it.