The Phantom from 10,000 Leagues (1955)

A seaside community is terrorized by a hideous sea monster, which has been created by experiments in atomic radiation.

Director:

Dan Milner

Writers:

Lou Rusoff (screenplay), Dorys Lukather (original story)

Stars:

Kent Taylor, Cathy Downs, Michael Whalen

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Kent Taylor	...	Dr. Ted Stevens
Cathy Downs	...	Lois King
Michael Whalen	...	Prof. King
Helene Stanton	...	Wanda
Phillip Pine	...	George Thomas (as Philip Pine)
Rodney Bell	...	William S. 'Bill' Grant
Vivi Janiss	...	Ethel Hall
Michael Garth	...	Sheriff
Pierce Lyden	...	Andy - Janitor

Storyline

An unusual radioactive rock on the sea bottom mutates the ocean life into a horrible monster. When charred, radioactive bodies begin to drift ashore a scientist and government agent investigate the phenomenon, and it's connection to a local marine biology professor.

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Plot Keywords:

radiation made monster | psychotronic film | cult film | pacific coast | marine biology | 

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Taglines:

FRREZING HORROR... as a living nightmare strikes from the depths of the sea!

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Genres:

Horror | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Passed

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Ethel and Mr. Grant meet in the roadhouse, the exterior sign says "Jefty's Roadhouse"-- a direct reference to Road House (1948) with Richard Widmark as "Jefty".

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Goofs

As Ethyl Hall, Dr. King's secretary, is walking up the beach after leaving her keys in his lab, George shoots her in the back with a spear gun. George, however, is hiding on the hillside and could not have hit her at that angle.

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Quotes

[first lines]
William S. 'Bill' Grant: Don't touch that.
[Grant shows his credentials]
Ted Baxter: William S. Grant, Special Investigator. Department of Defense, Washington. Well, I guess that makes it pretty official.
William S. 'Bill' Grant: Yes, I guess it does.
Ted Baxter: His body's rigid with burns. The boat's charred too. Yet, there's no sign of fire. We better get him out of the water.
William S. 'Bill' Grant: I'll take care of him myself.
Ted Baxter: I just though I'd give you some help.

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Connections

Featured in Aweful Movies with Deadly Earnest: The Phantom from 10,000 Leagues (1972)

User Reviews

Good acting in a terrible story (Spoiler)

This movie is interesting in that the acting is competent though the story is terrible. The special effects are also terrible. It was intriguing to watch and contemplate why they made such an inept movie. Evidently, they were able to sign decent actors to play the roles, but the people who put the whole thing together were unable to create a believable story. They wanted to create a story with a monster, but they didn't have the ability to make it do anything scary. The monster barely moves in the film. But since movies about the monstrous effects of radiation were common at the time, they figured they could put together something people might want to watch.

This might be an example of what decent actors do in between good roles. When they can't get anything decent, they take roles like this to make a few bucks.

Actually, the story isn't completely stupid. But the makers apparently could not afford to pay anyone to storyboard the film or plan how to make the monster scary. In the past, I've thought what a horribly tedious job story-boarding must be, but when you see this film, you see why it's important. You have to lay out in detail what the visuals will look like.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

December 1955 (USA)

Also Known As:

El fantasma de las 10.000 leguas

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$100,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Milner Brothers Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

81 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1