Enter Ray Harryhausen, who I discovered myself by accident. In many ways, he changed my life. Harryhausen has told us, time and again, the story of how he saw the original "King Kong" on the big screen when he was just a kid, of how he was inspired by Willis O' Brien's pioneering special effects and of how that lead him to where he is today. In case I end up in the movies, I foresee myself telling people the story of how I was inspired by Harryhausen's work. Hopefully, the chain will go on. I am kidding, of course, but it's a nice thought anyway. While most kids in the 90's would be oblivious of stop-motion (with CGI growing popular), I was in awe of it. There is a sense of life in stop-motion animated creatures. It's the kind of life that much of CGI lacks. No matter how smoothly or realistically your computerized monster moves, there is something more subtle that stop-motion captures better. Harryhausen's creations seem to be thinking, or feeling, not just moving. They have personality, an attribute that so many of today's CG monsters lack. ... Harryhausen deserved better films and higher budgets (his films were so low budget that at several times, the full extent of his vision wasn't realized. It is now popular trivia that the octopus in "It Came From Beneath the Sea" actually had only six tentacles as they couldn't afford to build a model with eight). Though the films have inspired several of us, it was, in most cases, only the special effects that kept the films from being mediocre B-movie fare. It is sad that he didn't work with greater talents. Imagine what would have come out of such collaborations. This master of animation was snubbed by the Academy year after year for each of his films, the films not even getting nominations for their special effects, until, years after his retirement; they gave him an honorary Oscar, which, I suspect, is more of an apology than a token recognition. I've read somewhere that Harryhausen reasons his films didn't get recognized by the Academy when they were released because they were shot in Spain, and not in Hollywood. It makes sense. -Great Movies of my Childhood
It Came From Beneath the Sea was the first of several fruitful collaborations between producer Charles H. Schneer and special-effects wizard Ray Harryhausen. He wasn’t yet at the top of his game, but what he did provide inspired all of us young boys to fight enormous radioactive tentacled octopus.
The major creature in this low budget movie is a giant, six-tentacled octopus, which is galvanized into action by an H-bomb test.
Worse still, the monster is highly radioactive, rendering useless the normal means of defense against it.
Yikes!
Scientists Donald Curtis and Faith Domergue team with atomic-submarine commander Kenneth Tobey to halt the creature’s progress before it begins to attack major coastal cities. Alas, the monster manages to reach San Francisco, wreaking havoc on the Golden Gate. It’s sort of an American version of Godzilla.
Good Gosh and darn it!
Movie Review 1
I’m a simple guy, I see a movie about a gigantic killer octopus and I immediately buy it on DVD. I love campy 1950’s Cold War Sci-fi flicks. I find them to be genuinely fun and engaging. However, just like every sub genre, there’s good and bad. “It Came from Beneath the Sea” is a middling film.
Anytime the giant Octopus wreaks terror on screen, the film becomes a whole lot of fun. However, when the film substitutes these moments for a half baked love triangle the film quickly loses interest.
As with every giant monster film of the ’50’s the film is filled with commentary about living in an active nuclear world. Radiation from military testing has brought about this devastating monster. It then falls to a couple of scientists and a Navy officer to defeat the monster before it brings about the total destruction of San Francisco.
Most of the characters in this film fall into pretty standard genre cliches. There’s really nothing noteworthy about them; they’re fine. Where this film works best is in the action scenes. For the most part they’re really well done, it’s pretty obvious that the filmmakers are using miniatures, but there’s an undeniable charm to them. The creature design is also well done, and the use of stop-motion is effective in bringing the monster to life.
If you’re into goofy giant monster films, then this is the kind of film you’d enjoy. For a general audience, this is the type of film that’ll bring about a lot of eye-rolling. “It Came from Beneath the Sea” isn’t the best monster film I’ve ever seen, but it does an effective job. I just wished there was a little more monster action.
Movie Review 2
Released the year after the influential monster movie classic Godzilla, It Came from Beneath the Sea was one of several attempts from around the world to capitalize on the success of Godzilla.
It Came from Beneath the Sea is one of the more well known giant monster movies to come out from this period.
I didn’t really know much about this film apart from the fact that it was following on Godzilla’s coat tails and that special effects wizard Ray Harryhausen was involved. While It Came from Beneath the Sea is far from being perfect, I still found it to be a fairly entertaining film.
The film sees a giant octopus, whose feeding habits have been affected by radiation from H-bomb tests, rises from beneath the Mindanao Deep to terrorize the Californian coast.
The plot for It Came from Beneath the Sea is pretty good, with some interesting moments. It is a plot that seems really exciting on paper, but the execution needed to be much stronger than it actually is.
Throughout the film, there is a bland and monotonous voice-over that insists on dumping needless exposition. It also focuses heavily on the military trying to decide what to do about the giant octopus. These scenes are really bland and drain any and all excitement out of the film.
There is also a love triangle between a sexually aggressive naval officer played by Kenneth Tobey, who declares rather than acts, and two scientists. One of the scientists is Professor Joyce, played by Faith Domergue, who lights up every scene that she appears in and is easily the best thing about this film. Joyce is a strong female character, unusual for this type of film from this era. She is independent, progressive and quickly brushes off any advances as soon they are laid on her. An underrated feminist icon if ever there was one! The other main highlight of the film is, of course, Harryhausen’s special effects. The whole sequence involving the giant octopus’s attack on the Golden Gate Bridge is fantastic. Harryhausen’s effects may be a little dated, but they are wonderfully charming. The giant octopus may not be his best work but, as always, it is a highlight. The direction from Robert Gordon is really solid and holds the film together well.
Overall, It Came from Beneath the Sea is a solid enough giant monster film. The plot is fun, but I feel that the execution needed to be stronger in order to get the mot out of the concept. The short runtime, however, makes it watchable and the Golden Gate Bridge attack is a satisfying conclusion. The performances are fairly average, with Faith Domergue being a particular highlight. Gordon’s direction is good and Harryhausen’s effects are great. It Came from Beneath the Sea is an enjoyable old school monster movie. A fun, if rather unremarkable, film!
Movie Review 3
Some Ray Harryhausen films you watch solely because of Ray Harryhausen‘s “Dynamation” and little else. This isn’t just such a film, but it might be the best example of it.
This would be Ray‘s first collaboration with producer Charles H. Schneer and they would go on to make some of Harryhausen‘s most famous films together including Jason and the Argonauts and of course Clash of the Titans.
This being their first though, it ends up also being their weakest, but they obviously lived and learned as they also never worked with director Robert Gordon again. Don’t worry about him though, he went on to make Tarzan and the Jungle Boy so his legacy is cemented.
All of Ray‘s effects are great fun, how could a giant octopus attacking the Golden Gate Bridge not be?
Everything else though is a bit wooden, unimaginative and in some cases just plain weird. There’s this odd love triangle between Kenneth Tobey, Faith Domergue and Donald Curtis that plays out less like two men fighting over a woman and more like they’re… well… possibly trying to get her at the same time? I’m not sure what the hell was going on there, but it does add to the weirdness of the film.
Movie Review 4
It Came From Beneath The Sea is the kind of giant monster movie I can enjoy mostly guilt free. No appliances glued or stapled onto animals – just good old fashioned, cruelty-free Ray Harryhausen stop-motion. It’s how Willis O’Brian did it – it’s how the movie industry had done, and at that point in the ‘50s it had worked pretty well so far.
The premise is your good ol’ fashioned ‘50s creature feature – atomic testing woke up something big from the depths. The creature is now menacing the world of humanity and must be stopped. In this case, the “something” is a giant octopus, and it’s discovered by the US Navy’s first nuclear attack submarine.
The film also has the twist of “the scientist nobody believes until it’s too late” being a woman, and her claims being dismissed not due to lack of plausibility, but explicitly because of institutional misogyny.
It’s still problematic – the scientist, Leslie Joyce (Faith Domeregue) ends up romancing her sexual harasser, but at least the film had the stones to call out institutional misogyny as a systematic issue that is a big problem – demonstrated by it costing lives.
The film’s effects are great – the climactic rampage through San Francisco at the end of the movie is very wonderfully done. It’s not quite at the levels of Godzilla (which hasn’t been made yet), but it does get things across.
Otherwise, the movie is fine – it’s a brisk 74 minutes that doesn’t overstay its welcome. It’s a movie that’s enjoyable in its own right and, were it to end up on the new MST3K (or, for that matter, on Rifftrax), it’d also be a very fun watch there.
Final Conclusion
Well, aren’t you all tired of the pandemic, the Russian ultimatium that wasn’t, the Uighurs, and everything else? I certainly am. I jsut spent the most part of this morning breaking down the USA Western Bloc failures to interrupt the BRI. I’ve got to tell youse guys. I want a break.
I’m off to smunch on some fine, fine Suechuan food.
I really want to get back to some OOPART stuff. I’ve got about 30 or so in the pipe in various stages of readiness.
Not to mention some stuff on world-line travel, and affirmations, and some Domain stuff as well.
Let’s just have some fun. Put aside the great Geo-political changes and just have fun.
Here’s some ideas for fun…
Idea one – Food.
A nice sandwich in a diner that you smuch with a cup of coffee or a more interesting beverage of your choice.
Idea two – Art.
Visiting an art museum. Go out for the day and then get an icecream, or a coffee or a nice dinner out.
Idea three – Local historical Museum.
Art is not your thing, eh…
Go out to the local historical museums in your local area. They are there, you just need to figure out where. Check out all the interesting curiosities that you find there.
They are everywhere.
You just got to find them.
Idea four – Go outside.
When was the last time that you took a spin on a bicycle. I’ll bet that for many MM readers, it’s been a long time. But I will tell you that when you get back on that bike it will be a true joy (provided there’s no snow about). LOL.
But if there is, then how about a snowmobile ride, a cross-country ski trip, or some downhill sking. Do something outdoors.
Idea Five – snuggle.
With a loved one, a cherished pet, or a new friend. Just go out and snuggle.
Idea six – Watch old movies.
Surprise yourself. Dig up an old movie and watch it. Just do it.
Have fun everyone.
Make the best of your life. One last idea…
Idea Seven – Be Groovy
It’s NEVER too late to be groovy, baby.
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