It Came from Beneath the Sea (1955)

User Rating:

5.8/10   

Director:

Robert Gordon

Writers:

George Worthing Yates (screenplay) &
Hal Smith (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

July 1955 (USA)

Genre:

Fantasy | Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

IT CRUSHES! KILLS! DESTROYS! (original print ad - all caps)

Plot:

A Giant Octopus, whose feeding habits have been affected by radiation from H-Bomb tests, rises from the Mindanao Deep to terrorize the California Coast.

Plot Keywords:

Octopus | Scientist | Golden Gate Bridge | Submarine | San Francisco California

Cast

Kenneth Tobey	...	Cmdr. Pete Mathews
Faith Domergue	...	Prof. Lesley Joyce
Donald Curtis	...	Dr. John Carter
Ian Keith	...	Adm. Burns
Dean Maddox Jr.	...	Adm. Norman
Chuck Griffiths	...	Lt. Griff, USN
Harry Lauter	...	Deputy Bill Nash
Richard W. Peterson	...	Capt. Stacy

Also Known As:

Monster from Beneath the Sea

Runtime:

79 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #17332) | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | UK:PG

Filming Locations:

Imperial County, California, USA

Company:

Clover Productions

Trivia:

The Special Jet Propelled Torpedo is actually a aerial torpedo (it was delivered by aircraft and by torpedo boats) that had it's propellers and rudders removed.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the helicopter carrying Carter lands, he gets into a police car, which drives off with the Golden Gate Bridge in full view in the background. This is right after the octopus has begun pulling itself up on the bridge's south tower, yet in the shot the octopus is plainly not on the bridge. Soon after, Carter drives that same police car out onto the bridge, but when he arrives in mid-span, the car is a different make, model and year, matching the (miniature) police car subsequently crushed by the octopus's tentacle.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Narrator: From her beginnings on a Navy drawing board, through the months of secret field experiments out on the Western desert, then through the desperate search for new metals with the properties she needed, she was designed to be the nation's greatest weapon of the seas - the atom-powered submarine...
[...]

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Projectionist (1971)

Hokey but highly entertaining early Harryhausen

Fans of 50's Sci-Fi will enjoy this entertaining film with terrific stop-motion effects by the master, Ray Harryhausen. In the forefront of the film is one of those campy little romances of the type so often found in 50's Sci-Fi outings. The special effects are certainly not incredible, but are very good looking as 50's style effects go. Watch for the destruction of the Golden Gate Bridge by the giant octopus, as well a the scene in which it's tentacles lurch through San Francisco like giant snakes. An above average 50's Sci-Fi.