It Came from Beneath the Sea (1955)

Director:

Robert Gordon

Writers:

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

Release Date:

July 1955 (USA)

Genre:

Sci-Fi

Tagline:

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

Plot:

A giant stop-motion-animated octopus (with six arms) attacks San Francisco. A pair of scientists and...

Plot Keywords:

Monster Movie | U Boat | Octopus | Giant Octopus | Flamethrower

US Showtimes:

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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
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Tol Avery	...	Navy intern (uncredited)
William Bryant	...	Helicopter Pilot (uncredited)
Del Courtney	...	Asst. Secretary of the Navy Robert David Chase (uncredited)
Roy Engel	...	Officer in control room giving orders to drop nets (uncredited)
Ed Fisher	...	McLeod (uncredited)
Art Gilmore	...	Trailer Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
Sam Hayes	...	Himself (radio newscaster) (uncredited)
Jules Irving	...	King (uncredited)
Jack Littlefield	...	Aston (uncredited)
Rudy Puteska	...	Seaman Hall (uncredited)
Ray Storey	...	Reporter (uncredited)
William Woodson	...	Opening Narrator (voice) (uncredited)

Directed by
Robert Gordon

Writing credits
George Worthing Yates		(screenplay) &
Hal Smith		(screenplay)
George Worthing Yates		(story)

Produced by
Sam Katzman	....	executive producer
Charles H. Schneer	....	producer

Original Music by
Mischa Bakaleinikoff

Cinematography by
Henry Freulich		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Jerome Thoms

Art Direction by
Paul Palmentola

Set Decoration by
Sidney Clifford

Production Management
Leon Chooluck	....	unit manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Leonard Katzman	....	assistant director

Sound Department
J.S. Westmoreland	....	sound (as Josh Westmoreland)

Special Effects by
Jack Erickson	....	special effects
Ray Harryhausen	....	technical effects creator

Visual Effects by
Ray Harryhausen	....	visual effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Richard H. Kline	....	camera operator (uncredited)

Music Department
Mischa Bakaleinikoff	....	conductor
Daniele Amfitheatrof	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Ross DiMaggio	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Herschel Burke Gilbert	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Werner R. Heymann	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Heinz Roemheld	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Columbia Pictures Corporation (presents)
• Clover Productions

Distributors

• Columbia Pictures (1955) (USA) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (1994) (USA) (laserdisc)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video (1985) (USA) (VHS)
• RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video (????) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2008) (USA) (DVD)

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:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Because the budget was so low, Ray Harryhausen saved money by building his octopus model with six rather than the correct eight tentacles. He tried to pose the creature so this lack of the right number of arms wasn't apparent.

Goofs:

Factual errors: In the final scene, Commander Mathews' uniform does not have the star above the three stripes on his sleeve. This designation is worn by unrestricted line officers (those who command naval warships).

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 Godzilla (1998)

The effects make the movie.

From producer Charles H. Schneer and stop motion animation legend Ray Harryhausen came this science fiction thriller about monstrous octopus, driven from the bottom of the ocean by atom bomb testing, that wreaks havoc on San Francisco.

With intrepid 1950's science fiction hero Kenneth Tobey as the star, this would have earned a viewing from me based on that merit alone. The film itself is not really one of the more shining examples of its genre, however. It's paced slowly and is much too dialog heavy, depending largely on chemistry between Tobey, love interest Faith Domergue, and the "other man", brilliant scientist Donald Curtis. The love triangle here is not that interesting. This picture would have done better to focus instead of the exploits of the octopus, when in fact it doesn't appear often enough until the climax.

Regardless of such details, I'm a great admirer of Harryhausen and his work. In fact, I prefer his brand of animation to the computer-generated nonsense of today because his brand of animation has SOLIDITY. I can actually believe that any of his characters, or creatures, is a physical presence within the film. The octopus doesn't disappoint, even if Harryhausen had to eliminate two tentacles (that's right, it has six instead of eight) due to a low budget.

Ultimately, "It Came From Beneath the Sea" is not particularly exciting, but it is decent entertainment nonetheless. When you've got a great character star like Tobey in the lead and such interesting effects to look at it's hard to complain.

8/10