Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1961)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

Irwin Allen

Writers:

Irwin Allen (screenplay) and
Charles Bennett (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

12 July 1961 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Sci-Fi

Plot:

Admiral Nelson takes a brand new atomic submarine through its paces. When the Van Allen radiation belt catches fire...

Plot Keywords:

Admiral | Submarine | Missile | Heat | Scientist

Cast

Walter Pidgeon	...	Adm. Harriman Nelson
Joan Fontaine	...	Dr. Susan Hiller
Barbara Eden	...	Lt Cathy Connors
Peter Lorre	...	Comm. Lucius Emery
Robert Sterling	...	Capt. Lee Crane
Michael Ansara	...	Miguel Alvarez
Frankie Avalon	...	Lt (j.g.) Danny Romano
Regis Toomey	...	Dr. Jamieson
John Litel	...	Vice-Adm. B.J. Crawford
Howard McNear	...	Congressman Parker
Henry Daniell	...	Dr. Zucco
Skip Ward	...	Crew member
Mark Slade	...	Seaman Jimmy 'Red' Smith
Charles Tannen	...	CPO Gleason
Del Monroe	...	Kowski (as Delbert Monroe)

Also Known As:

Journey to the Bottom of the Sea (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG for some perilous situations.

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Canada:PG (Ontario) | West Germany:12 (nf) | USA:Approved (certificate #19888) (original rating) | Canada:PG (video rating) | Australia:G | Finland:K-12 | Sweden:11 | UK:U | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Windsor Productions

Trivia:

Some of the sub's equipment and sound effects were recycled from The Fly (1958).

Goofs:

Continuity: During the effort to tap the underwater telephone cable, a crewman twice flashes a large flashlight to signal the sub. In the close-ups, the light as shown is very dim, barely lighting the bulb's filament and throwing no beam. But in the distance shots, it's casting a thick, highly visible beam.

Quotes:

Sparks: U.S.O.S. Seaview calling Washington. Come in, Washington.
[pause]
Sparks: Twenty-five hours of static in my ear. Man, I'm getting shell-shocked.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Boom! Hollywood's Greatest Disaster Movies (2000) (V)

Soundtrack:

Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea

Before Roddenberry's Star Trek, there was Allen's "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea"

A solid piece of science fiction that's fairly dated, "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea" was a film from the old school of exposition film making. Half docu-drama and half science-fiction, Allen's production makes an effort to mix the world of tomorrow, as it was perceived in the late 50s and early 60s, with then contemporary drama. The result is somewhat stilted, and immature in a very innocent sort of way, but worth a look if you need some vintage sci-fi on your screen.

The exposition of what Irwin Allen felt "the future" of scientific defense in the realm of the world's oceans feels like a Disney documentary. The drama almost seems as an afterthought to the technology being depicted (which I'm sure isn't too far off the mark), and doesn't really ever click in.

An egalitarian para-military that is the crew of the USOS Seaview, was no doubt an inspiration for the Star Trek franchise as it was first conceived, as were probably the scientific functions of a government vessel manned by what is ostensibly a crew serving aboard a vessel whose role is part defensive and part scientific. It is in this capacity that the story takes shape, and challenges sub and crew as the fate of mankind hangs in the balance.

Scientific loopholes abound: Ice floats (the breakup of an iceberg would not produce sinking chinks of ice), radiation doesn't catch fire (the Van Allen belt is speculated to be a result of USAF atmospheric nuclear tests in the 1950s), the most advanced attack subs today can not dive beyond 1300 feet, active sonar is rarely used, etc. etc. etc. But, if you can get by all that, and forgive some of the earlier film making stylings in this film, then it's worth a look.

It's not classic vintage sci-fi in the conventional sense, but one clearly sees how it influenced generations of sci-fi films to come afterwards, as well as spawning the eventual TV series that evolved from this film.

Give it a chance, but don't expect too much. If you're a younger viewer reading this review, then you'll probably get somewhat impatient with it. Even so, try to keep in mind the kind of film it is, and the time in which it was made.