THE PHANTOM FROM 10,000 LEAGUES (1955)
Tagline: Freezing horror! …as a living nightmare strikes from the depths of the sea!
(Sci-Fi, Horror, Ridiculousness) [G]
Note – This movie wasn’t given a rating by the MPAA. By today’s standards, it’s definitely a G. So I slapped that on this review for reference.
You know, science is a devouring mistress. She devours all who seek to fathom her mysteries. And for every secret she reveals, she demands a price; a price that a scientist must be prepared to pay. Even at the cost of his life or the lives of others who stand in the way of his search.
So in this one, a radioactive rock at the bottom of the sea is jacking up ocean life and turns one into a humanoid iguana-looking creature hell-bent on dragging people to the bottom of the ocean for who knows what. It doesn’t take long before radiation-burned bodies start showing up onshore and now it’s time to investigate what the heck is happening. Is it possible this weird marine biology professor has anything to do with it? You are damn right it does!
Overall the goofiness level of this movie is just an over-the-top blast. If anything the biggest issue with this, is the run time, and that for some reason a foreign agent (played by Helene Stanton) is even involved at all. They try and cram an espionage-type sub-plot in here and it’s just completely unnecessary. Because of this and some other long scenes with zero action and not much movement of the plot this movie “feels” overly long. We also don’t get much of the slow-moving and clunky creature itself. That is the whole reason you watch this stuff.
Performance-wise this isn’t nearly as bad as some reviews might lead you to believe. Cathy Downs is actually pretty good as the professor’s daughter Lois King. Michael Whalen plays Prof. King close to the best almost seething with a not immediately present madness weaving in and out of different scenes.
This one for me probably falls in the bottom half of all 50’s sci-fi flicks, but it’s not the worst by far and is definitely a must if you are a fan of the genre. One thing I do know is that it’s about 4 miles to the center of the earth, so it is impossible to be 34,500 miles under the sea which is about what 10,000 leagues equates to. It’s basically like saying the phantom is from space appositionally. However, it does make for a rad title so who cares. It’s also worth noting that the company that made this film American Releasing Company also released the 1954 movie THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS, which shares the namesake of the modern FAST AND THE FURIOUS movie series.
Best Line - You don't look well, George. Or is it just that I don't find you attractive anymore? – Wanda
Overall this movie moves pretty slow, but just the dialog of the time and the crazy sci-fi bologna thrown around in this thing is worth the watch. I give this one a 3 out of 7.
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