REVIEW DATE:4:8:9:9
REVIEW DATE:4:8:9:9
Yes, people, here we go with another "Ray Harryhausen movie." No, Ray did not write or direct this one any more then he would write or direct Jason and the Argonauts 11 years down the road. The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms, however, remains the work for which Ray will probably be always remembered for. Why? Simple, this movie created the daikaiju genre.
Well, maybe not "created" per se. The Beast does predate Godzilla by a year (and the two movies to barrow a lot from each other when viewed back to back), but King Kong beats them both to the punch by about 20. But that gets into this whole "What is a daikaiju movie?" question that fans of the genre bicker back and forth about (I blush when I admit to being one of those fans), and will probably put you to sleep (I'll admit to doing that, too). So I'll just shut up and review the movie.
So, since I only use the word daikaiju because it sounds a hell of a lot cooler then "giant monster", I'll say that Beast didn't create it, mealy revitalized a genre that had been pretty much absent from Hollywood since Son of Kong. After Beast came the famous atomic monster movies: The Deadly Mantis, Them, Earth vs. The Spider, and the above mentioned King of the Monsters.
Enough of my ranting, lets get on with it. In the Arctic Project Experiment (which wins a special reward for having the dullest name in the history of government projects) is setting off nuclear warheads. Why would anyone want to set off nuclear bombs in the Arctic? Beats me, just another crazy idea, I guess. The only thing Project Experiment seams to accomplish in my eyes is melt the ice and release a giant prehistoric monster.
While out
exploring the ice science guy, Tom Nesbitt (Paul Hubschmid)
sees the creature and sees it kill his friend. When found and taken to PE HQ his stories
about a walking prehistoric monster are taken less the seriously. When he's shipped,
stateside to recover he finds the doctors here even less sympathetic.
Until, that is, fishing boats are sunk, the survivors claiming that sinkings are the work of a giant sea monster. Convinced that he isn't mad as a hatter, Tom goes to paleontologist Thurgood Elson (Cecil Kellaway) who shots his theory down too. But Elson's beautiful, blonde assistant, Lee Hunter (Paula Raymond) takes a likin' to Tom, and gathers a portfolio of prehistoric creatures. Out of that portfolio, Tom chooses a picture of the gigantic (and fictional) rhedosaurus as the monster he saw. With that mug shot in one hand, and a survivor of one of the Beast's sea attacks in the other, the two finally convince Elson to sign off on their theory.
Not that it does any good. Drawn back to its natural habitat after such a long period of slumber (the only known fossils of the rhedosaurus were found at the bottom of the Hudson river) the Beastie comes ashore in New York City (New York City?!) and goes on its request rampage of death and destruction.
Well, there you have the plot. Sound, familiar? Oh hell yeah. The difference here is that this script (written by Fred Freiberger from a story by none other then Ray Bradbury!) is the first of its kind. This is the Halloween of giant monster movies.
I guess that makes Beastie Michael Myers. Even though Harryhausen worked on this movie 13 years before (in my opinion) his best work in One Million Years B.C., the Beast still maintains a fairly high believability quotient. There are a view scenes where it looks a bit jerky, and shots in which it must interact with people are a bit rough around the edges. And those puppets used for close ups are simply atrocious. But, dangit, I can get over that because, once the monster shows up, all the scenes of destruction are very well handled. Especially considering that this is 1953.
Some of the buildings even have internal structures! Yes!
Acting, for its part, is okay. No one is truly outstanding, and no one gets on my nerves ether. Cecil Kellaway, as Elson is my number one pick for best actor. It would help to know just what accent Paul Hubschmid is trying to pull off, however. French? German? What? He doesn't seam to be able to decide. Oh, he and Lee fall for each other, by the way. This is the 50s, and in the 50s doctors got chicks. Man. . . if that were true today, this Doctor would be a very happy person.
Of course, its not like these characters are given much to do but chew scenery and give plot points until the monster shows up. And if you can stand the bland as cold coffie acting for the first 59 minuets you'll get your reward paid in full, because the next 20 are filled with some great monster action. It isn't perfect, but it is a good wellspring for my favorite genre. And a fine addition to any monster fans collection.
RATING (OUT OF A POSSIBLE FIVE)
NOT BAD, BUT IT STILL AIN'T NO GODZILLA.