beast from 20,000 fathoms -> godzilla -> it came from beneath the sea is like the US was like check this out and did a somersault. then japan was like oh wow, watch this and then did an incredible quadruple backflip that was also deeply poignant. and then the US was like oh yeah? well watch THIS and then sat down in a chair for 80 minutes

KAIJULY: GODS AND MONSTERS

Echoing the sentiment of just about everyone here on how cool and great for that era and style is the work of legendary Ray Harryhausen here.

The whole thing with the tentacle and the creature sinking up the ship (spoiler alert?) was here. It has a lot of that great 50s B movie charm. There is also some (unintentionally?) fun stuff with some of the politics.

The rest of the film is eh. A bit too melodramatic for my taste. The performances are okay, though they are not given the best material to work with. I cannot be the only one who thought (I believe) Curtis looked like Connery’s Bond with that suit?

All in all, not one I get to say is worth checking out but one whose craft I can appreciate.

KAIJULY: GODS AND MONSTERS

TODAY SCHEDULE
It Came From Beneath the Sea
Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla II
Space Amoeba
The War in Space

Sure, cute sea creatures mutating into giant monsters is scary, but have you heard of this new breed of female homosapiens: the modern woman? Now those are terrifying! Fiercely independent, capable of making their own decisions, how will contemporary (1950s) n̶e̶a̶n̶d̶e̶r̶t̶h̶a̶l̶ man ever gain the upper hand over them?

(apparently by first negging them and then buying them lobster dinner 🦞)

--

PS Ray Harryhausen was the GOAT. 🐐

PPS You just gotta love a movie that incorporates flamethrowers. 🔥

Some of the most interesting parts of this one was seeing the historical inner-workings of certain military infrastructure, or at least this portrayal of them. There were some archival clips of naval destroyers using surface bombs as well as several clips of other naval activities. The giant octopus itself wasn't terrible, but it wasn't as entertaining as the one in King Kong vs Godzilla either. While the action here was a bit sub-par, there were also bits that entertained beyond what they probably should have. All in all I'd say this wasn't a bad one for it's nearly 70 year age.

1955 Ranked
1950's Ranked
Science Fiction Films Ranked
Early Science Fiction films Ranked
Horror Ranked
Horror in the 1950’s Ranked
Romance films Ranked
Monster / Creature films Ranked
Military / War films Ranked
Animal films Ranked
Open Sea Ranked

Oh 1950s… I love how (female) Professor Joyce is spoken to professionally, like any other military personnel until she’s out of her hazmat suit and in her civvies… suddenly she’s spoken to like “dating material”! And like most sci-fi of that era, relationships always form among professionals when one of them has a vagina.

Despite the overdone melodramatics, the REAL star is the legend Ray Harryhausen whose work here is all anyone really cares about. The rest of the movie is so mind-numbingly boring that octopus time feels woefully brief. No one would remember It Came From Beneath The Sea without Harryhausen. Instead we have about five total minutes of dazzling stop-motion monster effects including an iconic showdown in San Francisco including the destruction of the Golden Gate Bridge and several other landmarks.

me when I don't get a little treat

This sci-fi classic has has H-Bomb testing creating a giant, Harryhausen octopus which makes its way to San Francisco. At least it doesn't have atomic breath! There's also a beautiful, female scientist living in the misogynistic 50's. And smoking! The best (funniest) thing is scene transitions are mostly done via narrated exposition. It's quaint but unless you have an affinity for 50's schlock you can skip this one. Saw a colorized version.

I watched KING KONG earlier in the day, which was like a feast.

This was like munching on sawdust.

I find the Ray Harryhausen creature features to be death when the monsters arent' present, so it was very difficult to enjoy a film where the Harryhausen creation is a lame tentacled beast with very little personality. Looks great in stills, just sits there in the movie.

Sure, it's often the case that these 50s monster movies weren't exactly known for having strong plots or characters, but It Came from Beneath the Sea is one where those elements are even weaker than usual. The narrative is very basic and the characters populating the screen whenever the giant octopus isn't destroying stuff are just a gaggle of dullards, with the perfunctory romantic subplot so boring and unnecessary that it really drags it down. At least this has the benefit of having Ray Harryhausen doing the stop-motion effects, which makes the giant octopus sequences (mostly confined to the last 20ish minutes) a joy that's about all It Came from Beneath the Sea has to offer.