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Phantom from 10,000 Leagues (1956)

 
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Tue Jan 06, 2015 4:46 pm    Post subject: Phantom from 10,000 Leagues (1956) Reply with quote

I saw this one just once, many years ago, on an old black-and-white TV, late at night. I hated it because I never got a good look at the monster.

That may have been the fault of the old television and the crappy print the TV station showed, because the pictures below show the monster pretty well.

Thank goodness Jimbo Berkey's website, Free Classic Movies offers this interesting review of the movie and a link that will allow me to watch Phantom from 10,000 Leagues again!
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It is 1956, WWII is over, America is booming, and there are these fantastic outdoor movie theaters called 'Drive-ins' that have an insatiable appetite for movies. Drive-ins are one of the favorite date destinations for teens and young adults. The 'Cold War' is heating up, and ever since the U.S. dropped the atomic bomb during WWII, atomic energy has been the focus of many of our fears, and this is one more example.

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It seems that there is a beam of bright light coming from the center of the earth that breaks through to the sea floor, and it is concentrated atomic energy. And the theory is that this atomic energy has mutated a small sea creature into a fantastic radioactive sea monster.

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The sea monster grabs people swimming in the ocean, and their dead, radiation-burned bodies float to shore. Professor King, at a nearby college, has been secretly experimenting in his lab, and may be involved in the creation of this sea monster, or may have discovered the secret to atomic mutations.

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Then we also have a subplot that involves a beautiful but frightful blonde spy that is trying to get one of Professor King's acquaintances to find out his secret experiments and sell them to her, so she can deliver them to a foreign foe, probably Russia.

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And we have the visiting nuclear scientist and author that is poking around and is attracted to Professor King's lovely daughter. And the Government man from Washington that is investigating.

So pop some corn, grab your best girl, pretend you are sitting in a 1955 Chevy, and enjoy this horror thriller that probably made Grandma cling in fright to Grandpa back in 1956 when they were young pups. But don't worry, it won't bring any fear to you today.

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The special effects and horror scenes of 1956 are very primitive compared to today's realistic creations. Don't even think too hard about the sea monster who's front legs move remarkably like a man's arms swimming in the ocean. Just enjoy the journey into the strange and mysterious deep.

Pop a big bowl of white kernel popcorn with warm melted butter on it and enjoy the show.


____Jimbo Berkey
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)


Last edited by Bud Brewster on Fri Mar 02, 2018 11:33 am; edited 6 times in total
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Sun Jan 29, 2017 3:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

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The monster is pretty silly looking in this low-budget movie, but he certainly isn't shy. He makes quite a few appearances.

Here's the trailer and the full movie. Enjoy!
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____ The Phantom from 10,000 Leagues - trailer


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_____ The Phantom from 10,000 Leagues (1955)


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_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)


Last edited by Bud Brewster on Wed Feb 28, 2024 11:26 am; edited 1 time in total
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Rick
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PostPosted: Sun Jan 29, 2017 5:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yes, the critter does make quite a few appearances. At least on the DVD he does.

But when I saw this — a couple of times — on the Late Show back in '60 and '61, I couldn't make out just what he was at all. A sort of muddy, shadowy glow was all I could see.

Partly it was our 19" TV, partly it may have been the print shown by Channel 11, and just maybe I needed to adjust the rabbit ears.

Anyway, when I finally got a gander at the ugly thing on the DVD, it was quite a revelation.

This is one of those movies, much like THE ASTOUNDING SHE MONSTER, which I knew even at ten years of age was lousy but kind of enjoyed it anyway.

And today, despite being even more clear on just how cruddy they are, I can totally enjoy rewatching either of them again just any old time.

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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Sun Jan 29, 2017 6:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

How ironic, Rick!

When I decided to add something to this thread, I noticed that my initial comment said —

I saw this one just once, many years ago, on an old black-and-white TV, late at night. I hated it because I never got a good look at the monster.

That may have been the fault of the old television and the crappy print the TV station showed, because the pictures below show the monster pretty well.


— but that suddenly seemed silly in view of how often the monster does appear, so I changed it to —

I saw this one just once, many years ago, on an old black-and-white TV, late at night. I hated it because the monster was so badly designed.

— and I removed the second paragraph completely!

But after reading your post, in which you said almost exactly the same thing I had in my original post, I restored the deleted text. You validated my memory of watching this on a bad television in the early 1960s! Very Happy

Isn't it amazing that when we were young and naive, we were able to enjoy these movies on such primitive devices?

By the way, Jimbo Berkey offers two versions of the download, but the file sizes he listed seem to be wrong. The first one says —

The-Phantom-From-Ten-Thousand-Leagues-1956.mp4 (4379 mb - 720x358)

— but it is actually is 437 MB. And yet the other one which says —

The-Phantom-From-Ten-Thousand-Leagues-1956-720p.mp4 (748 mb - 14560x720)

— is actually 1.2 GB! That ought to mean the pictures it sharper, but since this movie is in the public domain, the larger file size doesn't improve the poor source material.

However, this version is in widescreen — not stretched 4:3.



The YouTube version by comparison is 689 MB, and it's 4:3 — which is the original 35mm frame without being "masked off" by the theater projectionist for a widescreen presentation. That's why it has these empty areas at the top and bottom, as seen in the screenshot of the same scene shown above, but taken from the YouTube version!



So, if you download the 1.2 GB widescreen version from Jimbo Berkey and watch it on your TV, it will fill the screen and appear properly composed. Very Happy

But if you download the full screen YouTube version, it will have those nasty black bars on the sides, and lots of boring stuff above the character's heads and below their feet! Sad

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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)


Last edited by Bud Brewster on Fri Mar 02, 2018 11:35 am; edited 2 times in total
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Gord Green
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PostPosted: Fri May 19, 2017 2:59 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The Phantom from 10,000 Leagues is a 1955 science fiction film, directed by Dan Milner, produced by Dan and Jack Milner (two former film editors), starring Kent Taylor and Cathy Downs.



The movie was released in December 1955 on a double bill with Day the World Ended, American Releasing Corporation's first double feature. American Releasing Corporation soon changed its name to American International Pictures. The films cost approximately $100,000 each.



It has had many DVD releases.

A mysterious, man-sized monster kills a fisherman at sea. Biologist Ted Baxter (Kent Taylor) finds the body on the beach, along with Federal Agent William Grant (Rodney Bell), and they decide to investigate the death. Ted eventually discovers that Dr. King (Michael Whalen), another marine biologist, created the monster and the radioactive rock with a mutating device in his laboratory. Meanwhile, foreign agents try to discover Dr. King's secrets, while Ted and King's daughter (Cathy Downs) develop a relationship.

Agent Grant captures the foreign agents, while Ted finally tells Dr. King the monster is killing people and must be stopped.



When King witnesses a ship explode as it passes over the rock, he realizes Ted is right, destroys his lab and goes to kill his creation using dynamite. Shortly before a timed detonation, the monster grabs him. Ted arrives just in time to witness the explosion, which destroys the rock, the monster, and Dr. King.

From Wikapedia et al.
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Brent Gair
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PostPosted: Mon May 22, 2017 11:53 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'll mention that I finally acquired this on Blu-ray. It's been out for awhile but I was waiting for a price break here in Canada.

It looks exceptionally good on BD. Unlike other releases, I assume that Kino had access the the original source material. The movie was originally released through the predecessor of AIP which found it's way to MGM via United Artists. The Kino BD bears the MGM logo courtesy of their licensing deal for MGM films.
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Bogmeister
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 28, 2019 12:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

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__________________

______ Phantom from 10,000 Leagues, The 1956


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A lot of this takes place on the beach. Bodies end up there after encountering some goofy-looking monster in the ocean.

It begins with a fisherman getting tossed from his little boat. The monster doesn't chew him up, though. The plot concerns radiation the monster gives off — which kills the man and subsequent victims.

A scientist (Kent Taylor) sent by the government to investigate teams up with another agent who starts out suspicious of him (they were unaware of each other — a mix-up).

The local scientist seems to be hiding something. His snoopy secretary is actually spying on him. Then there's another sneaky character (Phillip Pine) who likes to shoot people with a spear gun.

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All this sounds exciting, but it's very dull, with a slow pace and a low budget. The story structure is a little strange, seeming to begin at a point as if the first 10 minutes are missing. The investigating scientist is already there, having met a couple of characters before the film begins.

Some of this also reminded me of Ed Wood's style, staging, and methods — like putting up a sign titled 'County Morgue' on a brick wall behind two talking characters. Other stuff is almost nonsensical, such as stock footage of an exploding ship.

Taylor's character begins a relationship with King's daughter (Cathy Downs) and they're both stiff and slightly amateurish, though Taylor at least projects some authority.

Trivia From 10,000 Leagues: Star Trek TOS actor alert - actor Pine appeared in the episode The Savage Curtain

BoG's Score: 2 out of 10



BoG
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ralfy
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 26, 2020 9:54 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Feature in 1080p:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ar3zmZL9X9k
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