ALL SCI-FI

[The Spike]

Rhedosaurus rampage as Harryhausen genius starts to work.

Nuclear testing out in the arctic rouses a prehistoric Rhedosaurs from its icy incarcerated sleep. It promptly lays waste to everything that gets in its path, and its next stop is New York City.

The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms stands as one of the most important of the 50s sci-fi/creature feature films that filled the screens during that particular decade. Notable for being the first picture where Ray Harryhausen had total control over the effects (and thus setting his career on an upward route), it is also one of two pictures from 1953 that would be the first adaptations of the gifted writings of Ray Bradbury (the other being It Came from Outer Space).

Watching it now you can see just what a template movie it was to be for the genre, the perils of nuclear testing, a vivid jolt of paranoia, the rugged alpha male, the svelt sexy strong lady, and of course the creature to terrify all who come into contact with it.

Yep, it's safe to say that this picture has all the trademarks.

The Rhedosaurus (completely made up name) is a wonderful creation from Harryhausen, a giant stalking lizard who sinks ships for fun, pulls down lighthouses, and has no problems about feasting on local police officers. It's safe to say that since being awakened from his sleep he is in a very bad mood! While the ending is wonderful, as the giant beast finds himself cloaked in a roller-coaster, with mankind fighting the good fight, a perfect finish to a hugely enjoyable picture. 8/10
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The quality of mercy is not strnen.

[Bud Brewster]

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Good write up, Spike! I'm glad you started a thread for this great movie.

This is one of my all time favorites. Ray said the beast's design went through quite a few alterations. I'm sure glad he rejected these concepts.

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The final design is Harryhausen at his best.

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It's obvious that I had the rhedosaurus in mind when I drew this, back in 1977. I call it a centaursaurus — for obvious reasons.





Beast Facts that practically everybody knows:

During pre-production, the film's producers called Ray Bradbury to punch up their concept for a proposed film about a foghorn at an isolated lighthouse which lures a lonely sea serpent up from the depths of the ocean.

After reading the script, Bradbury politely informed them that the concept bore a striking resemblance to his Saturday Evening Post story, "The Foghorn". The next day, Ray received a polite offer to purchase the rights to the story.

Mr. Bradbury also described the experience which served as the genesis of the story — a decaying roller coaster which Ray discovered one evening during a walk on the beach. In the dim light, the broken wooden framework looked like a skeleton, and Ray was inspired to concoct the story of a lonely sea creature who follows the sound of a foghorn, mistaking it for the sound of a fellow creature.



Beast from 20,000 Fathoms was independently produced, but it was released through Warner Brothers Studios, who gave it a fine musical score by David Buttolph which adds a great deal to the enjoyment of the film.



Beast from 20,000 Fathoms amazed America with scenes of a giant rampaging monster in the midst of a big city. Not since King Kong had there been anything like it.

Paul Christian is the handsome hero-scientist, and Paula Raymond is the classy and attractive heroine-scientist. Cecil Kellaway is superb as the portly little paleontologist who is so enthusiastic about dinosaurs that he forgets to be afraid when a live one is about to eat him.



Kenneth Tobey (The Thing from Another World, It Came from Beneath the Sea) provides the traditional military presence. Lee Van Cleef is the marksman who fires the radioactive isotope into the wounded beast — an ironic touch in view of Van Cleef's later fame as a gunman in Italian westerns. Don't blink or you'll miss Roscoe P. Coltrane, sheriff of Hazzard County (James Best), in a brief scene near the beginning.





Director Eugène Lourié must have thought the story's basic premise was fool proof, because he tried it twice more in The Giant Behemoth and Gorgo — with far less success than the original, unfortunately. However, some fans might agree that Lourié did a fine job with The Colossus of New York in 1958, a film which told an imaginative story on a shoe-string budget.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Pow]

Simply one of the finest 50s monster movies & one of Ray's best.

Always liked the line "I never heard the wind make a sound like that."

[Bud Brewster]

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I hope I'm remembering this correctly, but I did an unofficial timing of the animation scenes in both "Valley of Gwangi" and "Beast from 20,000 Fathoms" many years ago because I'd heard that "Gwangi" had the most Harryhausen animation, and "Beast" had the least.

I enjoy the "Beast's" non-animated parts quite a lot, so I don't feel impatient waiting for the animation. The characters are wonderful, and the plot is perfectly structured.

Anyway, when I timed the animation scenes, here's what I got.

Valley of Gwangi - 20+ minutes

Beast from 20,000 Fathoms - 7 minutes

Ironically I'm not very fond of "Gwangi", so I get impatient waiting for the animation in that one, even through there's three times as much of it than in "Beast".
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Pow]

Your timings are correct, Bud.

VOG has the most stop-motion on screen of all the Ray Harryhausen films.

I like the story & cast of BFTF & enjoy watching the entire film from start to finish. I also enjoy VOG for the same reason, although I'd place Beast ahead of it.

[trekriffic]

Poor Professor Elson, this was the last thing he ever saw...



Still, what better way for a paleontologist to go than to be eaten by a dinosaur eh?

Great movie! The first and still one of best of the nuclear bomb created monster genre.

Interesting side note, at one point there were plans to have the beast snort flames but that idea was later dropped due to budget restrictions. Still, you can see them used in the poster artwork for the film:



The beast was given nuclear breath; however, and this was the inspiration for the 1954 Japanese film "Godzilla".

[orzel-w]

[Pow]

Cecil Kelaway (Professor Elson) & Edmund Gwenn, who played Dr. Medford in Them! were cousins.

[Bud Brewster]

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Hey, I didn't know that!

Those two are the most charming elderly actors to ever to grace the silver screen. Even though they don't actually look alike, it's so easy to confuse them when you're thinking about the movies they were each in.

I have to sort of remember the sounds of their voices, and then the right face comes into focus when I'm recalling a scene.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Bud Brewster]

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One of the best trailers ever. I can imagine the kids in 1953 seeing this at a theater and then talking about dinosaurs for the next three days straight!


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

[Bud Brewster]

GETTING TO KNOW OUR FAVORITE MONSTERS!
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We love the giant monsters from our favorite sci-fi films, but just how much science and how much fiction is involved in these movies?

I went looking for videos which reminded me of the great educational film we were treated to in Them!, and here's one that fits the bill perfectly!

Enjoy!
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___ Komodo Dragon - National Geographic Documentary


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

[Bud Brewster]

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Check out some of the threads I found for this movie on other boards. This is a sample of what's included on All Sci-Fi's Multi-Board Alphabetical Index, which is designed to encourage and promote s all message boards.
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* The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953)

The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms (1953) @ All Sci-Fi

The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953) @ Pushing the Envelope

The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953) @ Alien Soup

THE BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS (1953) @ CHFB

Michel Michelet's original score for BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS @ CHFB

This Rhedosaurus is still wet @ CHFB
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Bud Brewster]

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A post on the CHFB by vayapues states that the original soundtrack score for this movie was NOT the one by the great David Buttolph we've all loved for over sixty years!

A beautiful score by a composer named Michel Michelet was the first one created for this movie!

Michel Michelet's original score for BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS @ CHFB

According the CHFB post, vayapues said this.

[Bud Brewster]

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This clip from a full documentary about Ray Harryhausen might be from The Harryhausen Chronicles, produced by Turner in the 1990s, but I didn't hear any of Leonard Nimoy's narration from that documentary, so I can't be sure.

I apologize for the fact that some dumbo stretched the image to make it wide screen. Notice how wide Ray's head looks in the thumbnail below. And in the video, when they show a brief shot of an 8X10 publicity still (one I've never seen before), it looks like this screen shot I made.



It should have looked like this, the version I corrected with Paint.net.

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But the video is still very enjoyable.
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The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953) - Making the Beast Featurette


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

[Bogmeister]

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Godzilla was introduced a year after this Beast, yet Godzilla reaped all the rewards, becoming a superstar of monsters.

Why? Could it be as simple as 'what's in a name?'

Maybe they should have called this Rhedosaurus — Gigantic Beast From 20,000 Fathoms.

I learned that some famed analyst of such monstrous films (Bill Warren, to be exact) felt that the Beast was poorly designed. Perhaps it was the large head. Nope, that makes no sense. This Beast should have been a star.

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ABOVE:THE POSTER AND DVD COVER, NEXT TO THE (VERY SIMILAR) MEXICAN POSTER

In the 1998 Godzilla version from the USA, we were treated to the latest computer FX of that time. The monster was more detailed, it moved more fluidly. Was it more realistic? Yes!

So, why do I prefer the Beast to this new Godzilla?

I'll tell you why: style.


When the Beast moves — as only a Harryhausen creature can — it catches our eye and it commands our attention!

We're spellbound by the artistry . . . especially by the iconic nature of the Beast. It is one of a kind — there nothing else like it, and Harryhausen improved on his formula. We all know what creatures I'm thinking of.

I can never forget the scene of the Beast grabbing that gutsy, crazy cop.

BoG's Score: 7 out of 10




BoG
Galaxy Overlord Galactus