The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms main backdrop
The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms main poster

The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms

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6.6/10 • 188

1953-06-131h 20m

DramaHorrorScience Fiction

You'll see it tear a city apart!

The controlled explosion of an atomic bomb in the Arctic Circle awakens a frozen dinosaur that will wreak havoc in New York City.

Directors
Eugène Lourié
Editors
Bernard W. Burton

Top Billed Cast

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  1. Paul Hubschmid

    Paul Hubschmid

    Prof. Nesbitt

  2. Paula Raymond

    Paula Raymond

    Lee Hunter

  3. Cecil Kellaway

    Cecil Kellaway

    Prof. Elson

  4. Kenneth Tobey

    Kenneth Tobey

    Col. Evans

  5. Donald Woods

    Donald Woods

    Capt. Jackson

  6. Lee Van Cleef

    Lee Van Cleef

    Corp. Stone

  7. Steve Brodie

    Steve Brodie

    Sgt. Loomis

  8. Ross Elliott

    Ross Elliott

    George Ritchie

  9. Jack Pennick

    Jack Pennick

    Jacob Bowman

Reviews1

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John Chard Avatar

John Chard

Sep 6, 2014

7/10

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 woken 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

Media

  • The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms poster
  • The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms poster
  • The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms poster
  • The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms poster
  • The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms poster
  • The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms poster
  • The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms poster
  • The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms poster
  • The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms poster

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Status
Released
Original Language
English
Budget
$210,000.00
Revenue
$5,000,000.00
Keywords
new york cityatomic bombgiant monsterarctic polar circle regionradioactivitystop motiondinosaurblack and whitesea monsterbased on short story