“This is full-scale war against a terrible enemy… such as modern man has never before faced.”
Kai-June continues! This time we’re going WAY back. Not to the first giant monster movie – that was probably 1925’s The Lost World with dinosaurs animated by Willis O’Brien – but to MY first giant monster movie. The 80s cable TV explosion meant there were suddenly a bunch of 24/7 television channels with very little of their own content to present to viewers. As a result, many of them (and I’m thinking particularly of TBS here) showed a ton of old movies and TV shows, as they were cheaper than new releases. I got to see a ton of classic films as a kid because of this, and The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms was one of them.
The Beast was one of the earliest giant monster movies I ever saw, and for much of my life his design – by the inimitable Ray Harryhausen – was my platonic ideal of the giant monster. Enormous, scaly, and with a tendency to munch on humans like a moviegoer munching on popcorn. Other, later monsters ended up supplanting him in my affections (sorry Rhedosaurus – Godzilla‘s got atomic breath), but he’s still my first kaiju love.
The classic “giant monster attacks a city” movie (Godzilla wouldn’t be released until the following year), this is also Ray Harryhausen’s first solo joint. Those looking for the kind of subtext about atomic fears and science unleashed that later giant monster/bug movies would sprinkle on, like that “Salt Bae” guy putting salt on a steak, will be sorely disappointed here. Yes, the creature is set free by a hydrogen bomb, but that’s the only function of the device. There’s no further reference or use of it. It’s an action movie, as much of a ride as the rollercoaster the Beast destroys in the final act. (Though the producers originally intended the monster to breathe – or snort – atomic fire. An ability dropped due to budget considerations.)
The film is inspired by Ray Bradbury’s short story “The Fog Horn,” which first appeared in The Saturday Evening Post as “The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms.” When Bradbury pointed out the similarities between the film and his story (the film was called The Monster from Beneath the Sea at that point) the producers promptly bought the rights to his story and changed the title to better fit Bradbury’s. Nowadays Bradbury would probably have to sue the producers to get credit.
The Medium
At some point I bought a super-cheap DVD with both The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms and Them! on it. I’ve since purchased Them! on Blu-ray, but haven’t picked up The Beast yet. It still looks okay, but I’m sure the upgrade is worth it. For streaming options, The Beast isn’t available for subs anywhere, but it can be rented or purchased from the usual places.
The Movie
The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms starts off with a narration introducing us to some kind of a scientific test in the arctic. (I love that this is called Operation Experiment, which sounds like it should be its own 50s monster movie.) It becomes clear that this is a hydrogen bomb test. The stock footage of ice breaking up and melting under the effect of the explosion has a different impact now than it did when I first saw it, and you can only be glad no bright-eyed scientist tried to sell the US government on Arctic atomic testing back in the day. While taking readings after the blast, two scientists see a giant monster, though only one, Tom Nesbitt (Paul Christian), survives to tell the tale.
He isn’t initially believed, of course, but with a string of strange events – boat sinkings, the destruction of a lighthouse (Maine shout-out!), some crushed buildings – and the corroboration of a witness, Nesbitt manages to get the backing of paleontologist Thurgood Elson (Cecil Kellaway) and his assistant, Lee Hunter (Paula Raymond). Together they plot the sightings on a map, and Elson opines that the Beast may be heading to New York, where the fossil remains of a similar beast have been found.
Soon the military is dangling the elder scientist like a fishing lure into the deep waters of the Hudson River Canyon. Sure enough, the Beast shows – unfortunately for Elson and his pilot, the monster seems to have an appetite for diving bells. Not long after that the Beast comes ashore in Manhattan.
There are a ton of things that will be familiar to you from The Beast‘s spiritual successors. The boats sunk by the monster, the map on which the sinkings (and other ‘mysterious’ happenings) are plotted out, the insistence by scientists on studying the creature, the military lining up it’s hardware to fight the thing, all the running and screaming. Even the creature somehow disappearing during the day – where the hell does it go, anyway? Bloomingdales?
This is, incidentally, one of the reasons why I think the 1998 US Godzilla movie works better as a remake of The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms. Shorn of the Godzilla trappings it feels more like a direct homage to this film, and – IMHO – becomes more enjoyable as a result.
One thing I’d forgotten from previous viewings was the plot point about the creature’s toxic blood. Unlike some other giant saurians I could mention, the Beast is actually vulnerable to the military hardware – bazookas, anyway. However, it turns out that its blood carries deadly prehistoric pathogens, and any large-scale destruction of the beast would result in a massive outbreak, possibly killing millions. This makes the obvious solution – blow the crap out of it – unfeasible. Which leads us to SCIENCE! saving the day – specifically a radioactive isotope that will (apparently) burn the creature up from the inside out.
The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms’ strength is in its monster, and any time Harryhausen’s work is on the screen it’s magic. From the attack on the lighthouse (lifted directly from Ray Bradbury’s short story) through the initial landing in New York City, to the confrontation with the military, the stop motion work is fantastic. The surrounding story of Nesbitt, his growing relationship with Lee, and his attempts to get the authorities (including a pre The Thing From Another World Kenneth Toby) to listen to him are decent as well, though not as much fun.
The big set piece of the monster attacking Coney Island (it seems particularly pissed at a rollercoaster) is excellent as well – though the irony of using radiation to destroy a monster let loose by radiation seems lost on the filmmakers. I still prefer the scenes in Manhattan – including the famous scene of the Beast eating a policeman – as the work Harryhausen does to integrate the monster with the building and people is just outstanding.
The Bottom Line
The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms is a classic giant monster movie and the inspiration for a slew of 1950’s creature features (some better, lots worse). It’s also my first giant monster movie, and still holds a special place in my heart – even if Godzilla has supplanted the Beast in my kaiju affections. While it’s more spectacle than story, it’s still worth seeing for some of Ray Harryhausen’s best work. Even if black and white giant monsters aren’t your usual thing.
