The Phantom from 10,000 Leagues

(Some Spoilers) The US Government is concerned about the goings on off shore and on the beaches around the newly opened Collage of Oceanography founded by the renowned expert of nuclear psychics Prof.King, Michael Whalen.

With a number of boats sunk and five people killed, from radiation burns, the US Government sends two of it's operatives FBI agent Bill Grant, Rodney Bell, and famed oceanographer and author Dr. Ted Stevens, Kent Taylor, to find out just whats behind these deaths. Uknown to the US Government there's also a spy ring, from an unnamed country, also at work trying to get the information that Prof. King has come up with in his nuclear research that includes his assistant George Thomas,Philip Pine, and his sexy but not too bright, go-between Wanda, Helene Statnton.

Prof. King had discovered a uranium deposit under the sea just outside the collage and somehow activated it causing this radioactive sea monster to be created.Attacking people sailing off-shore it killed a number of them by capsizing their boats and then exposing them to it's deadly radioactive rays.

The Professor is trying to use his discovery to create a "Death Ray" that can be used by the US military but it seemed to have backfired and caused the deaths of a number of innocent people. Prof. King is also reluctant to destroy the underwater uranium deposit and his creation the creature.

Somewhat better then your average "Monster from the Deep" 1950's sci-fi movie with some good acting on the part of Kent Taylor Michael Whalen & Rodney Bell that lifts this bargain basement monster film up a few notches and makes it more then watchable.

Agent Grant gets Prof. Kings secretary Ethal Hall,Vivi Janiss, the keys to Prof. King's Lab. to find out if he had anything to do with the mysterious deaths off shore, one of which was Ethal's son. This leads to Ethal's murder by Prof. King's assistant and foreign espionage agent George Thomas. Later a freighter is sunk by the underwater uranium mine, when it sailed over it, killing all on deck.

The two spies George Thomas and Wanda are easily caught by the FBI in that their so unprofessional that you wondered who, or what country, would be crazy enough to use them in their espionage activities. Prof. King destroys his personal papers on his experiments so no one would be able to duplicate them and then sails out to sea to the underwater uranium deposit. It's there with a TNT loaded time-bomb Prof. King destroys the uranium mine the creature and himself in a huge underwater explosion.

Prof. King's daughter Lois, Kathy Downs, who at first refused to believe that her father could be responsible for these tragic deaths is shocked into reality with his own cataclysmic demise that prevented more lives from being lost due to his misplaced loyalty to science then to human life.

With a 1950's title like this, what's expected besides drive-in fare. I have to admit, I don't hold these cheapos to the same standards as uptown features. So I really don't care about most cost-cutters, such as using the same boat, or the same stretch of beach, or Jefty's road sign from 1948's noir Road House, or even peripheral logic, for that matter.

What I do expect are a few horror jolts, of which this flick has almost none. For example, the hokey sea monster provides neither scares nor suspense. Also, I expect some sexy skin, which Downs does supply, especially in the upper reaches. Plus, there should be some good action, of which the 82-minutes supplies instead a lot of snorkeled swimming. And lastly, a low-budget story shouldn't be too long since that means padding. So, please tell me what purpose Helene Stanley's drop-in mystery woman serves. My best guess is she's supposed to be a commie connection.

Actually the movie is more a character study than anything else, with wild-hair Whalen managing a nicely calibrated central performance. In fact, his conflicted Prof. King may be the movie's most interesting facet. Good also to see an aging Kent Taylor picking up a payday, even if he's too old for Downs. All in all, the 82-minutes amounts to an odd drive-in feature, as though the producers had a bunch of parts, but real trouble fitting them together. The flick's not bad enough to be funny, or good enough for a B-feature. In short, it's a drive-in dud.

The vote drop-down menu is not very useful in this case. Of course this movie is awful. What would you expect from a film with this title from the 1950's? But what is note-worthy about the film is really how awful it is. I suppose this grade-Z pic was trying to cash in on the success of The Creature from the Black Lagoon or that Kurk Douglas Disney League jaunt, but I'm sure very few parted ways with their 1950's scratch to see this one. I though have to claim (of few that would make such bold statements) that I purchased this one, and I loved it. On par with Plan 9 and Beast of Yucca Flats this is a gem. Utter half-wittedness, no-budget, bad sound, horrible editing, no continuity, guys shooting each other with harpoons, the gratuitous sexy (which is a stretch) half naked woman, the same one boat used in all the scenes that call for a boat, the same stretch of beach, dumb doctors spouting esoteric formulas while (constantly) running around in suits on the beach...most bad films are just boring, and usually help you fall asleep after the late show, but trust me stay awake for awhile with this one, maybe just long enough to catch the goofy monster.

The Phantom from 10,000 Leagues is directed by Dan Milner and written by Dorys Lukather and Lou Rusoff. It stars Kent Taylor, Cathy Downs and Michael Whalen. Music is by Ronald Stein and photography by Brydon Baker.

Plot, for what it's worth, sees an amphibian like creature suddenly start killing any unfortunate human being that strays near its lair. And just what is that glowing thing down there? An absolute hack job attempting to cash in on the success of far better films of its ilk that were all the rage in the 1950s. It's the sort of Z grade film that gives the fans of creaky creature features and sci-fi schlockers a bad name. Right off the bat the makers commit a big error by introducing us to the man in the rubber suit straight away, a hopeless creation that's about as scary as the insipid dialogue that litters the production. Dialogue that's delivered by a cast of wooden actors who bring laughs on account of the fact they seem to be taking their roles seriously!

Milner's direction accounts to being a number of similar scenes strung together at different intervals, with the creature's appearances being as rare as any suspense is. While the 10,000 Leagues aspect is rendered a big joke since the creature is in water that's only about 5 fathoms deep! I wonder if the makers realised that just one league is 3 nautical miles?!

Is it in the "so bad it's good" category? Absolutely not! There's a modicum of science interest involving genetic tests and atomic energy dabblings, but this is lost amongst the laborious pacing as the characters do incredibly dumb things. While somewhat surprisingly Ronald Stein's foreboding music is decent and deserves a better movie. It also has a great title, with awesome poster art to match, but all told it's a major "league" clunker and only makes one cherish even more the likes of Creature from the Black Lagoon and The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms. 2/10

Most of the cast seems glad to be working if not half snockered in yet another tale of misguided radioactivity that didn't have much extra going for it other than a wide screen format. A world weary scientist finds a common fresh water turtle on the beach where with the use of his new fangled death ray mutates it into a large snapping turtle and then into a man in a hilarious rubber suit that has to be weighted down to keep the actor from floating belly up to the surface.It's a fast 78 minutes and with all of it's cheapness and faux pas it's hard not to like.It's not as good as Creature From The Black Lagoon but not nearly as bad as it's DVD co-feature The Beast With A Million Eyes.