It Came From Beneath the Sea
Release Date: July, 1955
Director: Robert Gordon
Producer: Charles H. Schneer
Writers: Hal Smith, George Worthing Yates
Starring: Kenneth Tobey as Commander Pete Mathews
Faith Domergue as Dr. Lesley Joyce
Donald Curtis as Dr. John Carter
Music: Mischa Bakeleinikoff
Cinematography: Henry Freulich
Editor: Jerome Curtis
Distributor: Columbia Pictures
Time: BW 79 min.
Budget: $150,000
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Interesting Tidbits
One of the credited writers of It Came From Beneath the Sea is George Worthing Yates. This is notable because he has written a total number of nine science fiction scripts.
George's other works are:
The bulk of the filming was done at the San Francisco Naval Shipyard. This includes scenes aboard the submarine. Naval personnel were also given supporting roles.
The Plot
A nuclear submarine on patrol maneuvers in the Pacific Ocean captained by Commander Pete Mathews (Kenneth Tobey), comes into contact with something the sonar determines is massive. The boat is disabled but manages to free itself and dock at Pearl Harbor. There it is discovered animal tissue of great proportions has jammed in its propellers.
A man-and-woman team of marine biologists, Lesley Joyce (Faith Domergue) and John Carter (Donald Curtis), is called in, and they identify the tissue as part of a gigantic octopus. The military authorities scoff at this explanation, but are finally persuaded to investigate upon receiving reports of missing bathers, and ships pulled under the water by some living thing. Over the following two weeks, as John and Lesley continue their investigation, Pete shows a personal interest in Lesley, who is only eager to return to her own research. The scientists conclude the octopus is from the Mindanao Deep and has been forced out of its natural habitat due to hydrogen bomb testing in the area. The testing has rendered the octopus radioactive, and this radioactivity drives off its natural food supply. More from Wikipeadi.com.