Movies don't have to be necessarily good to be fun. All they need to be are popcorn munching, eye-popping delights where are you can't wait to see what happens next. That is the case of this variation of the Jules Verne story of Captain Nemo, played with many different characteristics, but never with a light-hearted soft-spoken compassion like veteran actor Robert Ryan. This deals with the capsizing of a ship going from London to the United States during the civil war, and a group of the survivors are brought to safety where they meet Ryan and his right-hand man, John Turner, the leaders of an underwater city where expansion is underway and peace is the word. Among the survivors are Chuck Connors and Nanette Newman, and they are aghast by what they see. There are also two bumbling thieves who think they can get away with stealing tons of gold, somehow get it to the surface and take it to the United States so they can be rich, rich, rich. There's also a pompous senator and a crazy chlostrophobe who is desperate to get out of this trap. He gets his wish, but not in the way he expects.
Then, there's the giant monster, a huge manta ray that is the size of the submarine that Ryan tours around in. apparently, he was once the size of a regular Manta, but somehow, his size has gotten out of control. The story is much more than an adventure, it is an analogy of how rotten people can be in the best and the worst of circumstances, and if this lost horizon ain't necessarily Shangri-La, it has to be better than the new continent that had been awaiting them. Gorgeous photography and a waltz like score aide this along perfectly. this is the type of film that I recall going to see in drive-ins as a kid, and while it may not have the special effects audiences demand today, it is much better made with more creativity and care. While veteran actor Robert Ryan had other films down the road, this shows that he could still command of film and come out winning.
Then, there's the giant monster, a huge manta ray that is the size of the submarine that Ryan tours around in. apparently, he was once the size of a regular Manta, but somehow, his size has gotten out of control. The story is much more than an adventure, it is an analogy of how rotten people can be in the best and the worst of circumstances, and if this lost horizon ain't necessarily Shangri-La, it has to be better than the new continent that had been awaiting them. Gorgeous photography and a waltz like score aide this along perfectly. this is the type of film that I recall going to see in drive-ins as a kid, and while it may not have the special effects audiences demand today, it is much better made with more creativity and care. While veteran actor Robert Ryan had other films down the road, this shows that he could still command of film and come out winning.