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Greetings, and welcome to VIEWING THE CLASSICS. Here you'll find capsule reviews of vintage movies from the early days of cinema through the 1970s, with a special emphasis on sci-fi, horror, and mystery movies. Be sure to check out the Pages links, where you can find a Film Index of all my reviews, links to the reviews organized by cast members, directors, and other contributors, and links to my reviews of the films of talented young director Joshua Kennedy.

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Friday, April 6, 2018

Monster From The Ocean Floor (1954)

Starring Anne Kimbell, Stuart Wade, Dick Pinner, Wyott Ordung, Inez Palange
Directed by Wyott Ordung
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

A commercial artist on vacation comes to believe there is a monstrous creature in the ocean, and tries to convince a marine biologist to help her track it down.

I've been fond of this movie for a number of years- it's one of Roger Corman's first production credits and offers many of the staples that would make his later films successful.  The sharp eyed might pick up future Corman leading man Jonathan Haze in a bit part.  Kimbell is cute as the unconventional for the time female lead although she's not spared scenes of embarrassment, including running in terror from a harmless cow.  Her romance with Wade is almost a bit too sweet, but I liked them together, and the scenes with Wade charging to her rescue in his one-man submarine.  The monster of the title wouldn't pass muster in a later film, but it's legitimately creepy and a fine enough bogeyman for the movie.  Director Wyott Ordung, who also plays a role in the movie, is probably better known for his scripts for a number of 1950's sci-fi efforts including Target Earth, First Man Into Space, and the notorious Robot Monster.

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