Here's a real interesting Saturday Night Special for you that was made in 1966, and it's called...
"Around The World, Under The Sea."
"Around The World, Under The Sea" is a movie about a team of civilians out to set up a series of underwater earthquake monitors, so we've got a better chance of seeing those suckers coming, and might have a chance to avoid major destruction from future Tsunamis etc.
This movie has an all-star cast that includes Gary Merrill as Dr. August 'Gus' Boren. Gary Merrill was in "Mysterious Island," "The Twilight Zone" episode titled "Still Valley," and "The Outer Limits" episode titled "The Human Factor," among his 112 credits.
This is our first introduction to Shirley Eaton's character Dr. Margaret E. Hanford!
This is our second introduction to Dr. Hanford, also known as Maggie!
Maggie will turn out to be the only female on the team.
Maggie will turn out to be the only female on the team.
All the team members have to recruited, and they all have special water skills! Keenan Wynn lives in this fantastic underwater dwelling!
Slacker supreme, Keenan has only 281 credits to his name. Included in there is "The Twilight Zone" episode called "A World Of His Own," and a whole bunch of performances as colorful characters with names like Harvey Huntington Honeywagon, and/or Colonel 'Bat' Guano.
You couldn't go wrong in the 60's using Lloyd Bridges in an underwater flick after his successful run as Mike Nelson in 155 episodes of "Sea Hunt"from 1958 to 1961.
"Around The World, Under The Sea" is another Ivan Tors/Ricou Browning underwater matchup! Ivan was responsible for "Island Of The Lost," and the whole "Sea Hunt" series, and Ricou was the man inside the "Creature From The Black Lagoon" movies. The two of them together were responsible for the "Flipper" TV series! These two guys together have more experience shooting oceanic scenes than anyone I'm pretty sure!
Marshall (Cult Of The Cobra, Fiend Without A Face, It! The Terror From Beyond Space) Thompson is Dr. Orin Hillyard.
How's Dr. Hillyard going to make it with Maggie with a name like Orin Hillyard?
Speaking of unfortunate names, how about the composer of the music in this film,
Harry Sukman?
I told you the cast was awesome. Here's David (Illya Kuryakin) McCallum as Dr. Philip Volker. David was also in two of "The Outer Limits" Episodes, "The Sixth Finger," and "The Forms Of Things Unknown." I've never ever seen one, but David McCallum has been on the show "NCIS" for 389 episodes, or the last sixteen years! Amazing!!
All the Doctors have a thing for Maggie!
This was just too good of a shot to only use once!
The Father in the "Flipper" series, Brian Kelly fit into this role quite nicely! Brian had a horrible motorcycle accident four years later that ended his acting career, but he still went on to be the Executive Producer of "Blade Runner."
Get ready cause here it comes!
Ka-Blooey!!
I'll just leave you with these last two shots!
It's looks so cool when you have to cram six people into one tight shot and get away with it!
Mr. Sukman won an Oscar in 1961 for the music in a movie called "Song Without End."
Other Ivan Tors films that Harry Sukman composed music for were "Riders To The Stars," and "Gog." There's one copy of the soundtrack LP with this great cover on Discogs for $6.50, but after that they are $20.00 and up!
This is simply a great underwater adventure with an all-star cast, and while science fiction from the 60's, markers similar in function to the ones they were placing now are used to detect tsunamis.
ReplyDeleteAnd Shirley Eaton is HOT. :)
The sea is bubbling, right now as we "speak"...thanks to Ms. Eaton! ;)
ReplyDeleteI recall seeing this movie in a theater in Eastern Ohio when it was first playing. Actually, the three indoor theaters (and 4 or 5 drive-ins) were where my education on sci-fi and horror film grew in the '60s. Weary of where we are now, I'm lobbying my better half to join me in escaping here to go back east to retire. Granted, the theaters and drive-ins back there are likely bulldozed and but a faded memory, but it must be better than where we are now!
Shirley was basically the reason I even watched this film. There used to be four or five drive-ins in this town, and now there are none. When I was in Alaska, they even had drive-ins there. You had to keep your car running most of the time just to stay warm.
ReplyDeleteShirley Eaton's graceful and delightful underwater scene - no stunt double used, it should be noted - should've lasted longer. It's pure joy to watch and she's plainly enjoying herself. Far more memorable than her appearence in "Goldfinger".
ReplyDelete[from Carol Ann, Birkenhead.]