The Beast from 20000 Fathoms (1953)

The Beast from 20000 Fathoms is a 1953 American black-and-white science fiction monster film from Warner Bros., produced by Jack Dietz and Hal E. Chester, directed by Eugène Lourié, that stars Paul Christian, Paula Raymond, Cecil Kellaway, and Kenneth Tobey. The film’s stop-motion animation special effects are by Ray Harryhausen. Its screenplay is based on Ray Bradbury‘s short story The Fog Horn, specifically the scene where a lighthouse is destroyed by the title character.

The film’s storyline concerns a fictional dinosaur, the Rhedosaurus, which is released from its frozen, hibernating state by an atomic bomb test in the Arctic Circle. The beast begins to wreak a path of destruction as it travels southward, eventually arriving at its ancient spawning grounds, which includes New York City.

The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms was one of the first atomic monster movies which helped inspire a generation of creature features.

Cast

• Paul Christian as Professor Tom Nesbitt
• Paula Raymond as Lee Hunter
• Cecil Kellaway as Dr. Thurgood Elson
• Kenneth Tobey as Colonel Jack Evans
• Donald Woods as Captain Phil Jackson
• Ross Elliott as George Ritchie
• Steve Brodie as Sgt. Loomis
• Jack Pennick as Jacob Bowman
• Michael Fox as ER doctor
• Lee Van Cleef as Corporal Jason Stone
• Frank Ferguson as Dr. Morton
• King Donovan as Dr. Ingersoll
• James Best as Charlie, radar operator