20 Million Miles To Earth
Science Fiction
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment  (1957) 82 mins Approved

6.3 (1,470 votes)
Dazzling special effects by Ray Harryhausen highlight this thrilling sci-fi extravaganza about a Venusian monster who wreaks havoc in Italy.

On its way home from Venus, a U.S. Army rocket ship crashes into the sea of Sicily leaving Colonel Calder (William Hopper of Rebel without a Cause) the sole survivor... or so it seems. A sealed container is also recovered from the wreck, and when a zoologist (The Mark of Zorro's Frank Puglia) and his granddaughter (Joan Taylor) open it, the gelatinous mass inside escapes. Overnight, it grows into a horrific monster that has doubled in size. In desperation, Calder calls in the Army to help fight the monster, which has taken refuge atop the Coliseum in Rome. But it will take more than man's weapons to fight the evil forces of the unknown and save the world from destruction....

Play
Cast and Crew
William Hopper  ......  Col. Robert Calder
Joan Taylor  ......  Marisa Leonardo
Frank Puglia  ......  Dr. Leonardo
John Zaremba  ......  Dr. Judson Uhl
Thomas Browne Henry  ......  Maj. Gen. A.D. McIntosh
Tito Vuolo  ......  Police Commissioner Charra
Director  .....  Nathan Juran
Producer  .....  Charles H. Schneer
Writer  .....  Charlotte Knight; Christopher Knopf; Bobby Williams
Notes
Goofs:
Plot holes: Although a scientist in the laboratory explains the reason why bullets will not hurt Ymir because the beast has neither heart nor lungs, we see it's chest pop up and down like it is breathing. (more)

Trivia:
Since he planned to use a real elephant for some of the footage in the zoo, Ray Harryhausen asked for one that was 15 feet tall, but the film was only able to procure an eight-foot-tall one for him. In order to make the elephant look much bigger, a 4'6" actor was cast to play the zookeeper. (more)

Filming Locations:
Rome, Lazio, Italy (more)

Quotes:
Contino: Fascinating. Horrible, but fascinating. (more)