The Beast From 20000 Fathoms
Science Fiction
Warner Bros.  (1953) 79 mins NR

6.5 (1,371 votes)
The sea's master-beast of the ages - raging up from the bottom of time!

Near the Arctic Circle, an atomic bomb is detonated. This fearsome experiment disturbs the sleep of a giant rhedosaurus encased in ice over 100-million years and sends it southward on a destructive, deadly rampage!

The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms is a film of firsts. It spawned a new era of atomic-age creature features. It was the first screen adaptation of a work by fantasy fiction titan Ray Bradbury. And it marked the first time Ray Harryhausen had total control over special effects. He came up with a fantastic creature (constructed at full scale, all 50 tons of it) that swims down from the north to run amok through New York City before being conquered in a spectacular Coney Island roller coaster finale. Take a classic ride. Unleash The Beast....

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Cast and Crew
Cecil Kellaway  ......  Prof. Thurgood Elson
Paula Raymond  ......  Lee Hunter
Donald Woods  ......  Capt. Phil Jackson
Kenneth Tobey  ......  Col. Jack Evans
Paul Christian  ...... 
Paul Hubschmid  ......  Professor Tom Nesbitt
Director  .....  Eugene Lourie; Eugène Lourié
Producer  .....  Jack Dietz; Hal E. Chester; Bernard W. Burton
Writer  .....  Fred Freiberger; Lou Morheim; Ray Bradbury
Notes
Goofs:
Continuity: When the hero and the lady scientist are looking at the drawings of the dinosaur in her living room, the sandwich and coffee cup keep appearing and disappearing. (more)

Trivia:
Deleted Scene: The 2003 DVD release reveals one shot of the Rhedasaurus that was omitted from the final film. That shot can be found in the trailer for "The Black Scorpion" (in special features) about 1/2 through the preview. (Spoiler: The Beast is walking, breast high, toward screen right. The background shows 2 buildings; one of them with fire escapes. Superimposed title card states, "You've thrilled to the terror of The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms." (more)

Filming Locations:
Brooklyn Bridge, New York City, New York, USA (more)

Quotes:
George Ritchie: [referring to the A-bomb test] You know every time one of those things goes off, I feel as if I was helping to write the first chapter of a new Genesis.
Professor Tom Nesbitt: Let's hope we don't find ourselves writing the last chapter of the old one.
(more)

Awards:
1 nomination (more)