MONSTER from the OCEAN FLOOR
Palo Alto Productions (1954) Dir. Wyott Ordung
Distr. Lippert Pictures
64 min. / B&W / 1.37:1 / SDH
Blu-ray (All Regionj) Film Masters $24.95
Roger Corman talked himself into a producer credit for Highway Dragnet, a film he wrote but didn’t produce, so that he could call himself a producer, set up a $25/month office above a restaurant in L.A., and raise $12,000 to make a film inspired by a one-man submarine he saw in a magazine, figuring he could get the sub for nothing in return for publicity for the manufacturer (he figured right). The result was a hands-on training in the realm of filmmaking for Corman, and a good little monster movie as well.
A young American artist is on vacation in Mexico where she meets a rather clumsy but handsome marine biologist who tools around in, yes, a one-man sub. Villagers are disappearing into the surf and rumors are that a kraken is dragging them under and consuming them (including in one case sucking a victim right out of his deep-sea diving suit) but the biologist isn’t buying it, even as the body count swells; the artist isn’t too sure and decides to do some vacation snooping. Be patient, because eventually, the monster will show up (and you’ll see why they kept it hidden throughout most of the picture).
According to Corman, he shot the film in less than a week, shopped the finished film (then called It Stalked the Ocean Floor) around and sold it to Bob Lippert for $120,000, at least until good ol’ Bob discovered that Roger only paid $12K to make it and reneged on half the deal. Corman took the money into his next venture, a road race picture called The Fast and the Furious, which ignited his legendary career and sparked the creation of what would become American International Pictures. Thank you, Roger!
Most of the cast can be deemed “adequate,” with some exceptions. It’s fun to see Corman himself in a miniscule part as a deck hand; frequent Corman player Jonathan “Seymour Krelboing” Hayes is a villager; and director Ordung shows up as a drunk who knows more about the monster than he’s able to tell. Anne Kimbell does much more than just know her lines, hit her mark and take the no-doubt miniscule paycheck; she’s actually terrific in this film, a real find, so much so that it’s surprising that her filmography is rather sparse, although she apparently kept busy with TV, theater, and writing, eventually retiring to breed horses with her husband. Our leading man is Stuart Wade, and he was whom I was thinking of when I used the term “adequate.” As for the monster, well… it’s got one eye, some tentacles, and the good sense not to get too close to the camera or stay in view too long. That’s all we’re going to reveal.
Film Masters, who have put together an outstanding library of films that before now have suffered disdain from all but the most hardcore fans of older low-budget genre films, gives this a presentation that any company would be proud of, with a newly restored 4K scan from the original 35mm camera negative. Bonus material abounds, including an archive interview with Corman and a fun, informative commentary by Tom Weaver. We loved it.
No matter how many 1950s sci-fi and horror films you have in your collection, this one will be a favorite.
