‘From the depths of the sea… horrifying terrifying!’
The Phantom from 10,000 Leagues is a 1955 sci-fi horror film about a seaside community being terrorised by a hideous sea monster. Experiments in atomic radiation created the creature.
The movie was directed by Dan Milner (From Hell It Came), co-produced with editor Jack Milner, from a screenplay by Lou Rusoff (Cat Girl; The She-Creature; It Conquered the World), based on a story by Dorys Lukather.
The Phantom from 10,000 Leagues was released in December 1955 with Day the World Ended (also penned by Lou Rusoff), American Releasing Corporation’s first double feature. The company soon changed its name to American International Pictures (AIP). Albert Kallis designed the film’s poster artwork.
The movie stars Kent Taylor (The Crawling Hand; The Mighty Gorga; Brain of Blood), Cathy Downs (The She-Creature; The Amazing Colossal Man; Missile to the Moon), Michael Whalen, Helene Stanton, Phillip Pine, Rodney Bell, Vivi Janiss, Michael Garth, Pierce Lyden.
Plot:
A mysterious, man-sized monster kills a fisherman at sea. Two government agents later find the body on the beach. One agent, Ted Baxter (Kent Taylor), tries to get a sample of a radioactive rock in the sea, however, the same monster attacks him. Ted escapes and returns to the beach.
On a later trip with the other agent, William Grant (Rodney Bell), the monster nearly kills Ted, but Grant shoots it with a spear gun. Ted discovers that Doctor King (Michael Whalen), a marine biologist, created the monster and the radioactive rock. Ted tells Doctor King the monster is killing people and must be stopped…
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Choice dialogue:
“Science is a devouring mistress. She devours all who seek to fathom her mysteries and for every secret she reveals, she demands a price, a price that a scientist must be prepared to pay with his life and the life of those who stand in the way of his search.”
Cast and characters:
Kent Taylor … Doctor Ted Stevens; Cathy Downs … Lois King; Michael Whalen … Professor King; Helene Stanton … Wanda; Phillip Pine … George Thomas; Rodney Bell … William S. ‘Bill’ Grant; Vivi Janiss … Ethel Hall; Michael Garth … Sheriff; Pierce Lyden … Andy the Janitor; Norma Hanson … The Phantom
Budget:
$100,000 (estimated)
Tech specs:
1h 21m (81 min)
Black and White
Aspect ratio: 1.85: 1
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