Thrilling 1960's Sci Fi Drama That Spawned The Series

Viewing Irwin Allen's sci fi drama "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea", recently after many years was like going back in time to the days when I would race home from school to see the next exciting episode of the popular series that this film spun off into. Viewed critically by viewers nowadays for the simple special effects and often absurd science on display, I see it rather as simply a very enjoyable 100 minutes of good old fashioned science fiction which for the time was very state of the art. Remarkably the film still holds up well for the most part with the great Seaview atomic submarine and the still quite frightening effects of the sky being on fire and melting the Polar Caps, being the real standouts in terms of special effects technology. For a film of this type it has a quite memorable cast in acting veterans Walter Pidgeon, Joan Fontaine, Peter Lorre, and Henry Daniell combining very well with such "younger generation" performers as Frankie Avalon, Barbara Eden and Michael Ansara.

The story opens with the new state of the art submarine, the "Seaview", captained by Admiral Nelson (Walter Pidgeon), doing some research work near the North Pole when a catastrophe of world wide significance occurs when resulting from some unusual meteorite fallings the Van Allen Radiation Belt surrounding the Earth's atmosphere catches on fire encircling the planet in a fiery mass that sends temperatures soaring up to 130 degrees. Called back to New York to a meeting on the UN Admiral Nelson with the assistance of Com. Lucius Emery (Peter Lorre), works out a scheme whereby shooting a missile from the Seaview at a certain point and time into the radiation belt will extinguish the fiery mass. Convinced of his theory Nelson meets strong opposition from most Un delegates who feel it will burn itself out when it reaches a certain temperature. Capt. Nelson decides to taking it upon himself to ensure that the missile is fired at the appointed time and taking his crew and a reluctant visitor , Dr. Hiller (Joan Fontaine), along on the dangerous mission, the Captain encounters many difficulties along the way to the North Pole. Admiral Nelson becomes increasingly tyrannical in his leadership as he contends with an increasingly cynical offsider in Capt. Crane (Robert Sterling), dangerous mine fields, a pursuing submarine sent out by the UN to hunt the Seaview down if necessary and on board an unknown saboteur who seems intent upon ruining his plans to fire off the missile. Finally after half the crew decide to go no further and attempt to return home on an abandoned ship and the remaining skeleton crew experience a tense stand off with a bomb carrying religious zealot Miguel (Michael Ansara), who they had picked up off the ice, the missile is finally shot off at the appointed time proving Admiral Nelson's theory correct that the radiation belt would not burn itself out and could only be destroyed by a nuclear blast at its centre.

While certainly no cinema classic "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea", does take itself very seriously which gives the story a certain ring of authenticity despite some of the questionable science employed. Earnest performances combined with good special effects for the time greatly aid in making the story seem a bit more memorable than what probably it actually deserves. Walter Pidgeon a veteran of countless Hollywood classics takes a distinct change of pace here from his earlier famous collaborations at MGM with such people as Greer Garson, and turns in a convincing performance as the Admiral who literally shanghai's the Seaview in a mad dash to prove his theory on how to destroy the flaming Van Allen Radiation Belt. His performance turns from affable to increasing manic as the deadline for firing the missile approaches and makes for an interesting depiction of how a man's mind can snap under pressure. Fellow veteran Joan Fontaine while at times looking a trifle uncomfortable in her role of the psychiatrist who is unwillingly involved in the mission still manages to bring conviction even to the highly silly premise of when she takes matters into her own hands and Hollywood legend Peter Lorre making what must be one of his last performances as Admiral Nelson's offsider in the scheme to fire the missile, delivers his usual capable performance. Being the 1960's Producer Irwin Allen having his eyes on the booming teen market made sure that the cast was sprinkled with upcoming faces such as Barbara Eden (Pre "I Dream of Jeannie), and singing heart throb Frankie Avalon who also sings the oddly out of place theme song. At first glance they may appear slightly out of place on a nuclear submarine however Barbara Eden in particular does a reasonably good job as the young love interest to Capt. Crane while also managing very well in getting about the submarine in dangerously tall high heels! Irwin Allen did enjoy great success with his special effects in this film and the sight of the whole sky literally burning up along with the terrific underwater scenes are still highly impressive. Much ridicule has been directed at the whole premise of this story however I feel the idea of a radiation belt catching alight and frying the Earth's surface is actually quite an original and at times quite frightening idea and for the most part is handled in a quite convincing way if you ignore some of the scientific impossibilities of what the cast carry out. The addition of an unknown saboteur and the fatalist character played by Michael Ansara work well in heightening the drama and addign to the tensions along the way in the story and definately help keep up the viewers interest.

"Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea", is definately a trip back to a simpler time in sci fi film making but that should not be viewed as a critcism of the film. I've always felt it has a bit of the old Saturday matinee feel to it and I still find the movie great escapism for a bit over an hour and a half. Irwin Allen of course became much more famous later in the decade for his sci fi television series version of this movie and of course for "Lost in Space", but this movie was done on a more lavish scale than most of those efforts and still is worth seeing for its own merits. Try to see the original sci fi movie that became the long running series of the same name in Irwin Allen's exciting "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea", soon.

Entertaining Science Fiction

Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea is a thoughtful and entertaining science fiction drama involving the discovery of a strange weather disturbance in the Arctic by the crew of the nuclear submarine Seaview. The crew learns that the Van Allen Radiation Belt surrounding the earth has caught fire, threatening to roast the earth unless some way can be found to stop it. With temperatures around 170 degrees and communications with Washington cut off, Admiral Nelson (played nicely by Walter Pidgeon) orders the Seaview to the North Pole, with the intention of firing a nuclear missile as a solution to the ensuing catastrophe. Unfortunately, Captain Crane (Robert Sterling) and most of the crew are at odds with the Admiral's plans. Attempted mutiny follows, while enemy subs, giant sea creatures, and sabouteurs try to foil the mission. Although not in the realm of the science-fiction classics, this is a colorful and entertaining film with good acting and special effects - a worthy and necessary inclusion in any serious sci-fi collection. With Peter Lorre, Barbara Eden, Frankie Avalon and Michael Ansara. Followed by the tv show of the same title, starring Richard Basehart and David Hedison.

Reality Goes to the Bottom of the Sea, and Stays There!

To enjoy any movie, one must suspend disbelief. The problem with watching "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea" is that, from beginning to end, the absurdities keep coming so thick and fast that suspension of disbelief would require the assistance of a powerful hallucinogen. If there is any other main-stream motion picture ever made that is packed with more pseudo-scientific babble and less understanding of science and technology, I have not seen it. The best moments of the movie are as silly as any Japanese monster movie, providing unintended laughs; the worst parts are simply abysmal. It is patently obvious that no one involved with the production of this movie had the slightest knowledge of either science or submarines or, if they did, they did not use it. From the absurd plot about the Van Allen belt to the even more absurd solution to the problem, and from a diving alarm that sounds like a runaway semi, to impossible diving depths, there is no believability anywhere in this movie. The Seaview itself, however, should be the envy of every naval architect. Not only are its compartments larger and have higher overheads (ceilings to landlubbers) than any compartment on any surface warship, the Seaview actually is larger on the inside than the outside! And while I realize the movie was made in 1961, whose decision was it to put tail fins on a submarine, for crying out loud? The most important thing this movie accomplished was to teach Barbara Eden to play comic fantasy with a straight face, thereby preparing her for her role as Jeannie in a TV sitcom that was far more realistic than this movie.