KING KONG FROM VENUS & ITS GETTING BIGGER

This Ray Harryhausen sci-fi thriller from 1957 has many of the elements of "King Kong", "The Blob", and the "Beast From 20,000 Fathoms" all tidily bundled into a fun-fest for fans of 50s creature-features!

Okay, so the plot is a little thin and the story line depicting how this "AMIR" from Venus got here didn't make it to the film. What did make it is a story that begins at the incident that caused the Amir to appear. Its birth, of a sort. The spacecraft from Venus crashed off the coast of Sicily and the Amir makes it to the shore in a bottle in the care of an enterprising native youth. From this point, the Amir literally takes on a life of its own and it is a tragic, short life that makes the audience feel a great deal of sympathy toward it. After all, the Amir was only a baby and was subjected to horrific abuse by most everyone whose path it crossed. It even looks very cute in an ugly-duckling sort of way.

This strange creature is really very mild-mannered and actually wants to harm noone. The problem here is the usual -- HUMANS. We just won't leave the poor Amir alone. This film very realistically chronicles the struggle between us and the Amir on planet Earth.

The Amir, like "the blob", grows quite rapidly and feeds off sulphur so its movements can be predicted based on its growing need for more sulphur. Like "King Kong", it is an innocent whose sole misfortune was to be captured by humans and brought back with them without any say in the matter. Like the "beast from 20,000 fathoms" it has its last big hurrah in a primate city [no-pun reelee], in this case Rome. And like all great creatures, it has lots and lots of pathos.

The Ray Harryhausen touch really lends not just realism, but a fascinating setting and exciting scenes to what might have otherwise been a typical genre film. The predictablility of the plot is more than offset by the magnificent stop-action animation and the apparent sober seriousness of the entire cast throughout the film. Finally, the Amir at all stages of its growth looks as real as "Mighty Joe Young" and that is no small feat.

This creature-feature from 1957 is a must see for all Harryhausen and genre fans.

Saterdays At The Movies

This movie smacks of the 50's era monster movies. The story
lines are very thin, but if you're about ten they don't
have to be remarkable. Seeing Ray Harryhausen's creations
is always a treat.

Ray Harryhausen's classic Sci-Fi Creature Creation

"Twenty Million Miles to Earth" is a superb example of 1950's sci-fi story telling and special effects at their very best. The film has so many different things to offer a sci-fi buff like myself, top notch work by genius Ray Harryhausen, wonderful on-location photography in the beautiful Eternal City Rome, and one of the best monster creations of the entire 1950's decade in the famed "Ymir" from Venus. Indeed "monster" is not really an appropiate title in this case for this visitor from beyond the stars is a creature very much in the "King Kong" mode of being a sympathetic victim of man's lack of care and understanding in bringing him out of his own environment into a strange new world he does not understand.

"Twenty Million Miles to Earth" tells the tale of the return to Earth of the first exploration spaceship to reach the planet Venus. Unfortunately the ship crash lands into the sea just off the coast of Sicily killing all crew members with the exception of Col. Robert Calder (William Hopper). Just prior to it sinking the local Italian fishermen manage to save the Colonel and one of the local boys Pepe (Bart Braverman in an endearing performance)finds a strange capsule washed up on the coast after the ship sinks. Unaware of its strange contents which in actual fact is a baby creature found on Venus by the crew and preserved in a liquid, it is sold off to Dr. Leonardo (Frank Puglia) who decides to take the strange creature to Rome. However what is soon discovered is that the creature begins to grow at an alarming rate until it is twenty feet tall and then breaks loose and roams the countryside looking for food and protection. Many memorable moments occur as the creature tries to cope in its new world from the unforgettable attack in the farmers barn to its eventual capture under an electric net by the army. Once taken to Rome where it is housed in Rome's Zoo the creature revives and goes on a frantic rampage throughout the city destroying famous sites in the eternal city along the way. The climax of the story in shades of "King Kong", takes place atop the Colosseum where after a stirring fight the poor creature is shot down by the army.

Ray Harryhausen excelled himself with his creation for this film. The Ymir from Venus, despite its scaley appearance and threatening reptilian manner takes on a whole character of its own and in the scenes of it going on a rampage you can almost feel its frustration and panic as it is cornered and pursued by soldiers and shot at. It certainly is one of Harryhausen's greatest creations and a real joy for Sci-Fi buffs and there numerous wonderful stop motion scenes created for this classic story. Memorable are the creatures rampage through the old Roman Forum, his battle with the elephant in the streets of Rome and all the scenes that take place at the climax within the Colosseum. Actors and storyline really take second place to the action particulary in the second half of the film but William Hooper and romantic female lead Joan Taylor do well in their respective roles which may not be too challenging but are delivered with a certain degree of conviction.

For all lovers of 1950's science fiction "Twenty Million Miles to Earth" is one of the very best examples of movie making in this genre. Long before computer generated special effects removed any real artistry from monster construction, efforts like this showed the brilliance of earlier film makers who worked for months often to create their special effects that have a charm and vivacity all their own. This is a classic "monster on the rampage" story but it is one with a fascinating "Lead Monster" who will definately get you on side. Enjoy classic 1950's Sci-Fi adventure with the Ymir from Venus in "Twenty Million Miles to Earth".