20000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Richard Fleischer

Writers:

Jules Verne (novel)
Earl Felton (screenplay)

Release Date:

23 December 1954 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | Family | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Walt Disney's Mighty, Magnificent, Memorable 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea!

Plot:

A ship sent to investigate a wave of mysterious sinkings encounters the advanced submarine, the Nautilus, commanded by Captain Nemo.

Plot Keywords:

Submarine | Ocean | Captain | Captain Nemo | Atlantis

Awards:

Won 2 Oscars. Another 2 nominations

Cast

Kirk Douglas	...	Ned Land
James Mason	...	Captain Nemo
Paul Lukas	...	Prof. Pierre Arronax
Peter Lorre	...	Conseil
Robert J. Wilke	...	First Mate of the Nautilus
Ted de Corsia	...	Capt. Farragut
Carleton Young	...	John Howard
J.M. Kerrigan	...	Old Billy
Percy Helton	...	Coach Driver
Ted Cooper	...	Mate on 'Lincoln'

Also Known As:

Jules Verne's 20000 Leagues Under the Sea (USA) (complete title)
Walt Disney's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (USA) (poster title)
20.000 Meilen unter dem Meer (Austria) (West Germany) [de]
20.000 lieues sous les mers (Belgium: French title) (France) [fr]
En världsomsegling under havet (Finland: Swedish title) (Sweden) [sv]
20 000 mil podmorskiej zeglugi (Poland) [pl]
20 hiliades levges ypo tin thalassan (Greece) [el]
20.000 Léguas Submarinas (Brazil) [pt]
20.000 leguas de viaje submarino (Spain) [es]
20.000 levges kato apo ti thalassa (Greece) [el]
20.000 llegües de viatge submarí (Spain: Catalan title) [ca]
20.000 mijlen onder de zee (Belgium: Flemish title) [un]
20000 Meilen unter dem Meer (West Germany) [de]
20000 leghe sotto i mari (Italy) [it]
En verdensomseiling under havet (Norway) [no]
En verdensomsejling under havet (Denmark) [da]
Sukelluslaivalla maapallon ympäri (Finland) [fi]
Twintigduizend mijlen onder de zee (Belgium: Flemish title) [un]
Vingt mille lieues sous la mer (France) [fr]
Vingt-mille lieues sous les mers (Belgium: French title) [fr]
Vinte Mil Léguas Submarinas (Portugal) [pt]

Runtime:

127 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

Portugal:M/6 | Iceland:L | Finland:K-12 (1955) | Finland:K-8 (1976) | Canada:G (video rating) | New Zealand:G | Australia:PG | Canada:F (Ontario) | France:U | Norway:11 | Spain:T | Sweden:15 | UK:U | USA:Approved (PCA #17073) | Canada:G (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Quebec) | USA:G (re-rating) (1970) | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Walt Disney Productions

Trivia:

This was the first live-action movie with no animation sequences to be made at Walt Disney's studio.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The shark that goes after Ned and Conseil is a nurse shark. This species is actually quite harmless and shy of divers.

Quotes:

Ned Land: [singing] Got a whale of a tale to tell ya, lads, a whale of a tale or two, 'bout the floppin' fish and the girls I've loved on nights like this with the moon above. A whale of a tale and it's all true, I swear by my tattoo. There was Mermaid Minnie; met her down in Madagascar. She would kiss me anytime that I would ask her. Then one evening, her flame of love blew out. Blow me down and pick me up, she swapped me for a trout!

Movie Connections:

Featured in Studio Tour (2002) (V)

Soundtrack:

A Whale of a Tale

Great DVD Makes This Fun Again

One of the first movies, along with "Shane," that I ever saw as a young kid that I still watch and enjoy today is this one. One of the reasons I still enjoy it is the wonderful restoration job someone did in the latest DVD that was released in 2004.

Of course, it's not as exciting as seeing this on the big screen as a youngster, but it's still entertaining thanks to the intelligent dialog of James Mason, the humor (believe it or not) of Peter Lorre and the good special effects. The submarine is still neat to watch, particularly at night with the green glow to it. I haven't seen anything like it since. I haven't seen a giant squid attacking a boat, either, come to think of it. That still is pretty cool.

I don't find this movie "spectacular" as its reputation but it's still a very worthy addition to any movie buff's collection. It's one of the classics of the '50s that has been revived with this great-looking DVD which also has some interesting extra features.