Back in the 1950's, radiation from Atomic and Hydrogen bomb tests were the cause for every cinematic cataclysm. Starting with the original Gojira (later released in the U.S. as Godzilla: King of the Monsters), radioactive monstrosities became the rage! Because of man's thrust into technology, giant ants (THEM!), giant grasshoppers (Beginning of the End), and a variety of dinosaurian beasts (The Giant Behemoth et. al.) ravaged the major cities of the world! The whole trend all began with The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms which featured the Rhodosaurus, a beautifully animated dinosaur, courtesy of Ray Harryhausen. Two years later, Harryhausen worked his magic on yet another giant creature; a six-armed octopus with eyelashes in It Came From Beneath the Sea.

It Came From Beneath the Sea starts off like many other atom-age monster movies. We get some stock footage of a submarine launch with a voiceover from a narrator. During said voiceover though, the narrator says something that is almost Ed Wood-ian. "The mind of man has thought of everything, except that which was beyond his comprehension!" Surely truer words have never been spoken! Afterwards, the opening credits roll over the backdrop of a raging ocean. Once the long opening credits end, the movie finally kicks off. We meet our main hero, Commander Peter Mathews. As he and his men cruise about in the Pacific in their atomic submarine, the radar picks up a large object. Said object chases the sub and eventually catches up. The sub is suddenly rocked by a heavy hit, and the conveniently placed Geiger counter begins clicking like crazy. Nothing on the sub is damaged and it appears that the radiation is coming from the mysterious object outside.

Commander Mathews is further perplexed when the crew can't get the submarine to move. With some quick thinking, Peter and his men manage to escape. After their ordeal, Mathews has a few men dive and check the hull for any damage. Everything is fine, but the divers did find a chunk of rubbery material left behind by their attacker. Said object is taken to Professors Joyce and Carter. They run a series of tests and eventually come to a conclusion. A living creature attacked the submarine and said creature is surely an octopus! In between testing, Peter begins romancing Lesley. One scene in particular involves a lot of handling of a test tube by both characters. Does anyone not notice this blatant sexual innuendo?! The day after their discovery, the two busy scientists give their theories to a group of higher-ups in the U.S. Navy (including the Assistant Secretary of the Navy). Be prepared for lots (and I mean lots!) of talking.

Both Lesley and Carter's views are regarded as dubious by the Naval officers, until a huge fishing trawler is dragged beneath the waves of the Pacific. This was a great scene too, mostly because we get our first glimpse of the titular monster. Meanwhile, Peter cranks up his charm and has a little dance with Lesley. (C'mon Carter! When are you going to make your move?!) All this romance results in some miscommunication, leading to a hissy fit from Peter. Peter stomps off and Carter consoles his female colleague, saying that "No irreparable damage has been done. Besides, we'll be on a plane to Honolulu in the morning." He couldn't be any more wrong (well about leaving that is). Commander Mathews returns with a higher ranking officer, who apologizes for the disbelief about the Giant Man-Eating Octopus Theory. I mean really, who wouldn't believe such a theory?!

The next day, several survivors from the hapless sunken sea vessel are rescued and interviewed. The first sailor tells a doctor that the ship was dragged under the water by "those" (as he points at the doctor's stethoscope). Seeing that the doctor didn't believe the story, the other survivors quickly say that they didn't see anything. To clear things up, Professor Joyce uses her feminine wiles to get the truth. It's not long before the sailor tells her that he saw, "A giant Octopus." In response to this new threat to mankind, the U.S. Navy sails around the Pacific dropping depth charges (probably in an attempt to kill every living thing in the ocean). In the meantime, Dr. Carter, Ms. Joyce, and Commander Mathews are meeting with several naval officers to discuss where to find the marauding octopus. Luckily a tip comes in and both Joyce and Mathews go to Astoria. (Home of The Goonies!)

They discover an overturned car (no owners in sight) and a ton of circular marks in the sand. As day becomes night, Dr. Carter arrives and ruins a romantic moment between Lesley and Peter. The three exchange dialogue for a few minutes until an unsuspecting local police officer is killed by the octopus. Our three heroes then make a hasty retreat to San Francisco where defenses are being set up against any possible attack. The defenses include the use of mines, an electrified net in San Francisco Bay, and a specially made torpedo that is guaranteed to destroy the monstrous octopus! A few hours after the preparations are made, the creature is detected heading toward the mouth of San Francisco Bay. Naturally all defensive measures fail and that darn sea monster starts pulling itself out of the water and onto the Golden Gate Bridge. Why does it do this?

Our main scientific characters believe that it's just being overly aggressive for no reason. I on the other hand have a sound theory on this. You see, the navy put an electrified submarine net under the bridge which was supposed to drive the creature away. I believe that the Octopus was doing the instinctive thing by getting out of that water fast! Of course it could have just jetted away in a moments notice so maybe it was a little pissed off and is looking for a fight! Seeing that this defense measure is backfiring, Professor Carter drives across the bridge and shuts the power off. However, his car was decimated in the process by a powerful tentacle smash. Peter soon arrives, sees that Carter is in peril and rescues him. The octopus, no longer sensing the electric current in the water, slides back into the ocean.

With the octopus' attack abated for the moment, final preparations are made for a final assault. But that good old six-armed octopus isn't done causing collateral damage yet! The beast returns and sends its tentacles into the heart of San Francisco to find prey. For about eight minutes or so, total carnage ensues as buildings topple, windows shatter, and people get smashed into the pavement by the creature's giant tentacles. Ouch! That seems like an extremely painful and horrible way to die. It's bad enough that a large slimy tendril smacks you into the pavement. The immediate impact would probably kill most people, but a few would still be alive, at least until the tentacle is pulled backwards across the asphalt and concrete, thus turning all victims to mush! (See that? These are the kind of things a b-movie reviewer ponders night after night!) In a matter of minutes, the army is called in to fend off the attacking tentacles with the best tools for the job. FLAMETHROWERS! The fiery napalm sends the octopus back into the sea where Mathews is waiting in his atomic sub. (Payback time!) He fires the specially designed torpedo, which embeds itself in the octopus.

Unfortunately, the octopus grabs hold of the sub and the torpedo cannot be detonated unless everyone wants to be a martyr. Peter decides to remedy this situation by putting on a wetsuit and swimming out to the enormous octopus, equipped with an explosive harpoon. He sticks said harpoon into one of the octopus' tentacles and the resulting explosion renders Pete unconscious. Sensing that something may have gone wrong, John Carter decides to go save Peter. Carter swims directly up to the octopus and blasts it in the eye with some sort of underwater gun, causing the sea beastie to release the sub. John then swims over and rescues Peter, swimming like hell to evade the force of the eminent torpedo explosion. Back on the sub, the second commanding officer hits the button and BOOM! The octopus' destruction was sudden and complete and it won't be coming back for a sequel! Soon after that, Peter and John are retrieved from the ocean. But who gets the girl in the end? As I expected, Peter wins Lesley's heart but John is still there, acting as the third wheel. Will he ever find true love? Will he steal Lesley away from Peter? We may never know...

In an era of giant radioactive monster movies, It Came From Beneath the Sea proves to be one of the best. The acting in the film is top notch even though the characters are a bit stereotypical (Save for the highly independent Lesley. According to Dr. Carter, she's the woman of the atomic age!). Heck, while I'm at it, I'll go out on a limb and even say that the actors actually lend some credibility to the their roles! I can easily visualize (the late) Kenneth Tobey as a military commander, albeit a very lax one. And I think (the late) Faith Domergue could've easily pulled off being a marine biologist (as could the late Don Curtis). The special effects in this movie were quite good and it's all thanks to Ray Harryhausen. The man is one of my personal heroes and has brought to life many of the most memorable mythical creatures that ever graced the silver screen (the Kraken from Clash of the Titans comes to mind). Ray's octopus looks superb and is used effectively in several scenes (especially during the final assault on San Francisco). For all it's greatness though, It Came From Beneath the Sea is dragged down by a few things.

First off, there's way too much explaining done in this movie. Instead of giving simplified reasons for the existence of a giant man-eating octopus, we get plenty of detailed information. Due to all this, the movie's pace slows to a crawl at some points. The other problem I had with this movie was the lack of screen-time that the octopus gets. You have to wait a full half hour to see your first glimpse of it; plus it's not until the last fifteen minutes or so that the creature gets its moment in the spotlight. Then you have the vague subplot involving a possible love triangle between our three main characters. All the makings of a love triangle are present, but it never goes anywhere! Despite those minor negativities, this is a great film and is a real treat for anyone looking to watch a good old fashioned monster movie. Unfortunately, since this movie's release, no one has managed to make a decent "giant octopus on the loose movie." Watch Tentacles, Octopus, Octopus 2: River of Fear, or Deep Rising to see what I mean.