Monster from the Ocean Floor (1954)

The greatest movie ever made..!

Excellent, a Must See

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When American tourist Anne Kimball learns from a Mexican boy that a sea monster has been rumored to be responsible for the disappearance of several locals, she becomes curious and begins to investigate. While deep sea diving, she comes across a scientist (Stuart Wade) in a floating contraption that looks somewhat like a giant Tylenol, she questions him about the alleged sea monster. Upon her own, she discovers a huge, one-eyed monster that looks like a combination squid/octopus that has a cute wiggle while it walks. Old local legend has it that a beautiful woman sacrificed to the monster will satisfy it enough to go away, and guess who is chosen. One of the local wise-men refers to the octopus as "the coward of the sea", but there's no Bert Lahr lion in this monster. Horribly bad acting and dialog (Wade actually tells Kimball to slip out of her bathing suit into a dry martini!) abound, this has no real conclusion, making the other giant octopus movie, "The Bride of the Monster", look like "King Kong" in comparison.

A giant one-eyed octopus monster terrorizes a Mexican fishing village. It's up to fetching American tourist Julie Blair (an appealing performance by the pretty Anne Kimbell) and hunky marine biologist Steve Dunning (a likable portrayal by Stuart Wade) to stop it. Blandly directed by Wyott Ordung, with an overly talky script by Bill Danch, sluggish pacing, a dull and uneventful story, and a crippling dearth of tension and spooky atmosphere, this movie delivers too much sizzle and not nearly enough steak. That said, the beast looks decent enough, the small remote community and its superstitious people are neatly presented, Wade and Kimbell make for personable leads, familiar character actor Jonathan Haze adds a jot of much needed (and appreciated) energy as the excitable Joe, and things perk up a bit with the moderately exciting climax. Both Floyd Crosby's crisp black and white cinematography and Andre Brummer's spirited shivery score are up to par. Notable as the first motion picture produced by the legendary Roger Corman (who also pops up in a bit part), it's an okay and acceptable time-waster at best.

Notable perhaps only because it was the producing debut of the B-movie king Roger Corman, Monster From the Ocean Floor is one of hundreds of dirt-cheap monster movies produced in the U.S. in the 1950's. Atomic testing had opened the floodgates for many a wannabe film-maker to throw someone in a rubber suit, and build a generic story around it for exploitation purposes. Many of Corman's films were about unknown dangers lurking in the vast and unexplored ocean, and produced/directed many profitable pre and post-Jaws (1975) horrors, and here, the beastie is a giant one-eyed octopus skulking amongst a coastline in Mexico.While holidaying in Mexico, Julie Blair (Anne Kimbell) learns about a mysterious monster who has eaten various residents of the sea-side town. The only clues it leaves behinds are massive drag marks that resident Pablo (director Wyott Ordung) describes as "not a seal." Marine biologist Steve Dunning (Stuart Wade) picks her up in his mini-submarine and the two hit it off, only Steve is unconvinced by Julie's concerns about the mythical creature. With Steve moving on for further exploration, Julie is left on her own, with one of the local residents whispering in Pablo's ear that a human sacrifice may cause the creature to go back into hibernation.At only 64 minutes, Corman's beginning to what would become an extraordinary career (he's still going), is a massively dull affair. There are long moments of exposition that drags the film along while it struggles to come with anything remotely inventive or entertaining. The misleading poster that depicts the monster bursting out of the ocean is laughable given we only glimpse the creature twice throughout the whole movie (though this wasn't anything new - dazzling posters brought the audience in under false pretences). The film doesn't look half bad given its obviously modest budget, but even a giant rubber octopus can't save this film from becoming a damp squib.www.the-wrath-of-blog.blogspot.com

Monster From the Ocean Floor (1954) * 1/2 (out of 4) Silly and cheap science fiction about a squid like sea monster at the bottom of the ocean and the two folks who keep running into it. The special effects are poor, the acting wooden and the direction; well, there doesn't seem to have been a director. The 66-minute running time is way too slow going. Notable only for being Roger Corman's first producer credit.With that said, Corman's directed Creature from the Haunted Sea is even worse.