War-Gods of the Deep (1965)

everything you have heard about this movie is true.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

If I could talk like Vincent Price could I would talk to myself all the time, out loud and I would probably get an MC Job or be a radio announcer. That guys voice was like audio gold. War Gods of the deep began with the narration that only Vincent Price could manage to deliver. He was a treasure and he is missed. The movie fits a model of the time period this was created. Do not expect any more than that and you will have an enjoyable time. I enjoyed the nostalgic vibe and the somewhat campy and predictable presentation. Not the worlds most advanced movie or soundtrack but it was fun if you let it be what it is and go with it a little bit. It did not try to be pretentious, it allowed Vincent to be who he is and do what he did best. The "Hen" was named Herbert...soooo...you see where this is going. But, A good time can be had, we enjoyed this.

A couple of respectable elements assemble here for a decent fantasy feature: source material from master of horror Edgar Allan Poe, a capable director in Jacques Tourneur, and the consistently amusing film star Vincent Price. While ultimately it lacks the imagination, budget, and style to be anything more, it's still acceptable entertainment of this kind.Ben (Tab Hunter) is an American living on the Cornish coast at the turn of the 20th century. When mysterious forces kidnap area resident Jill (Susan Hart), on whom Ben is sweet, he sets out after her, with the doddering artist Harold (David Tomlinson) in tow. (Oh, and not to forget, Harolds' pet rooster Herbert.) They soon discover a strange underwater civilization, ruled by the domineering captain (Price). The captain, upon being led to believe that Ben is a professor of immense knowledge, wants to pick his brain on what to do in the event of a cataclysmic volcanic eruption.As part of the package, the captain and his men exploit local "gill men". They're NOT as cool as the Creature from the Black Lagoon, but the masks aren't bad either, and they're not bad characters. Considering that A.I.P. probably controlled expenses a lot, the sets and production values are still respectable enough. The movie is shot in the 2.35:1 aspect ratio and is fairly colourful. The score by Stanley Black is also nice. Tourneur gets down to business quickly and the pacing & editing are adequate. Most of the cast & crew credits are saved for the end.Hunter is a handsome and engaging hero. The beautiful Hart is a likable enough heroine. Tomlinson handles all of the comedy relief duties and is delightful. John Le Mesurier is excellent as helpful old Reverend Ives; Henry Oscar, Derek Newark, and Roy Patrick co-star. Price is magnetic as always as our villain, and the lines from the Poe story flow off of his tongue with the greatest of ease.The viewer may not enjoy this quite as much as they'd like to, but it remains watchable for most of its 85 minute run time.Sadly, director Tourneurs' final feature film.Seven out of 10.

CITY UNDER THE SEA seems to have been tacked on to the end of the Roger Corman/Vincent Price Poe cycle, featuring Price narrating a few passages of the author's work over a vista of some choppy waves. It's supposedly based on some of Poe's writings, but it has more in common with same-era sci-fi flicks like DR WHO AND THE DALEKS and THE LAND THAT TIME FORGOT.It's a fairly enjoyable little movie, but it has zero depth and absolutely nothing going on beyond the action-adventure template. Vincent Price is at his hammy best as an age-old smuggler ruling over an undersea kingdom, and Tab Hunter is the square-jawed but wooden American hero. In terms of entertainment value, David Tomlinson (and his chicken!) and the cut of Susan Hart's dress supply most of that.This movie certainly has a good pedigree in the form of Jacques Tourneur, the famed director of much fantastic fare, including NIGHT OF THE DEMON. He doesn't have a great deal to work with here, but he does ensure the sets look just that - fantastic - and he manages to incorporate some stock disaster footage fairly well.The biggest flaw, I found, were the interminable underwater scenes that last for about twenty minutes towards the end. As in the same year's THUNDERBALL, they consist of people wandering around aimlessly for what feels like an age. Not much fun, although the monster masks are. The US title, WAR GODS OF THE DEEP, may be a bit of a misnomer for what is a genteel and completely old-fashioned sort of film.

Jacques Tourneur began his career in his father Maurice's native France with moderately good comedies such as "Toto",reached his peak in the forties and the fifties with such classics as "cat people" "out of the past" "nightfall" or "curse of the demon".In the late fifties ,"Timbuktu" and" la battaglia di Maratona" a sword and sandal flick indicated a neat decline."The city under the sea" , inspired by Edgar Poe ,recalls Roger Corman's contemporary works (but does not cut them) while looking sometimes like a poor man's "journey to the center of the earth" :Herbert plays the role of the goose Gertrude in Levin's Verne adaptation.The screenplay is rather mediocre ,compared with Tourneur's previous works ,and many good ideas are not fully exploited (the picture of the woman or the time which stood still in the city under the sea).The settings are rather nice ,particularly the huge hand;on the other hand ,the "fishmen" are Mardi Gras and the battle between them and the humans is much too long.If you have never seen a Tourneur movie,you'd better choose something else.Take "cat people" "Berlin express" or "Curse of the demon" instead.