20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

"You said you had a plan."

"I do have a plan. Trouble is, it won't work."

In 1868, an alleged sea monster is sinking ships in the Pacific Ocean.  The U.S. Navy puts together a team to prove the monster exists.  The team includes noted scientist Professor Arronax (Lukas), his assistant Conseil (Lorre), and harpooner Ned Land (Douglas).  They discover and confront the monster, only to have it sink their ship.  Arronax, Conseil, and Ned survive the attack and discover that the monster is a high-tech submarine.

The submarine is commanded by Captain Nemo (Mason), who does not tolerate spies.  He is familiar with Arronax's work and begrudgingly allows them live.  They are confined to the submarine.  Arronax is fascinated by Nemo and his submarine and spends his days seeking their secrets.  Ned doesn't trust Nemo and hates being trapped on the submarine.  And Conseil want life to return to normal.  Can they survive life aboard the submarine?


This is the definitive film adaptation of Jules Verne's 1869 novel "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea: A Tour of the Underwater World."

The Good:
The cast is incredible.  James Mason dominates the film as Captain Nemo.  He commands the screen and is the most memorable character in the film, without showboating.  His quiet intensity is matched by Kirk Douglas as Ned Land.  Ned is a fascinating, big character.  He sings the only song in the film, the catchy "Whale of a Tale."  Peter Lorre and Paul Lukas are also good, and the scenes of the four actors together are great.
It is a big, fantastic film that still holds up despite the years and the advances in special effects.  The effects are fantastic and garnered the film 2 Academy Awards: Best Art Direction - Color (John Meehan and Emile Kuri) and Best Special Effects (John Hench and Joshua Meador).

The Bad:
The film drags in a few places.  I have never read the novel, so I don't know if the problem comes from the source material  or the film's screenplay (the screenplay was written by Earl Felton).

Other Comments:
-In 1874, Verne wrote the novel "The Mysterious Island" as a sequel to this story and "In Search of the Castaways."  Disney made a live-action film of In Search of Castaways, but did not adapt "The Mysterious Island."
-Most people remember Mason as Nemo and the scene with the squid... the squid looks fake (when it initially attacks the submarine), but the scene is well done.  It is intense and memorable.
-The film holds up well and still holds the attention of modern audiences.  It may be too intense (and at 2+ hours, it may be too long) for younger audiences, but it is still an interesting, well-made movie that is worth checking out.

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954) 127 minutes
Director: Richard Fleischer
Starring: Kirk Douglas as Ned Land
James Mason as Captain Nemo
Paul Lukas as Professor Pierre Aronnax
Peter Lorre as Conseil
Robert J. Wilke as First Mate of the Nautilus