The Silver Screen Oasis

Whoa! I'd never seen Captain Nemo and the Underwater City (1969) in all its baroque glory before today's airing on TCM. What do I look at first?

Chuck Connors' pompadour, which makes him 7'6" tall instead of his usual measly 6'5"?


Robert Ryan keeping his dignity dry despite this costume?


Like its predecessor, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1953), Nemo (Robert Ryan) has used his scientific genius to create a hermetically sealed private world that is far more appealing than that fresh air world on land in the mid-19th century. Actually, the art director William Andrews and cinematographer Alan Hume deserve a nod for this one. They worked hard to to create the Crystal Palace design vibe and the Victorian candy box interiors they have constructed, if only the goof balls that Nemo tries to help become acclimated to his paradise were not so hell-bent on exploitation, escape and remaining blindly stupid, the movie might have had more of a chance. I suppose that director James Hill was allowed to make this movie after his mega-hit, Born Free (1966), which was one movie I was allowed to see--twice! But it was soon back to filming tv shows for Mr. Hill, where his imaginative if clunky style could make something special out of things like The Persuaders--though he did try to catch the zeitgeist on celluloid one more time with his follow-up project after Nemo: The Man From O.R.G.Y. (1970), which seems to be a neglected classic of its kind and time--and the only name I recognize in the cast was that of Robert Walker, Jr. Who knew that the day would come when I'd smile indulgently at a hip movie that I just know was trying too hard to be "with it."


Did anyone else see this movie?

Wow, this rocks, Moira!
THANK YOU!
I've never heard of this one, and for a Vernophile like myself, that's a little embarrassing!

And I can't believe I missed it!
So barring a hopscotch over to IMDb, do you happen to know, did this come out before or after Mysterious Island ?

I saw it once before and could not figure out how Robert Ryan was able to make me forget he was wearing that outfit.

I actually thought it wasn't bad.... maybe I'm even more blindly stupid than the goofballs in the movie?

It came out in '69, so it came after Mysterious Island (1961). Captain Nemo and the Underwater City sure could have used Ray Harryhausen and Bernard Herrmann, but it was very entertaining despite that lack. The movie recently came out on a DVD, which you can see here.

JF, I didn't mean to make it sound like a time waster. It was hardly that, though I was frequently stunned while watching this one unspool while I cleaned house and did some odd jobs. It really was entertaining when I was half-paying attention.

I'm just kidding around...but I really was surprised that it's a perfectly watchable movie, in spite of the odd costume here and there.

My mom took us to see MYSTERIOUS ISLAND upon its release. Giant bees! Dude! Eight years later, I was a teenager. In the age of Bonnie and Clyde, Butch and Sundance and (Gasp!) HIGH SCHOOL, "Underwater City" didn't sound like much. But you're right, Moira. These silly things can be harmless time passers. In the days before video, I would have watched it on TV and had no expectations.

A mere five years ago, I was watching THE LAND THAT TIME FORGOT and actually regretted being interrupted!