MONSTER FROM THE OCEAN FLOOR On Blu-ray From Film Masters

 

The latest in the Film Masters series of Blu-ray special editions featuring low-budget 50s/60s sci-fi-horror outings is MONSTER FROM THE OCEAN FLOOR (1954), the very first film produced by the legendary Roger Corman. 

A young American named Julie (Anne Kimbell) is taking a vacation on the Pacific coast of Mexico, and she becomes intrigued by tales told by the locals concerning a horrible monster inhabiting a nearby cove. Julie decides to go out on her own and see if there really is an underwater creature, despite being advised not to do so from a marine biologist (Stuart Wade) doing research in the area. Julie and her biologist friend find out the monster is all too real. 

As detailed in the extras on this disc, MONSTER FROM THE OCEAN FLOOR sprang from Roger Corman's discovery (from a magazine article) of a one-person submarine created by Aerojet General. Corman made a deal with the company to use the sub in a sci-fi story, and scraped up enough cash to make the film. The movie was made very, very cheaply, but Corman was able to make a decent profit on it, and he enjoyed the experience so much he decided to continue in the film making business, and his overall career still affects the entertainment industry to this day. 

MONSTER FROM THE OCEAN FLOOR is more notable from a historic perspective rather than an artistic one, but it is a serviceable little movie that does what it was designed to do. There is a lot of padding to it, even with a 64 minute running time, but it isn't boring. The main reason why is leading lady Anne Kimbell, who is appealing, energetic, and engaging. Her Julie is the one that instigates the action, and she is the one that takes the lead in trying to find out if there actually is a monster. (It does need to be pointed out that Julie doesn't seem to have considered what to do if she really did find the thing.) Julie would be the first in a long line of strong female characters populating films connected with Roger Corman. 

The monster of the title turns out to be a giant one-eyed octopus type of creature, and there is a suggestion that it was created by radiation from nuclear tests in the Pacific. (In the disc extras Tom Weaver points out this was one of the very first movie creatures whose origins were caused by atomic radiation.) The monster was created by puppeteer Bob Baker, and it is much more effective than it has usually been credited for. 

MONSTER FROM THE OCEAN FLOOR avoids looking tatty due to the California locations and the use of the one-person sub, which, as expected, gets plenty of screen time. The presence of famed cinematographer Floyd Crosby certainly helped the look of the production. Roger Corman didn't direct MONSTER FROM THE OCEAN FLOOR, but what Wyott Ordung, the actual director, did (or didn't) do probably encouraged Corman to take up the job in the future. According to the disc extras, Corman was something of a one man crew--he even played a small role, and Wyott Ordung appears as a shifty local. Jonathan Haze (of the original LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS) begins his long association with the Corman team with his portrayal as a fisherman. 

MONSTER FROM THE OCEAN FLOOR is another low-budget Fifties shocker that had fallen into public domain purgatory, but this Film Masters Blu-ray presents the black & white feature in a very fine looking print. The underwater sequences are a bit hazy, but one must remember that it was a miracle that a movie with this low of a budget got any underwater sequences at all. The sound quality is lacking at times, but that is more than likely due to the source material. 

As with every Film Masters release, there are a number of extras which provide plenty of information and background on the film being presented. There's a 14-page illustrated booklet, with notes written by Tom Weaver, giving detail on the making of the film and quotes from some of the talent involved with it. The disc has a couple of featurettes--one is a 15 minute program from Ballyhoo Productions on puppeteer Bob Baker, who created the monster from the ocean floor. The other is a shorter talk with Roger Corman, who gives brief discussions on not only MONSTER FROM THE OCEAN FLOOR but most of his early 1950s film work. There's also a stills gallery and an original trailer, along with a reconstruction of the trailer using restored footage.  

The main extra is a new audio commentary by Tom Weaver, who gives his usual informative talk mixed in with some droll humor. Weaver augments his discussion with audio snippets from an interview he did with Corman years ago. Just about everything you need to know about the making of MONSTER FROM THE OCEAN FLOOR is contained in these extras. 

I've been very impressed with the Film Masters releases that I have purchased so far. it would have been very easy to slap this type of material on a disc and just be done with it, but the company has gone out of their way to provide plenty of bells & whistles to make these releases enticing to film geeks who have seen these features over and over again. MONSTER FROM THE OCEAN FLOOR isn't among the best Roger Corman movies, but I've seen plenty of low-grade 50s sci-fi flicks that are way worse. MONSTER FROM THE OCEAN FLOOR shows that even from the very beginning Roger Corman was able to make the most out of what he had to work with, and he was able to make his film stand out from the pack.