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321:. Karnes believes that the dinosaur is saturated by radiation, which is transmitted by the electric pulse, resulting in the burns seen on the fisherman and other victims. The radiation is also slowly killing the dinosaur. According to Dr. Sampson, the dying creature will leave the ocean depths to head upstream, seeking out the shallow waters where it was born, but death by radiation may not come soon enough to prevent the creature from wreaking havoc on London along the way.
31:
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in London, the two scientists discovered that samples of the dead fish contain large amounts of radioactive contamination. Karnes begins to suspect that the "behemoth" that the fisherman described seeing is some kind of large marine animal that has mutated as a result of being contaminated by nuclear testing.
351:
with Karnes on board carries a torpedo filled with radium into the Thames in pursuit of the monster. During an initial pass, the behemoth takes a bite out of the mini-sub, but Karnes convinces the submarine captain to have another go. This time, they succeed in firing the torpedo into the monster's
303:
Karnes and
Bickford travel to Cornwall to investigate the fisherman's death, and although his injuries seem to include radiation burns, they find no evidence of radiation on the beach. Then, Karnes goes to inspect a passenger ship found wrecked and badly damaged, with the loss of all on board. Back
491:
American film critic Andrew
Wickliffe considered the lead up to the appearance of the monster to be more interesting than the rampage that follows, writing, "I'm not sure the British are really suited for giant monster movies. No offense to the Brits, but watching a bunch of folks stand around and
339:
Rising from the river, the creature sets the city on fire. Bickford and Karnes advise the military that the best way to kill the beast will be to administer a dose of radium, hoping to accelerate the radiation sickness that is already slowly killing it. While they prepare the dose, the behemoth
284:
Scientist Steve Karnes delivers a speech to a
British scientific society, led by Professor James Bickford, about the dangers to marine life posed by nuclear testing. Before Karnes can return to the United States, a real-life example of his concern materialises when a fisherman in
328:, but the military officer believes that their radar tracking systems will be enough to detect the behemoth and prevent it from getting near the city. Unfortunately, the dinosaur appears to be invisible to radar. Dr. Sampson and some other scientists spot it from a
487:
wrote: "This is considerably better than many recent essays in monster science-fiction, both in its suspense and staging; but the story, though put over as convincingly as possible, remains stuck at routine outsize-palaeontology level."
332:
helicopter, but the radar equipment tracking the helicopter sees no sign of the beast, which destroys the helicopter when it gets too close. Soon, the behemoth surfaces in the Thames and capsizes the
455:, mention of the stop-action animation was made, but with the proviso that "the film monster wasn't bad but Willis O'Brien was clearly working with a low budget".
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As Karnes and
Bickford climb into a car to leave the area, they hear a radio report of dead fish washing up on the eastern shores of the United States.
276:(1953), though elements of the original concept remain in the early parts of the film and in the "nuclear-breathing" power of the titular monster.
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was derivative, speculating that "... director Eugène Lourié apparently instructed writers Robert Abel and Alan Adler to repackage his original
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507:, copying whole scenes and situations. The structure and script are almost a verbatim clone, right down to the dotty paleontologist".
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Originally a story about an amorphous blob of radiation, the script was changed at the distributor's insistence to a style similar to
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699:"Cult Camp Classics Volume 1: Sci-Fi Thrillers, Attack of the 50 Foot Woman, The Giant Behemoth, Queen of Outer Space."
289:, Cornwall is killed on the beach, and his dying word is "behemoth". Later, thousands of dead fish are washed ashore.
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were shot in a Los
Angeles studio, where they were also optically integrated with the live-action footage.
311:. A photo of the area reveals a huge footprint and paleontologist Dr. Sampson identifies the creature as a
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Regarding a later release of the film in a package with other science fiction features, film reviewer
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keep the stiff upper lip while radioactive monsters from the deep attack London isn't too much fun".
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mouth, and the behemoth roars in pain. Observers in helicopters later confirm the monster's demise.
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In an odd connection between O'Brien and his most famous creation, stock screams that were used in
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BEHEMOTH THE SEA MONSTER Monthly Film
Bulletin; London Vol. 26, Iss. 300, (1 January 1959): 157.
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can be heard in the scenes where the creature attacks the ferry and when it invades London.
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Keep
Watching the Skies! Science Fiction Movies of the Fifties: 21st Century Edition
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724:. 2009. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, (first editions
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636:"BEHEMOTH THE SEA MONSTER | British Board of Film Classification"
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were filmed entirely in Great
Britain, including London. The
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Karnes and
Bickford try to persuade authorities to close the
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317:, an aquatic dinosaur that emits an electric pulse like an
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on 9 January 1959, before a version cut to 69m 07s, as
267:(under the name "Daniel Hyatt") with director Lourié.
340:
continues its rampage, eventually plummeting through
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347:Karnes and Bickford set their plan into action. An
682:"Behemoth, The Sea Monster (1959), Eugène Lourié"
943:
670:(300): 157. 1 January 1959 – via ProQuest.
251:, Jack Rabin, and Louis de Witt. The film stars
307:The next attack is on a farm near the coast in
474:, was given an A certificate four days later.
1087:English-language science fiction horror films
812:
819:
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29:
579:British Film Institute Collections Search
567:
417:
291:
614:Martin, Mick and Potter, Marsha (2001)
1062:Films shot at British National Studios
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618:. New York: Ballantine Books. p. 430.
544:
1052:Films with screenplays by Allen Adler
977:American science fiction horror films
800:
600:"The Giant Behemoth (1959)" (article)
987:British science fiction horror films
388:as Dr. Sampson, the palaeontologist
13:
967:1950s science fiction horror films
545:Arneel, Gene (24 September 1958).
16:1959 British film by Eugène Lourié
14:
1098:
1027:Films using stop-motion animation
744:
517:List of films featuring dinosaurs
458:The original 71m 07s version, as
1012:Films shot in the United Kingdom
997:Films directed by Douglas Hickox
680:Wickliffe, Andrew (29 May 2006)
259:. The screenplay was written by
1002:Films directed by Eugène Lourié
711:
397:Henri Vidon as Thomas Trevethan
382:Leigh Madison as Jean Trevethan
972:American black-and-white films
704:, Retrieved: 30 January 2015.
697:Erickson, Glenn (9 June 2007)
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650:
628:
608:
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538:
529:
1:
1047:American natural horror films
982:British black-and-white films
921:The Hound of the Baskervilles
688:. Retrieved: 30 January 2015.
605:. Retrieved: 30 January 2015.
522:
505:The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms
468:British Board of Film Censors
413:
394:as the mini-submarine officer
273:The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms
231:) is a 1959 British-American
1082:Films scored by Edwin Astley
1067:1950s English-language films
758:AFI Catalog of Feature Films
477:
7:
547:"Blue-Chip Pix At the Post"
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429:The live action scenes for
10:
1103:
865:Les Bicyclettes de Belsize
239:, with special effects by
1022:Films shot in Los Angeles
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663:The Monthly Film Bulletin
484:The Monthly Film Bulletin
472:Behemoth, the Sea Monster
462:, was initially given an
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35:Theatrical release poster
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425:advertisement from 1959.
228:Behemoth the Sea Monster
409:as Rear Admiral Summers
373:as Prof. James Bickford
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137:Artistes Alliance, Ltd.
1057:British monster movies
873:Entertaining Mr Sloane
616:Video Movie Guide 2002
453:Video Movie Guide 2002
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344:back into the Thames.
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167:3 March 1959
1007:Films set in Cornwall
992:Films about dinosaurs
435:stop-motion animation
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295:
1072:1950s American films
1042:1950s monster movies
1017:Films shot in London
658:"The Giant Behemoth"
646:on 12 February 2019.
575:"The Giant Behemoth"
1077:1950s British films
1037:Giant monster films
957:1950s fantasy films
437:special effects by
225:(originally titled
857:Disk-O-Tek Holiday
849:It's All Over Town
841:The Giant Behemoth
827:Films directed by
787:The Giant Behemoth
781:TCM Movie Database
776:The Giant Behemoth
765:The Giant Behemoth
752:The Giant Behemoth
501:The Giant Behemoth
460:The Giant Behemoth
431:The Giant Behemoth
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301:
265:Daniel Lewis James
222:The Giant Behemoth
59:Daniel Lewis James
24:The Giant Behemoth
962:1959 horror films
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624:978-0-3454-2100-5
349:X-class submarine
241:Willis H. O'Brien
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582:. Retrieved
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451:In the book
450:
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403:as scientist
371:André Morell
354:
346:
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326:River Thames
323:
319:electric eel
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257:André Morell
249:Irving Block
235:directed by
233:monster film
227:
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184:Running time
160:Release date
123:Edwin Astley
95:André Morell
18:
1032:Kaiju films
555:. p. 1
377:John Turner
314:Paleosaurus
298:Paleosaurus
261:blacklisted
175: (U.S.)
79:Produced by
73:Allen Adler
70:Robert Abel
41:Directed by
952:1959 films
946:Categories
905:Sky Riders
702:DVD Savant
640:bbfc.co.uk
523:References
414:Production
365:Gene Evans
330:Royal Navy
253:Gene Evans
188:71 minutes
171:1959-03-03
152:Eros Films
130:Production
105:Ken Hodges
91:Gene Evans
913:Zulu Dawn
897:Brannigan
732:, 1986).
584:13 August
478:Reception
446:King Kong
214:$ 750,000
193:Countries
132:companies
111:Edited by
82:Ted Lloyd
929:Blackout
792:AllMovie
728:, 1982,
511:See also
423:Drive-in
203:Language
119:Music by
114:Lee Doig
87:Starring
67:Story by
779:at the
755:at the
603:TCM.com
552:Variety
466:by the
379:as John
263:author
206:English
169: (
932:(1985)
924:(1983)
916:(1979)
908:(1976)
900:(1975)
892:(1973)
884:(1972)
876:(1970)
868:(1968)
860:(1966)
852:(1964)
844:(1959)
736:
730:Vol. 2
726:Vol. 1
622:
559:29 May
211:Budget
309:Essex
770:IMDb
734:ISBN
620:ISBN
586:2024
561:2023
359:Cast
296:The
287:Looe
280:Plot
255:and
790:at
768:at
948::
720:.
684:.
668:26
666:.
660:.
638:.
577:.
549:.
336:.
247:,
243:,
820:e
813:t
806:v
740:.
588:.
563:.
173:)
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
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