The Phantom from 10,000 Leagues is a 50s monster movie starring Kent Taylor, Cathy Downs, Michael Whalen, Helene Stanton, Phillip Pine, Rodney Bell, and Vivi Janiss. Oh, and Norma Hanson as the titular phantom.
So, the phantom isn't really a phantom, nor is there any reason to call it one. It's a big lump monster living in the ocean, near a shaft of light from activated uranium or something, which is the area of special focus of Ted Stevens (Taylor), an oceanographer working for the US government. The uranium was activated by Dr. King (Whalen), a scientist at the nearby oceanography institute, who is trying desperately to hide his discoveries from his conniving secretary Ethyl (Janiss) and his creepy assistant George (Pine), who is actually a spy.
Anyway, people keep dying because the phantom burns them with radiation or manhandles them underwater, and Stevens falls in love with King's daughter Lois (Downs), and then King blows himself up killing the phantom.
It's a monster movie from the 50s, so clearly there's some fear of foreign spies going on, some fear of atomic radiation, and some really rubbery monster suits. The movie is fun to watch to get a window into the schlock of decades past, but the plot is meandering, there's a lot of bouncing between the beach and folks diving to get a look at the phantom, and the spies are really the greater threat (all the phantom seems to want to do is hang out near the light). The screenwriter could stand to learn the old lesson of finding the most interesting parts of a character's life and showing us that.
My Grade: C-
Rewatch Value: Low
Next up: The Phantom from Space
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