20 Million Miles to Earth (1957)

Director:

Nathan Juran

Writers:

Robert Creighton Williams (screenplay) &
Christopher Knopf (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

June 1957 (USA)

Genre:

Fantasy | Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Monster from outerspace runs wild!

Plot:

The first U.S. spaceship to Venus crash-lands off the coast of Sicily on its return trip. A dangerous, lizard-like creature comes with it and quickly grows gigantic.

Plot Keywords:

Venus | Military | Sicily | Alien | Young Boy

Cast

William Hopper	...	Colonel Robert Calder
Joan Taylor	...	Marisa Leonardo
Frank Puglia	...	Dr. Leonardo
John Zaremba	...	Dr. Judson Uhl
Thomas Browne Henry	...	Major General A.D. McIntosh (as Thomas B. Henry)
Tito Vuolo	...	Commissario Charra
Jan Arvan	...	Signore Contino - Government Official
Arthur Space	...	Dr. Sharman
Bart Braverman	...	Pepe (as Bart Bradley)

Also Known As:

The Beast from Space
The Giant Ymir (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

82 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | Finland:K-15 (2000) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | South Korea:All | South Korea:All (2008) | Australia:PG | UK:PG | USA:Approved (PCA #18428) | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Ponte St. Angelo, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company:

Morningside Productions

Trivia:

Ray Harryhausen's original design for the monster was a giant cyclops, similar to the one he later used in The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958). He discarded the idea after making a clay model of it, and eventually settled on the reptilian Ymir.

Goofs:

Continuity: Near the beginning of the film, William Hopper has obviously been in the hospital for a few days but when he finally wakes up and jumps out of bed, he is wearing a perfectly-pressed uniform.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Mondello: Pepe! Is it your desire that the fishes, they swim away? Come on! Pull up on the net, here.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "The Charmings: Incredible Shrinking Prince (#1.5)" (1987)

A Nice Companion Piece

This 50s sci-fi film has always been one of my favorites from that era. As with another Columbia Pictures film, "Earth vs the Flying Saucers", released the previous year, "20 Million Miles To Earth" features some of the same cast. This film has a relatively simple, straightforward plot, perfunctory acting, and a brisk pace. And as with "Earth vs the Flying Saucers", the main attraction is the outstanding Harryhausen effects. It is because of these similarities that I consider the two films companion pieces. Leonard Maltin calls the film one of the best monster-on-the- loose movies ever made and I certainly agree. The sulphur- eating, reptilian-like Venusian creature, "the Ymir's" titanic struggle with an elephant in the streets of Rome, preceding the climatic confrontation in the Colosseum with mankind, remains one of the greatest one-to-one creature battles of all time. Definitely recommended for the 1950s sci-fi connoisseur.