20 MILLION MILES TO EARTH
(1957)
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PLOT
20 MILLION MILES TO EARTH
(1957)
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An American expedition returning from Venus crashes in the ocean off the coast of Sicily, leaving only one survivor. During the crash, a canister containing a specimen of Venusian life brought back by the astronauts is jettisoned and found on the beach by Pepe, a young local boy, who sells it to a local Biologist. Due to the Earth's atmosphere, the tiny creature begins to grow to enormous size. After battling an elephant, destroying many landmarks and killing several Italians, the creature is hit with a missle and it plummets to its death from the Roman Coloseum. |
| COL. ROBERT CALDER: | William Hopper |
| MARISA LEONARDO: | Joan Taylor |
| DR. LEONARDO: | Frank Puglia |
| DR. JUDSON UHL : | John Zaremba |
| GEN. A.D. McINTOSH: | Thomas B. Henry |
| POLICE COMMISSIONER: | Tito Vuolo |
| CONTINO: | Jan Arvan |
| DR. SHARMAN: | Arthur Space |
| PEPE: | Bart Bradley |
| VERRICO: | George Khoury |
| MONDELLO: | Don Orlando |
| FARMER: | Sid Cassel |
| MAPLES: | George Pelling |
The Ymir
Elephant
| DIRECTOR: | Nathan Juran |
| PRODUCED BY: | Charles H. Schneer |
| TECHNICAL EFFECTS: | Ray Harryhausen |
| SCREENPLAY BY: | Bob Williams
Christopher Knopf |
| STORY BY: | Charlott Knight |
| CINEMATOGRAPHY: | Irving Lippman
Carlos Ventigmilia |
| FILM EDITOR: | Edwin Bryant, A.C.E. |
| SET DECORATOR: | Robert Priestley |
| ASSISTANT DIRECTORS: | Eddie Saeta
Octavio Oppo |
| SOUND: | Lambert Day |
| MUSIC CONDUCTED BY: | Mischa Bakaleinikoff |
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The scenes of Dr. Leonardo's trailer and the section of the film where the Ymir is standing behind some large stones and the soldiers use the flamethrower on him were shot in Chattsworth in California. The bubbling lava was stock footage as were several other shots, including the soldiers jumping out of the helicopter in the Mt. Etna scene. Only Ray Harryhausen, William Hopper, Frank Puglia and Larry Butler were allowed to go to Italy for the necessary shooting. Columbia trusted Larry Butler, so they sent him over to direct all the footage shot in Italy and it was he and Harryhausen who shot all the footage pertinent to the animation scenes. Butler directed the rest that did not directly pertain to the animation. Harryhausen can be seen feeding peanuts to the elephant in the zoo scene. It is believed, but not a fact, that Harryhausen can also be seen running in one crowd scene when the Ymir breaks out of the lab. |
All images
from 20 Million Miles to Earth © 1957 Columbia Pictures Corporation.
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