THE UNDERWATER CITY (1962)

The Institute of Oceanography is building the first permanent human settlement on the bottom of the sea and Dr. Halstead approaches renowned engineer Bob Gage (William Lundigan) to help design it. Gage is more interested in outer space efforts, but Halstead explains the importance of his project, to do research on how ocean circulation affects climate and to try and predict tidal waves—not to mention that below the ocean might be the only safe place to live if nuclear war breaks out. Gage signs on, but never really gets enthusiastic about his job until he starts flirting with Halstead's lovely niece Monica Powers (Julie Adams), a psychologist who will be studying human behavior under the sea. Gage designs and oversees production of a series of prefabricated buildings which are then lowered to the ocean floor and lived in, under the name Amphibia City, as the team prepares for a visit from government men. Other members of the team include a former cowboy and Navy frogman, a geologist, a nutritionist who prepares their meals—and who begins a flirtation with the cowboy—and a newlywed couple who spend their honeymoon underwater, and soon are expecting a child. Marlow, the cowboy, sneaks off occasionally to get a nip of whisky he found in a nearby wrecked ship (see photo at right), not realizing that a huge octopus is living just under the ship. When Monica follows him one day to see what he's up to, she gets caught in a sinkhole and is almost octopus food, though a moray eel distracts the octopus long enough for Monica to be rescued. But the sinkhole is a bad portent, and just after the government men arrive, it's discovered that the city is resting on an "undercutting" fault that could give way at any time.

This film has an intriguing storyline but too much time is spent on tedious exposition (some of it narrated) and not enough time is allowed to develop the characters or the situations. The cold war worry about atomic war could have been a fruitful subplot but takes up exactly one line of dialogue. Likewise, the married couple could have provided some melodramatic interest—living in such isolated conditions might cause tension, and worry over the birth might have given us a few minutes of concern, but plotwise, the two of them are kept on a back burner, though the wife does get to make a joke about the possibility of the baby having gills. The low budget is also a problem. The underwater city sets are OK, but the scenes of people in the water were filmed on a soundstage in slow motion with air bubbles added later, which is occasionally problematic. And finally, there's the so-so acting, starting with Lundigan—I like him in his 40s and early 50s movies, but he always did have a tendency to be a bit wooden, and that seems to have increased with age; a younger actor might have brought more energy to the role. Adams is bland but likeable; Chet Douglas is a standout as the cowboy. The climactic destruction scene is well done. Overall, watchable but not memorable. [Amazon streaming]