THE INCREDIBLE PETRIFIED WORLD (1959)

Over footage of a shark battling an octopus, a narrator tells us about the sea, and a "phantom layer" filled with creatures that live in darkness and that rise and fall from night to day. Does that make sense? Don't worry, it never comes up again. We join scientist Millard Wyman off the Florida Keys about to send some folks down into the sea in his new, experimental diving bell. The lucky four (all dressed in regular street clothes) are oceanographers Craig and Paul, grad student Lauri, and reporter Dale who is, as reporters always are in sci-fi B-movies, a pain in the ass. They are apparently supposed to be exploring that phantom layer we heard about, but at 1700 feet, a cable breaks; they lose communication with Wyman and go into deep water freefall. Dale gets hysterical until they all notice a brightness coming from the windows. They climb into scuba gear and find a phosphorescent rock formation which leads them to a series of caves with breathable oxygen. Craig and Paul go back to the bell to get supplies to sustain themselves until they find a way to the surface. On the surface, Wyman gets another scientist who is working on his own diving bell to use it in a rescue attempt. In the caves, the four find a skeleton and a bearded, mostly crazed old man who says he wound up in the caves "same as they did" and has stayed alive for fourteen years. The old man says there is a volcano off in the caves somewhere, and Craig thinks they could use that as an escape method. More time passes and tensions build, with Craig romancing Lauri, Dale jealous of the attention Lauri's getting, and the old man getting crazier. Eventually, the second diving bell finds the disabled one, and Craig and Paul make contact with them, but when the volcano starts to erupt, will they be able to get out in time?

This movie is not incredible and isn't really about a petrified world. Based on the drab plain sets, the budget was low as can be; it is ineptly shot, poorly written and listlessly acted. Phyllis Coates (Dale), the original Lois Lane on the 50's Superman TV show, gets acting honors for her hysterical outbreak which at least gives this movie some life for a minute or so. Robert Clarke, who specialized in low budget sci-fi and horror movies of the era, is OK in the role of the hero (though he does little that is heroic, he does order people around like he intends to be a hero). John Carradine (Wyman) is energetic and again gives his all, as he usually does even in such low circumstances, even when he's just spouting backstory. For the record, Sheila Noonan is Lauri and Allen Windsor is Paul; neither actor made many more movies. Directed by Jerry Warren who specialized in low budget schlock. The cave scenes were filmed at Colossal Cave in Arizona (a place I actually visited when I was a kid), so that setting is fairly believable. Despite the appealing title and the clear print on the DVD, I don't recommend this one. Pictured are Windsor and Clarke. [DVD]