December 9 - 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

This movie has a scene that happens today – December 9. I hope you enjoy this film and watch it tonight.

20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA     

1868 a number of ships are sunk by a mysterious monster. This makes it impossible to get crews for ships, hurting commerce. The American government recruits Professor Pierre Aronnax, his assistant Conseil and expert harpooner Ned Land to go on an expedition on the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln to hunt for the monster. Then the ship is attacked by the monster and sunk. On December 9, 1868 [20:00 to 52:15] Aronnax, Conseil and Land go on board the Nautilus, a fantastic submarine commanded by the mysterious Captain Nemo. He intends to execute them but leaving them on deck and submerging, but at the last minute changes his mind. Land and Conseil are allowed to go on an underwater hunt with the crew of the Nautilus. Ned becomes interested in the vast treasure Nemo has collected in his underseas travels. Nemo takes them to the prison island of Rura Penthe, where the inmates mine phosphates for use in munitions and Nemo tells Aronnax he used to be a prisoner there, until he escaped. The Nautilus attacks and sinks the ship carrying phosphates from the island.   Nemo justifies this act saying he prevented the deaths of many in war. He says his wife and child were tortured to death to try and get him to revel the secret of the power source of the Nautilus. Ned learns the location of Vulcania, Nemo’s secret island base and puts the location in bottles which he throws overboard. Off New Guinea the Nautilus runs aground. Nemo sends Ned and Conseil ashore to collect specimens, but they run into cannibals and barely make it back to the ship. Nemo electrifies the hull and drives off the natives.  Nemo confines Ned to the brig. A warship appears and fires on the Nautilus.  They dive to avoid this but are attacked by a giant squid. Electrifying the ship fails to repulse the creature, so they surface to fight it. Nemo is caught by a tentacle, but Ned, having escaped from the brig saves him.  At Vulcania, they find it ringed by warships with Marines already ashore. Nemo makes plans to destroy his base. When Aronnax learns Ned is responsible for the warships being there he is furious since he is the cause of the destruction of all Nemo’s technological discoveries. Nemo is wounded but takes the Nautilus out to sea, intending to take the ship to the bottom and suicide. Ned breaks free and gets the ship to the surface. It hits a reef and Aronnax, Ned and Conseil escape. The Nautilus floods, killing all its crew. Vulcania blows up in a huge explosion.

A pretty good action/adventure film. It is a little dated, but is still interesting. Kirk Douglas should be glad he never tried to make a go of it as a singer.

The date given at 11:52-53 is the day before

Producer - Walt Disney

Director - Richard Fleischer

Screenplay - Earl Felton

Awards – The movie won the Best Color Art Direction and Best Special Effects Oscars. It was also nominated for the Best Film Editing Oscar at the 27^th Academy Awards. 

Runtime – 2 hours 7 minutes

Released – December 23, 1954

Starring –

Kirk Douglas as Ned Land

James Mason as Captain Nemo

Paul Lukas as Professor Pierre Aronnax

Peter Lorre as Conseil

Robert J. Wilke as ''Nautilus'''s First Mate

Ted de Corsia as Captain Farragut

Carleton Young as John Howard

J. M. Kerrigan as Billy

Percy Helton as Coach driver

Ted Cooper as ''Abraham Lincoln'''s First Mate

Fred Graham  as Casey