Around the World Under the Sea
 
Director:  Andrew Marton
Year: 1966
Rating: 5.0
Poor Lloyd Bridges is tossed into the water once again after his 155 episodes of Sea Hunt that ran from 1958-1961 in this somewhat soggy tale of adventure. Sea Hunt was a big success but this watery misfire much less so. But water seemed to be a big thing in the mid-1960's with the TV show Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea having started in 1964. Flipper started in 1964 as well - so clearly someone thought the American public wanted more stories about people getting into the water. I think Jaws was probably the last time that idea succeeded.



The main problem is that the director can't make up his mind whether to make this 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea or Peyton Place Under the Sea. Way too much dull drama revolving around relationships and romance, but that is what happens when you insert a woman who looks like Shirley Eaton (Goldfinger) into a submarine crew of five men - one who was her ex-lover; one who is her current lover and one who wants very much to be her future lover. I mean it is Shirley Eaton who looks great covered in gold or not - what did they expect.



The plot of the film is scientifically interesting - this small sub with its crew go around the world dropping off these sensor gadgets that can detect earthquakes, volcanoes and the potential tsunamis that will follow and tie it all together into a global warning system Along the way they meet giant fish, volcanic activity, mood swings, chess and love. In the real world this sort of system was put in place near Hawaii back in the 1940's but even today it is still piecemeal around the world. This sounds like a good idea - just keep Shirley off the boat.



Also, on the ride is David McCallum (The Man from U.N.C.L.E), Keenan Wynn doing his usual grouch character, Marshall Thompson and as the hunk Brian Kelly who never went on to much other than his role on Flipper. Lloyd Bridges has always rubbed me wrong since I heard that he was a squealer during the House of UnAmerican Activities Committee (HUAC) in the 1950s. He had been on the fringes of some people and organizations that had Communist ties and when he was brought forward he ratted on six of them. He was still quasi-blacklisted for a while till the syndicated show Sea Hunt made him into a star. Later on in his career he was up for the role of Captain Kirk.