CITY BENEATH THE SEA (1962) – For starters, this is NOT the 1970s movie nor the 1950s movie of this title. This City Beneath the Sea is a seven-part television serial from Great Britain. In the past Balladeer’s Blog has covered similar British tv serials like the original Quatermass adventures, Pathfinders in Space and its sequels, in addition to The Trollenberg Terror, plus Object Z and Object Z Returns.
This was still pre-Doctor Who, but it has that same “stand-still adventure” ambience and the stiff upper lip British characters as in the Doctor’s escapades. The program features the expected lame special effects and outdated science typical of the time period, so it makes a viewer laugh while also providing quaint, old-fashioned entertainment.
City Beneath the Sea stars Gerald Flood as reporter Mark Bannerman and Stewart Guidotti as his photographer Peter Blake. The villains are led by Germans who served in World War Two, like Denis Goacher as former U-Boat commander Kurt Swendler and Aubrey Morris as mad scientist Professor Ludwig Ziebrecken.
For obsessive Star Wars fans let me point out that among the few characters important enough to feature in all seven episodes of this serial is the original Mon Mothma from Return of the Jedi, Caroline Blakiston herself, as Dr. Ann Boyd. British television staple Morris Perry rounded out the regulars as a naval radio operator. Continue reading
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