Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, The (1953) Movie Script
This is Operation Experiment.
A secret base far north of the Arctic Circle.
Experiment was the code name for this
top-priority scientific expedition.
These men arrived here on X-day minus 60.
It has taken them the full
two months to get ready.
Today is X-day.
It is now H-hour minus 59 minutes.
There is less than an hour left.
The plane must arrive at its rendezvous
200 miles away in exactly 58 minutes.
There can be no margin for error.
There can be no second chance.
This is the rendezvous. The forward
observation post where scientists...
...and their aides double-check equipment
and wait for the plane's approach.
It is now H-hour minus 81 seconds.
At H-hour minus 75 seconds,
the radar antenna flashes the word.
There it is! Azimuth: 63 degrees.
Airplane sighted: 13 hours, 11 minutes.
Azimuth: 63 degrees.
Speed: Approximately 350 miles per hour.
Professor Tom Nesbitt and Col. John Evans,
military liaison, tensely wait.
The timing is perfect, thus far.
It is now H-hour minus 56 seconds.
Every man here knows his job.
He does it quickly, efficiently, silently.
The men are ready.
The equipment is ready.
It is now H-hour minus 52 seconds.
Operation Experiment to Y-3-4-7.
Operation Experiment to Y-3-4-7.
Over.
Y-3-4-7 to Operation Experiment.
Now leveling off.
Ground speed: 360.
Approaching IP.
IP means initial point.
The next 26 seconds will determine whether
these men have succeeded or failed.
Now we count the seconds.
Ten, nine, eight, seven, six...
...five, four, three, two, one.
Charlie, look!
Col. Evans, there's something
strange on the radar screen.
- What's the matter, Charlie?
- Right here, sir. A foreign object.
- It's gone.
- What's gone?
- I don't know, sir.
- It silhouetted like 500 tons, at least.
- Where is it, then?
- I don't know, sir.
- Are you sure we saw it?
- We saw something.
Maybe the shock tossed something in front
of the antenna. That must have been it.
Eight weeks of preparation,
and it's all over in a second.
Jack, when energy of that magnitude
is released, it's never over.
What the cumulative effects of these
atomic explosions and tests will be...
...only time can tell.
- You mean scientists can't tell?
The world's been here for millions of years.
Man's been walking upright for
a comparatively short time.
Mentally, we're still crawling.
This test will add to our knowledge.
Wouldn't you say so, Ritchie?
That's right.
Every time one of these goes off...
...I feel we're helping to write
the first chapter of a new Genesis.
Let's hope we don't find ourselves writing
the last chapter of the old one.
- You sound like a man who's scared, Tom.
- What makes you think I'm not?
Here are the figures, Tom.
We'll leave for the observation
post in about an hour.
- Good. Loomis?
- Yes, sir?
- Get the equipment ready.
- Yes, sir.
You gentlemen. The moment your Geiger
counters indicate heavy radiation, turn back.
Turn back? Colonel, we'll run back.
There isn't a hero in the crowd.
Post 16.
Shall we try to go around, sir?
No, wait here for us.
We'll go up on foot.
- What's your reading?
- 19.7. We'd better get out.
I'll check post 17. You take 18,
and I'll meet you back here.
Make it fast.
Sgt. Willistead.
What?
But they've gone on foot.
Okay.
What's the matter?
There's a blizzard coming up!
Tom!
Tom! Tom!
Tom!
Tom!
Tom, I can't move.
Something's wrong with my leg.
I'm coming down.
- Have they reported back yet?
- No, not yet. We're waiting.
Tom, Tom! Get out, Tom!
A monster!
- A prehistoric monster!
- Quiet, quiet. Don't struggle.
I'll get you out, George.
Don't worry.
Doc! Hey, doc!
Put him right over here.
- Give me my bag.
- Yes, sir.
And get some blankets
off those other beds.
How is he?
- Where's Professor Ritchie?
- Still missing, sir.
- What happened?
- We don't know.
We saw the flares and rushed to post 18.
The whole shore was breaking loose.
- We grabbed Nesbitt just in time.
- We never found Ritchie.
Colonel, we have to get Nesbitt
to a hospital in the States.
- He's in a bad way.
- Right.
Get word to the main base.
We want a plane right away.
Ritchie, I'll get you out.
I'll get you out.
The monster...
Hurry, it's coming!
Watch out, the monster!
The monster!
Hello, Professor Nesbitt.
How do you feel today?
Fine. Where is Col. Evans?
Did you reach Col. Evans?
He'll be here any minute now.
I'd like you to meet Dr. Ingersol.
He wants to ask you a few questions, if you
don't think it would be too hard on you.
- Questions?
- I'm a psychiatrist, Professor Nesbitt.
I thought together we might
get to the bottom of this.
You think I'm crazy too.
My story may sound fantastic, but...
Throughout history, people have claimed
that they've seen monsters.
There was the famous Loch Lomond
monster, you'll probably recall.
Then the green serpents
off the shores of Ireland.
But not one of them was ever caught
or even photographed.
I'm not inclined to let my imagination
run away with me. I'm a scientist.
All right.
Then it shouldn't be inconceivable to you...
...that the mind can withstand
just so much pressure.
The shock of seeing your friend dead,
your own predicament...
...was too much to bear. So that you
momentarily lost contact with reality.
It's a phenomenon which was
not uncommon during the war.
But Ritchie wasn't dead when
I got to him. He tried to warn me.
Two people don't share
the same hallucination.
Hello, Tom. How are you?
- Thawed out?
- Jack, I'm glad you're here.
I'm having a hard time convincing
them that I'm not an idiot.
I was in Washington making my report.
I was...
What did they say about the animal? I want
to be in on any expedition going after him.
Tom, I didn't tell them about the animal.
Why not?
It should've been in the report.
I went back to Post 18. I tried
to reconstruct what happened out there.
I couldn't find a thing.
No tracks. Nothing.
Nothing?
I'm sorry. I wish
I could say I saw something.
The blizzard.
There was a blizzard, remember?
The snow must have blown over
and covered everything.
- Check me out of here.
- You are in no condition to leave.
It's imperative that you have rest.
- How can I rest?
- I've encountered this sort of thing before.
You've undergone a tremendous shock.
You've got to stay in bed.
I see. And that makes it official?
I'm afraid it does.
So long. You do what the doctor says. We'll
get together when you're on your feet.
That won't be too long.
What about that sound I heard?
In your condition, it could have been
anything. The wind. Anything.
No wind ever made a sound like that.
Captain. Captain!
Are you daft, man?
- Good morning.
- Good morning.
What's going on
in our turbulent world today?
Oh, death and politics. The comic page
is the only thing that makes sense anymore.
I take it, then, that you advise
a dose of it after each meal?
- You quote me exactly.
- Then I'm gonna take your advice exactly.
Here it is.
Say.
Look at this!
That item is right where it belongs.
On the comic page.
And that's why I came here, Dr. Elson.
I felt if you heard my story,
you'd do something.
And what is it you think I can do?
Fit out an expedition,
institute a search.
The fitting out of an expedition requires
a great deal of attention to detail.
Such as time, personnel, money.
How can you talk about details
in the face of such a discovery?
I'm not a paleontologist, and I have
a desire to know more about this animal.
I thought you'd have
such a compelling curiosity...
...that nothing would stand in your way.
Professor Nesbitt,
after waiting for 30 years...
...l'm about to undertake
my first extended holiday.
I would throw aside my plans
if I thought there was...
...the slightest chance of what your
saying being possible. It isn't.
What about that newspaper item?
If all the items of seamen reporting
monsters were placed end on end...
...it'd reach to the moon, my boy.
You mean, I'm wasting your time?
Do you realize
you're asking me to believe...
...you saw a creature that would be
over 100 million years old?
But you said that 100 million years ago, the
water of the Mesozoic age turned to ice.
Isn't it possible that an animal
was trapped in that ice?
Caught in the freezing temperatures
and locked in.
Then when we released the bomb,
the heat generated melted the ice...
...in which this beast was imprisoned
and freed it?
Bringing it back to life
after 100 million years?
Couldn't it have been
in a state of hibernation?
Bears live through winters
under similar conditions.
That's quite true.
A bear does live off itself for one winter
from food accumulated within itself...
...but it's hard to believe an animal could
live for 100 million years off its own tissue.
To put it mildly, it would require
quite an appetite, don't you think?
I don't know if this will be of any help,
but you remember, doctor...
...a few years ago, an expedition unearthed
a herd of mastodons in the Siberian tundra.
Dead thousands of years, yet their fur
was still intact, the meat still edible.
That's quite right, my dear Lee.
But they weren't alive.
That's the important difference.
They weren't alive.
I'm sorry, professor, but in all honesty,
I can't support your story.
I guess I'll go back to the hospital.
Maybe I should ask for a transfer
to the psychopathic ward.
Nonsense.
It's not as bad as all that, my boy.
Thanks for listening, doctor.
When he first came to this country,
I attended his lectures...
...on the curative properties of the
radioactive isotope. He is a brilliant man.
Isn't his story in any way feasible?
No. And I'm sorry.
I'd rather like to help him.
I thought that little jaunt of yours last week
would knock you for a loop.
I can't find anything wrong with you.
I feel fine.
When do you think I can leave?
Any time's all right with us.
Don't go rushing to the North Pole again.
Keep fit and warm.
Take those vitamins I gave you.
This is your hour of mirth and melody.
They say music has charms
to soothe the savage beast.
They ought to try it
on these sea monsters.
From Canada comes word
of a second ship...
...destroyed by an enormous beast
according to Captain LeMay.
He really ought to stop smoking that stuff
and try Virginia Golds, because...
It shouldn't take me too long
to catch up.
- It's good to have you back.
- Thank you.
Anything else, Miss Ryan?
Oh, yes. There's Miss Lee Hunter
waiting to see you.
- Miss Lee Hunter?
- She's very pretty.
Send her in.
- How are you?
- Fine.
We met at the university.
I'm Dr. Elson's assistant.
Oh, yes, of course.
The verdict: A prehistoric animal
would be presumptuous to be alive today...
...and upset your neatly
cataloged theories.
I see you don't remember
I was a sympathetic bystander.
Oh, really? How come?
I have a deep, abiding faith in the work
of scientists. Otherwise I wouldn't be one.
- Won't you sit down?
- Thank you.
Sorry I can't offer you anything,
but everything around here is radioactive.
No, thank you, anyway.
When I was in the lab yesterday...
...I heard a report about a man who claimed
that his ship was sunk by a sea monster.
"If all the stories about sea monsters were
laid end to end, they'd reach the moon."
But two reports coming so close together...
What makes you think two are going to
convince anybody any more than one did?
Well, it convinced me.
It got me to thinking
it would be worthwhile investigating.
I've gathered all the sketches of the known
prehistoric animals. If you could identify...
Being considered crazy
has been quite an experience.
However, I wouldn't care
to go through it again.
Is this the man with the compelling
curiosity? Afraid of ridicule?
- I'm not afraid of ridicule.
- No?
But I'm afraid that's what it sounds like.
You said sketches of all the known animals?
What if it's an unknown one?
That's possible.
But we'll never really know
unless you look at them.
Oh, professor, think what it would mean
if you were right.
Five-minute break. It's coffee time.
Good. I need it.
Cream and sugar?
Better take both. I make coffee
strong enough to enter the Olympics.
- One or two?
- Two, please.
I never knew there were
so many prehistoric animals.
We haven't even reached
the Cretaceous Period yet.
I don't know if I could identify the beast
now if it looked through the window.
Maybe it's part imagination, after all.
Something I used to dream about
when I was a kid. Or read in fairy tales.
You're tired. Why don't you just relax
for a moment. Have a sandwich.
Thanks.
- Funny.
- What's funny?
Well, a girl like you, a paleontologist.
What's wrong with paleontology?
- Classifying old bones.
- Old bones?!
If we didn't study the past,
you wouldn't know about the atom.
Dr. Elson says, "Future
is the reflection of the past."
You're fond of Dr. Elson, aren't you?
How did you become his assistant?
I suppose by continually antagonizing him.
I was one of his students.
To hear him tell it, all I ever did
was challenge him or argue with him.
I was afraid he was going to expel me.
Instead, he asked me to be
his assistant after I graduated.
So I graduated, and here I am.
And here I am.
Between us, we span the ages.
You deal with the past, I with the future.
How uncomplicated the past was.
And how bright the future can be.
Let's get back to the present.
This might be it.
I'm not sure.
Not sure?
The head looks similar,
but the front legs are too short.
Wait a minute.
Is this any better?
Now, that's much more like it.
And what about this one?
That's the closest!
I think that is it.
Lee, I think that's the one I saw!
If two independent observers
saw the same thing...
If that captain in Canada
could identify the same sketch...
And tell his story to Dr. Elson.
"Capt. George LeMay,
Marquette, Canada"
- Operator.
- I want to make a long-distance call, please.
Person-to-person.
To Capt. George LeMay,
Marquette, Canada.
One moment, please.
- Charge this call to Circle 44771.
- Thank you.
It's my monster.
They're speaking French.
- Capt. LeMay is ready.
- Thank you.
Hello. Capt. LeMay?
My name is Tom Nesbitt.
I'm a scientist in New York.
I have some important questions
to ask you.
I don't speak English.
Captain?
- Hello. Capt. LeMay?
- I am sorry, but the captain has hung up.
He is unhappy when anybody mentions
his accident, because everyone laughs.
Please get the captain back.
I can't tell you how important this is.
I am sorry. He will not
speak to you again, I'm sure.
He is a stubborn old man. Perhaps a little
crazy. Especially on the subject of serpents.
They think he is crazy too.
- Well, it was a good try anyway.
- But good tries don't pay off.
Do you suppose if you went up there...
...you could make him understand
how important this is?
I could get a plane.
Phone me if anything exciting happens.
I'll phone you even if nothing happens.
You missed him
by not more than two hours.
I thought you might be able to tell me
where he went. His housekeeper wouldn't.
Capt. LeMay has been very touchy
since the sea serpent incident.
People felt he was a bit balmy.
They laughed at him. Too bad too.
The man had served well
and faithfully for years.
I believe a man has a right to a few nips
now and then, I always say.
- You don't believe his story?
- I said he was balmy, not me.
He let it get out that he was headed
for the interior of Canada...
...and was not going to stop until he hit
a spot that was uninhabited by white men.
A blooming hermit he wants to be.
He'll be back in less than a month.
I can't wait that long.
- Were there any other survivors?
- No.
- How far is it to St. Pierre?
- About 100 miles.
Are you going to see this other chap
who claims he saw it?
I say, you don't believe
in the sea serpent fable, do you?
What do you think I am, balmy?
Good evening, Jacob.
You look much better today.
A man is here.
A very great scientist from New York.
No, Sister. Take him away.
I want no one near me.
He went to so much trouble to find you.
Why?
He says it is very important.
It's about the beast you saw.
Tell him to leave me alone!
Tell him I saw nothing!
Tell him I know nothing!
Tell him it's all in my head!
That's what everybody says.
Except me, Jacob.
- Who are you?
- I saw the beast too.
You saw him?
- You're not playing jokes on me?
- No, I'm not playing any jokes.
People called me crazy too.
It stays in my mind always.
I'll never forget it.
In New York, there are scientists,
friends of mine, who will listen and believe.
Jacob, will you come to New York
with me?
- Is he well enough to travel?
- I will ask the doctor.
There's something very compensating
in having to wait 30 years for a holiday.
Because when it finally comes...
...the joy of anticipation is multiplied
by just that many years.
I feel like a schoolboy on the verge
of departing for my first summer camp.
Oh, by the way, that reminds me, our young
nuclear physicist appears to be delayed.
He'll be here any minute.
Shouldn't take him long from the airport.
Mesozoic animal alive today.
I can lose my job and my reputation
listening to such nonsense.
However, I won't allow my personal opinion
to interfere with a possible romance.
Don't change the subject.
You're just being stubborn.
Am I?
Now, just you listen to this.
It's something that I read this morning.
"On the 21 st of October, in the year 1797,
one Professor Gordon Laughton...
...was forcibly removed,
by order of the Crown...
...from his chair of science
at the University of Edinburgh.
He was firmly convinced
that leprechauns were responsible...
...for the uprooting
of the ancient campus oak.
Even swearing upon oath
that he had seen them remove it."
So, you see, today,
it's monsters instead of leprechauns.
How certain are you
there were no leprechauns?
Hello, Lee.
I don't recall this Dr. Laughton,
but what about Galileo?
He said the earth was round.
They made him recant.
However, the earth is round. And there is
a monster. And I think I can convince you.
- Is this your sailor witness?
- Yes, sir.
Jacob Bowman, the helmsman of the
fishing boat Fortune. Dr. Elson, Miss Hunter.
- So you saw the monster too?
- Yes, sir.
Go ahead, my dear.
This is your experiment.
Jacob, I want you to look through those
sketches and pick out the one you saw.
You don't think this is
a waste of time?
Several days ago
at Miss Hunter's apartment...
...I picked out the sketch of the beast
I saw. It's right in that batch.
But, unfortunately, in paleontology,
the empirical system of logic isn't enough.
It isn't a question of empirics.
If a particle of the sun broke off
and flew into space...
...I wouldn't consider the man
who brought that news to be insane.
As a scientist, I would
examine every facet of it.
Yes, but if a particle of the sun were to
break off, 100 million people would see it.
If it broke off, it would make no difference
if one saw it or no one at all.
It would still be.
The same with the monster. It still is.
Perhaps I'm getting old.
Now, Jacob, you must be quite sure
about this creature you claim to have seen.
There must be no doubt in your mind.
If it's here, I'll know it.
- That.
- That's the one I picked.
It's the rhedosaurus,
extinct for 100 million years.
- A hundred million years?
- Yes.
And the direct ancestor
of that little lady there.
Only twice the size, according to theory.
The only fossils of its species
ever discovered...
...were found in a drag of the Hudson
submarine canyons.
A hundred and fifty miles
from New York.
Didn't Professor Edmonds
write a paper on that just last year?
Yes.
Yes.
If we could only be sure,
without a shadow of a doubt...
What further proof do you need?
Things have happened again and again,
and they'll continue.
I tried to get the authorities to keep
the coastline under close watch...
...they wouldn't listen to me.
- They'll listen this time.
Get them on the phone.
I'll talk to them.
Thanks.
Col. Evans, please.
Jack.
Tom Nesbitt.
I feel great.
That hallucination of mine...
...the one that everybody
was having such a good laugh about?
Well, I've got proof the monster exists.
Now, Tom, let's not start that again.
What?
I can just see myself requesting permission
to seek out a prehistoric monster.
Eagles on a straitjacket
are not regulation uniform.
I'm here at the university with Dr. Elson,
the foremost paleontologist in the world.
Just a moment.
He wants to talk to you.
Col. Evans. This is Dr. Elson.
I'm convinced that Professor Nesbitt
is onto something.
There have been all kinds of stories.
Stories of sea serpents...
...stories of the world coming to an end,
stories of flying saucers.
What makes you so sure
there are no flying saucers?
Nevertheless, I'm convinced that by some
strange trick of chance, this creature exists.
And I'm prepared to stake
my reputation on it.
I'm sure you know
what you're talking about, doctor...
...but it would look foolish
if we stick our neck out.
Will you promise if any reports come in,
you'll let us know?
I've got a friend in the Coast Guard.
I'll drop in to see him.
If he's heard of anything,
I'll get in touch with you. Okay?
Thank you, colonel.
We'll appreciate it.
He's going to check and let us know.
- We can't just sit around.
- I'm afraid there's nothing else we can do.
But wait.
I heard a new song at the tavern
the other day.
Something about gin and wild women.
- How'd it go?
- Oh, I don't remember.
I stuck five nickels in the box
to hear it again...
...and the thing busted down.
You know me, I couldn't carry a tune
in a bushel basket.
I like the ballads. The old ones that warm
you even when the fog is a foot thick.
Did you hear that?
Come in.
That's all.
- Jack, how are you?
- Phil, at this moment, I don't know.
Well, sit down. Sit down.
I haven't seen you
since the last Army-Navy game.
What a game that was.
What's the problem?
AEC getting you down?
- No, not at all.
- Good.
Stick around. I'll be through
in a minute. We'll go to the club.
Phil, here it is straight.
One of the scientists in the last polar test
claims he saw a monster.
The dean of the College of Natural History
believes him.
Then who am I to doubt it? Are you
trying to get a Section 8 discharge?
A neurotic colonel.
These scientists claim that this monster
or beast, this prehistoric thing...
...and if you laugh, I'll brain you,
is romping around the North Atlantic.
I guess you'll have to brain me.
You're nuts!
Anyway, that's what they say.
Look, Phil. Would you do me a favor?
Check around to see if there have been any
reports of any freak or unusual happenings.
- Are you on the level?
- Lf standing on my head's on the level, I am.
You certainly sound serious.
All right, I'll check.
But so help me, if this is a practical joke...
I'll die laughing.
Well, that's it.
No storm, no earthquake, nothing...
...but that lighthouse
was destroyed completely.
Were there any other
unexplained happenings?
Yes. Coast Guard station 37
reported minor shore wreckage...
...along the Massachusetts coast.
Several isolated buildings were destroyed.
And a farmer was found
crushed to death.
There's a certain inexorable chronology
in these disasters.
I don't follow you, doctor.
Tom first saw the rhedosaurus
near Baffin Bay.
While his latest presumed presence
was off the coast of Massachusetts.
- May I look at your chart, captain?
- Of course.
Now, first...
...north of Baffin Bay.
Second, the fishing ketch Fortune
was wrecked here...
...off the Grand Banks.
And another one attacked
shortly thereafter.
Here. Nova Scotia.
Third, the lighthouse
off the coast of Maine.
Fourth, unexplained wreckage
off the coast of Massachusetts.
You'll notice we've been following
the Arctic Current all the way down.
So it's just possible that he might
be making for here.
It was in these submerged canyons that
the only fossils of his species were found.
We could mine those canyons.
And kill the rhedosaurus? Oh, no.
Think what a loss to science
that would be. Oh, no.
But to capture it alive
would be an achievement.
How do you propose to capture it,
if it exists?
I don't know. But if we ascertain
it's down there in the canyons...
...l'll have to go see it before I decide
upon a method of capture.
That's much too dangerous.
Yes, but then the risk would be worth it
when one thinks of the benefit to science.
Captain, is it possible to obtain
the use of a diving bell?
- You really want to go down there?
- Yes.
I can get a diving bell.
What do you think, Jack?
Everything else checks out.
If he can get it, let's move.
Thank you.
I still don't see how he's gonna find it.
This canyon is 100 miles long.
As I understand it, he plans to drop down
at a different spot every hour till he finds it.
Hear this. Hear this. We are now ready
to make the dive at position number one.
I don't like the idea of you going
with just one man.
That's capacity. If there's any danger,
my crewman will know what to do.
- I brought your Dramamine.
- No, thank you.
I'm much too excited to get seasick.
Are you ready, Dr. Elson?
Remember, at the first sign
of danger, signal us.
Why will you persist
in talking about danger?
The rhedosaurus and I are old friends.
- Good luck, doctor.
- Thank you.
- Here you are, sir.
- Thank you.
Don't look so worried, Lee.
We're scientists.
This is our job.
This is a great moment for me.
Everything shipshape in there?
Splendid, thank you.
All the comforts of home. Lower away.
Hoist away.
Is there anything I have to do?
Oh, no, sir.
You just relax and enjoy the scenery.
This is such a strange feeling.
I feel I am leaving
a world of untold tomorrows...
...for a world of countless yesterdays.
Lee was right. I should have brought
the Dramamine pills.
This is all very frustrating. I do hope all
our endeavors are not going to be in vain.
- Thank you.
- You're welcome, doctor.
We are having coffee now.
And some visitors.
There appears to be a difference of opinion
between two of the local inhabitants.
There he is!
It's unbelievable.
He's tremendous.
I can only see part of him...
...the leg and the shoulder,
but he is enormous.
He found it.
Shall we pull you up?
No! No! No, put Lee on.
He wants to talk to you.
Yes, doctor.
Lee, there's no mistake about it.
It's a Paleolithic survival.
It's exactly as we pictured it except
the dorsal is singular, not bilateral.
The clavicle suspension
appears to be cantileveric.
But the most
astonishing thing about it is...
He doesn't answer.
- Get him up.
- Raise the bell.
We're pulling you up!
Dr. Elson!
Can you hear me? Answer me!
The line is dead.
Well, the report has been turned in.
The National Guard and Coast Guard
have been alerted. Evans is in charge.
This was being packed
for a very different reason.
What can I say?
I should have gone down instead of him.
I am to blame.
Nobody is to blame.
And everybody is to blame.
We all did what we thought was right.
But that doesn't bring him
through the door again.
With his funny little walk,
and that wonderful smile.
This place seems so empty.
He used to putter around with the
specimens and call them pet names.
His death was so futile.
He went down in that bell
because it was part of his job.
He used those same words just before...
Oh, Tom.
It's coming up Nassau Street toward Pine.
Get some help fast!
New York is like a city besieged.
A state of emergency
has been declared...
...and the entire police force
put on 24-hour duty.
Civilian defense is fully mobilized...
...and shelters have been opened
in an effort to stop the mounting hysteria.
All traffic has been halted.
And Times Square, the heart
of New York, has stopped beating.
The National Guard has been called out,
fully armed, to repel the invader.
This is full-scale war
against a terrible enemy...
...such as modern man
has never before faced.
Ordinary bullets have no effect...
...and a method of destroying the awesome
creature has not yet been formulated.
But the battlefield has been cleared.
Herald Square.
34th Street.
Broadway.
Every section of the city is guarded.
No one knows where the monster
will strike next.
It was last seen on Wall Street,
close to where it came ashore.
But lower Manhattan has become
no man's land...
...where the beast, at present,
lies hidden.
The National Guard
is barricading the area...
...in an effort to confine
the death and destruction...
...of what is already the worst disaster
in New York's history.
A screen here.
105 temperature.
Here's the blood specimen.
Get it to the laboratory quickly.
I'm afraid, Sam.
I am afraid of what that creature
has brought to us. Deadly afraid.
- Think you can place it between his eyes?
- We can try, sir.
- Fire when ready, corporal.
- Yes, sir.
His skull...
...it's at least 8 inches thick.
- Another one, colonel?
- No.
It would take a 3-inch shell
to penetrate that skull.
Bazooka squad, prepare to fire.
The high-voltage wires,
it's gonna touch them!
Bazooka men, fire!
Under the neck,
when he raises his head again.
Get those emergency search lights on!
We're working on it.
Sergeant. Sergeant!
- What is it?
- Blood.
Give me the walkie-talkie.
Col. Evans.
Col. Evans?
Sgt. Wyntoni.
Now, look,
proceed with extreme caution.
Wounded, the animal might be twice
as dangerous as before.
There's a possibility the animal
might've headed for the river.
We'll have all shore batteries alerted
and naval patrol vessels.
Get me a command car!
- Col. Evans speaking, go ahead.
- Look, colonel...
...something's funny.
Most of the detail, they're...
Well, they're out.
Out on their feet, sir.
Have your sergeant contact the medics.
And report to Capt. Mitchell.
Your car is ready, sir.
Have the medical officer report
to me...
...at area command.
- Yes, sir.
He is reported somewhere
in the lower bay area.
- Battery A in position zero.
- Battery A into position zero.
- Report radar findings.
- Report radar finding.
Sounding harbor bottom.
Sounding harbor bottom.
- Activate mines, numbers 8 to 24.
- Activate mines, numbers 8 to 24.
What's the situation, major?
We're sounding the harbor bottom.
No indications yet, sir.
Charting room. Col. Evans?
Majors, there's a call here
for Col. Evans.
This is Evans speaking.
Who?
Oh, yes. Hello, doctor.
Colonel, they've already brought in over 50
of your men and the people this afternoon.
The monster's a giant germ-carrier
of a horrible, virulent disease.
Contact with the animal's blood
can be fatal.
If you use shell-fire, who knows how
far the air will spread the particles of it.
- The entire city can be endangered.
- Right, doctor.
- Have the anti-submarine nets been raised?
- No, sir.
Order them raised.
- Raise the anti-submarine nets.
- Raise the anti-submarine nets.
Flamethrowers would've cremated
the beast and the plague with it.
Flamethrowers? The smoke would have
carried the blood particles just as far.
No, it will have to be reduced
so that not even a cinder would remain.
Any reports yet, major?
No signs yet, colonel.
He may be dying at the bottom.
We'll set the drags in the morning.
Attention! Monster ashore at Manhattan
Beach, heading towards amusement area.
- On land?
- I thought we had him in a corner pocket.
Jack, there's only one way
to beat him.
How?
Radioactive isotope.
Shoot it into him and destroy
all that diseased tissue.
Keep your men alerted.
But nobody's to fire unless ordered to.
Yes, sir.
How soon, Tom?
Should be any minute now.
Wait for us here.
- I'm Professor Nesbitt.
- We've got your baby, professor.
Good.
- We need your best marksman, Jack.
- Right.
Have him get into these.
Here's your man, Tom.
- Colonel says you need a dead shot, mister.
- Yes.
- Ever use a grenade rifle?
- Pick my teeth with it.
Good.
You know what
a radioactive isotope is?
- No, but if it can be loaded, I can fire it.
- I'll load it.
Just remember one thing:
It has to be shot into the wound.
And you have to make it
the first time.
This is the only isotope of its kind this
side of Oak Ridge, so you can't miss.
Let's get to the target.
I can't hit him from here, mister.
- Ever ride one of those things?
- Yes, sir.
Jack! Get somebody over here
who can operate that roller coaster!
We want to get to the top
in one of those cars.
Right!
- Put your hood on.
- Yes, sir.
[Rip by Talorg]
A secret base far north of the Arctic Circle.
Experiment was the code name for this
top-priority scientific expedition.
These men arrived here on X-day minus 60.
It has taken them the full
two months to get ready.
Today is X-day.
It is now H-hour minus 59 minutes.
There is less than an hour left.
The plane must arrive at its rendezvous
200 miles away in exactly 58 minutes.
There can be no margin for error.
There can be no second chance.
This is the rendezvous. The forward
observation post where scientists...
...and their aides double-check equipment
and wait for the plane's approach.
It is now H-hour minus 81 seconds.
At H-hour minus 75 seconds,
the radar antenna flashes the word.
There it is! Azimuth: 63 degrees.
Airplane sighted: 13 hours, 11 minutes.
Azimuth: 63 degrees.
Speed: Approximately 350 miles per hour.
Professor Tom Nesbitt and Col. John Evans,
military liaison, tensely wait.
The timing is perfect, thus far.
It is now H-hour minus 56 seconds.
Every man here knows his job.
He does it quickly, efficiently, silently.
The men are ready.
The equipment is ready.
It is now H-hour minus 52 seconds.
Operation Experiment to Y-3-4-7.
Operation Experiment to Y-3-4-7.
Over.
Y-3-4-7 to Operation Experiment.
Now leveling off.
Ground speed: 360.
Approaching IP.
IP means initial point.
The next 26 seconds will determine whether
these men have succeeded or failed.
Now we count the seconds.
Ten, nine, eight, seven, six...
...five, four, three, two, one.
Charlie, look!
Col. Evans, there's something
strange on the radar screen.
- What's the matter, Charlie?
- Right here, sir. A foreign object.
- It's gone.
- What's gone?
- I don't know, sir.
- It silhouetted like 500 tons, at least.
- Where is it, then?
- I don't know, sir.
- Are you sure we saw it?
- We saw something.
Maybe the shock tossed something in front
of the antenna. That must have been it.
Eight weeks of preparation,
and it's all over in a second.
Jack, when energy of that magnitude
is released, it's never over.
What the cumulative effects of these
atomic explosions and tests will be...
...only time can tell.
- You mean scientists can't tell?
The world's been here for millions of years.
Man's been walking upright for
a comparatively short time.
Mentally, we're still crawling.
This test will add to our knowledge.
Wouldn't you say so, Ritchie?
That's right.
Every time one of these goes off...
...I feel we're helping to write
the first chapter of a new Genesis.
Let's hope we don't find ourselves writing
the last chapter of the old one.
- You sound like a man who's scared, Tom.
- What makes you think I'm not?
Here are the figures, Tom.
We'll leave for the observation
post in about an hour.
- Good. Loomis?
- Yes, sir?
- Get the equipment ready.
- Yes, sir.
You gentlemen. The moment your Geiger
counters indicate heavy radiation, turn back.
Turn back? Colonel, we'll run back.
There isn't a hero in the crowd.
Post 16.
Shall we try to go around, sir?
No, wait here for us.
We'll go up on foot.
- What's your reading?
- 19.7. We'd better get out.
I'll check post 17. You take 18,
and I'll meet you back here.
Make it fast.
Sgt. Willistead.
What?
But they've gone on foot.
Okay.
What's the matter?
There's a blizzard coming up!
Tom!
Tom! Tom!
Tom!
Tom!
Tom, I can't move.
Something's wrong with my leg.
I'm coming down.
- Have they reported back yet?
- No, not yet. We're waiting.
Tom, Tom! Get out, Tom!
A monster!
- A prehistoric monster!
- Quiet, quiet. Don't struggle.
I'll get you out, George.
Don't worry.
Doc! Hey, doc!
Put him right over here.
- Give me my bag.
- Yes, sir.
And get some blankets
off those other beds.
How is he?
- Where's Professor Ritchie?
- Still missing, sir.
- What happened?
- We don't know.
We saw the flares and rushed to post 18.
The whole shore was breaking loose.
- We grabbed Nesbitt just in time.
- We never found Ritchie.
Colonel, we have to get Nesbitt
to a hospital in the States.
- He's in a bad way.
- Right.
Get word to the main base.
We want a plane right away.
Ritchie, I'll get you out.
I'll get you out.
The monster...
Hurry, it's coming!
Watch out, the monster!
The monster!
Hello, Professor Nesbitt.
How do you feel today?
Fine. Where is Col. Evans?
Did you reach Col. Evans?
He'll be here any minute now.
I'd like you to meet Dr. Ingersol.
He wants to ask you a few questions, if you
don't think it would be too hard on you.
- Questions?
- I'm a psychiatrist, Professor Nesbitt.
I thought together we might
get to the bottom of this.
You think I'm crazy too.
My story may sound fantastic, but...
Throughout history, people have claimed
that they've seen monsters.
There was the famous Loch Lomond
monster, you'll probably recall.
Then the green serpents
off the shores of Ireland.
But not one of them was ever caught
or even photographed.
I'm not inclined to let my imagination
run away with me. I'm a scientist.
All right.
Then it shouldn't be inconceivable to you...
...that the mind can withstand
just so much pressure.
The shock of seeing your friend dead,
your own predicament...
...was too much to bear. So that you
momentarily lost contact with reality.
It's a phenomenon which was
not uncommon during the war.
But Ritchie wasn't dead when
I got to him. He tried to warn me.
Two people don't share
the same hallucination.
Hello, Tom. How are you?
- Thawed out?
- Jack, I'm glad you're here.
I'm having a hard time convincing
them that I'm not an idiot.
I was in Washington making my report.
I was...
What did they say about the animal? I want
to be in on any expedition going after him.
Tom, I didn't tell them about the animal.
Why not?
It should've been in the report.
I went back to Post 18. I tried
to reconstruct what happened out there.
I couldn't find a thing.
No tracks. Nothing.
Nothing?
I'm sorry. I wish
I could say I saw something.
The blizzard.
There was a blizzard, remember?
The snow must have blown over
and covered everything.
- Check me out of here.
- You are in no condition to leave.
It's imperative that you have rest.
- How can I rest?
- I've encountered this sort of thing before.
You've undergone a tremendous shock.
You've got to stay in bed.
I see. And that makes it official?
I'm afraid it does.
So long. You do what the doctor says. We'll
get together when you're on your feet.
That won't be too long.
What about that sound I heard?
In your condition, it could have been
anything. The wind. Anything.
No wind ever made a sound like that.
Captain. Captain!
Are you daft, man?
- Good morning.
- Good morning.
What's going on
in our turbulent world today?
Oh, death and politics. The comic page
is the only thing that makes sense anymore.
I take it, then, that you advise
a dose of it after each meal?
- You quote me exactly.
- Then I'm gonna take your advice exactly.
Here it is.
Say.
Look at this!
That item is right where it belongs.
On the comic page.
And that's why I came here, Dr. Elson.
I felt if you heard my story,
you'd do something.
And what is it you think I can do?
Fit out an expedition,
institute a search.
The fitting out of an expedition requires
a great deal of attention to detail.
Such as time, personnel, money.
How can you talk about details
in the face of such a discovery?
I'm not a paleontologist, and I have
a desire to know more about this animal.
I thought you'd have
such a compelling curiosity...
...that nothing would stand in your way.
Professor Nesbitt,
after waiting for 30 years...
...l'm about to undertake
my first extended holiday.
I would throw aside my plans
if I thought there was...
...the slightest chance of what your
saying being possible. It isn't.
What about that newspaper item?
If all the items of seamen reporting
monsters were placed end on end...
...it'd reach to the moon, my boy.
You mean, I'm wasting your time?
Do you realize
you're asking me to believe...
...you saw a creature that would be
over 100 million years old?
But you said that 100 million years ago, the
water of the Mesozoic age turned to ice.
Isn't it possible that an animal
was trapped in that ice?
Caught in the freezing temperatures
and locked in.
Then when we released the bomb,
the heat generated melted the ice...
...in which this beast was imprisoned
and freed it?
Bringing it back to life
after 100 million years?
Couldn't it have been
in a state of hibernation?
Bears live through winters
under similar conditions.
That's quite true.
A bear does live off itself for one winter
from food accumulated within itself...
...but it's hard to believe an animal could
live for 100 million years off its own tissue.
To put it mildly, it would require
quite an appetite, don't you think?
I don't know if this will be of any help,
but you remember, doctor...
...a few years ago, an expedition unearthed
a herd of mastodons in the Siberian tundra.
Dead thousands of years, yet their fur
was still intact, the meat still edible.
That's quite right, my dear Lee.
But they weren't alive.
That's the important difference.
They weren't alive.
I'm sorry, professor, but in all honesty,
I can't support your story.
I guess I'll go back to the hospital.
Maybe I should ask for a transfer
to the psychopathic ward.
Nonsense.
It's not as bad as all that, my boy.
Thanks for listening, doctor.
When he first came to this country,
I attended his lectures...
...on the curative properties of the
radioactive isotope. He is a brilliant man.
Isn't his story in any way feasible?
No. And I'm sorry.
I'd rather like to help him.
I thought that little jaunt of yours last week
would knock you for a loop.
I can't find anything wrong with you.
I feel fine.
When do you think I can leave?
Any time's all right with us.
Don't go rushing to the North Pole again.
Keep fit and warm.
Take those vitamins I gave you.
This is your hour of mirth and melody.
They say music has charms
to soothe the savage beast.
They ought to try it
on these sea monsters.
From Canada comes word
of a second ship...
...destroyed by an enormous beast
according to Captain LeMay.
He really ought to stop smoking that stuff
and try Virginia Golds, because...
It shouldn't take me too long
to catch up.
- It's good to have you back.
- Thank you.
Anything else, Miss Ryan?
Oh, yes. There's Miss Lee Hunter
waiting to see you.
- Miss Lee Hunter?
- She's very pretty.
Send her in.
- How are you?
- Fine.
We met at the university.
I'm Dr. Elson's assistant.
Oh, yes, of course.
The verdict: A prehistoric animal
would be presumptuous to be alive today...
...and upset your neatly
cataloged theories.
I see you don't remember
I was a sympathetic bystander.
Oh, really? How come?
I have a deep, abiding faith in the work
of scientists. Otherwise I wouldn't be one.
- Won't you sit down?
- Thank you.
Sorry I can't offer you anything,
but everything around here is radioactive.
No, thank you, anyway.
When I was in the lab yesterday...
...I heard a report about a man who claimed
that his ship was sunk by a sea monster.
"If all the stories about sea monsters were
laid end to end, they'd reach the moon."
But two reports coming so close together...
What makes you think two are going to
convince anybody any more than one did?
Well, it convinced me.
It got me to thinking
it would be worthwhile investigating.
I've gathered all the sketches of the known
prehistoric animals. If you could identify...
Being considered crazy
has been quite an experience.
However, I wouldn't care
to go through it again.
Is this the man with the compelling
curiosity? Afraid of ridicule?
- I'm not afraid of ridicule.
- No?
But I'm afraid that's what it sounds like.
You said sketches of all the known animals?
What if it's an unknown one?
That's possible.
But we'll never really know
unless you look at them.
Oh, professor, think what it would mean
if you were right.
Five-minute break. It's coffee time.
Good. I need it.
Cream and sugar?
Better take both. I make coffee
strong enough to enter the Olympics.
- One or two?
- Two, please.
I never knew there were
so many prehistoric animals.
We haven't even reached
the Cretaceous Period yet.
I don't know if I could identify the beast
now if it looked through the window.
Maybe it's part imagination, after all.
Something I used to dream about
when I was a kid. Or read in fairy tales.
You're tired. Why don't you just relax
for a moment. Have a sandwich.
Thanks.
- Funny.
- What's funny?
Well, a girl like you, a paleontologist.
What's wrong with paleontology?
- Classifying old bones.
- Old bones?!
If we didn't study the past,
you wouldn't know about the atom.
Dr. Elson says, "Future
is the reflection of the past."
You're fond of Dr. Elson, aren't you?
How did you become his assistant?
I suppose by continually antagonizing him.
I was one of his students.
To hear him tell it, all I ever did
was challenge him or argue with him.
I was afraid he was going to expel me.
Instead, he asked me to be
his assistant after I graduated.
So I graduated, and here I am.
And here I am.
Between us, we span the ages.
You deal with the past, I with the future.
How uncomplicated the past was.
And how bright the future can be.
Let's get back to the present.
This might be it.
I'm not sure.
Not sure?
The head looks similar,
but the front legs are too short.
Wait a minute.
Is this any better?
Now, that's much more like it.
And what about this one?
That's the closest!
I think that is it.
Lee, I think that's the one I saw!
If two independent observers
saw the same thing...
If that captain in Canada
could identify the same sketch...
And tell his story to Dr. Elson.
"Capt. George LeMay,
Marquette, Canada"
- Operator.
- I want to make a long-distance call, please.
Person-to-person.
To Capt. George LeMay,
Marquette, Canada.
One moment, please.
- Charge this call to Circle 44771.
- Thank you.
It's my monster.
They're speaking French.
- Capt. LeMay is ready.
- Thank you.
Hello. Capt. LeMay?
My name is Tom Nesbitt.
I'm a scientist in New York.
I have some important questions
to ask you.
I don't speak English.
Captain?
- Hello. Capt. LeMay?
- I am sorry, but the captain has hung up.
He is unhappy when anybody mentions
his accident, because everyone laughs.
Please get the captain back.
I can't tell you how important this is.
I am sorry. He will not
speak to you again, I'm sure.
He is a stubborn old man. Perhaps a little
crazy. Especially on the subject of serpents.
They think he is crazy too.
- Well, it was a good try anyway.
- But good tries don't pay off.
Do you suppose if you went up there...
...you could make him understand
how important this is?
I could get a plane.
Phone me if anything exciting happens.
I'll phone you even if nothing happens.
You missed him
by not more than two hours.
I thought you might be able to tell me
where he went. His housekeeper wouldn't.
Capt. LeMay has been very touchy
since the sea serpent incident.
People felt he was a bit balmy.
They laughed at him. Too bad too.
The man had served well
and faithfully for years.
I believe a man has a right to a few nips
now and then, I always say.
- You don't believe his story?
- I said he was balmy, not me.
He let it get out that he was headed
for the interior of Canada...
...and was not going to stop until he hit
a spot that was uninhabited by white men.
A blooming hermit he wants to be.
He'll be back in less than a month.
I can't wait that long.
- Were there any other survivors?
- No.
- How far is it to St. Pierre?
- About 100 miles.
Are you going to see this other chap
who claims he saw it?
I say, you don't believe
in the sea serpent fable, do you?
What do you think I am, balmy?
Good evening, Jacob.
You look much better today.
A man is here.
A very great scientist from New York.
No, Sister. Take him away.
I want no one near me.
He went to so much trouble to find you.
Why?
He says it is very important.
It's about the beast you saw.
Tell him to leave me alone!
Tell him I saw nothing!
Tell him I know nothing!
Tell him it's all in my head!
That's what everybody says.
Except me, Jacob.
- Who are you?
- I saw the beast too.
You saw him?
- You're not playing jokes on me?
- No, I'm not playing any jokes.
People called me crazy too.
It stays in my mind always.
I'll never forget it.
In New York, there are scientists,
friends of mine, who will listen and believe.
Jacob, will you come to New York
with me?
- Is he well enough to travel?
- I will ask the doctor.
There's something very compensating
in having to wait 30 years for a holiday.
Because when it finally comes...
...the joy of anticipation is multiplied
by just that many years.
I feel like a schoolboy on the verge
of departing for my first summer camp.
Oh, by the way, that reminds me, our young
nuclear physicist appears to be delayed.
He'll be here any minute.
Shouldn't take him long from the airport.
Mesozoic animal alive today.
I can lose my job and my reputation
listening to such nonsense.
However, I won't allow my personal opinion
to interfere with a possible romance.
Don't change the subject.
You're just being stubborn.
Am I?
Now, just you listen to this.
It's something that I read this morning.
"On the 21 st of October, in the year 1797,
one Professor Gordon Laughton...
...was forcibly removed,
by order of the Crown...
...from his chair of science
at the University of Edinburgh.
He was firmly convinced
that leprechauns were responsible...
...for the uprooting
of the ancient campus oak.
Even swearing upon oath
that he had seen them remove it."
So, you see, today,
it's monsters instead of leprechauns.
How certain are you
there were no leprechauns?
Hello, Lee.
I don't recall this Dr. Laughton,
but what about Galileo?
He said the earth was round.
They made him recant.
However, the earth is round. And there is
a monster. And I think I can convince you.
- Is this your sailor witness?
- Yes, sir.
Jacob Bowman, the helmsman of the
fishing boat Fortune. Dr. Elson, Miss Hunter.
- So you saw the monster too?
- Yes, sir.
Go ahead, my dear.
This is your experiment.
Jacob, I want you to look through those
sketches and pick out the one you saw.
You don't think this is
a waste of time?
Several days ago
at Miss Hunter's apartment...
...I picked out the sketch of the beast
I saw. It's right in that batch.
But, unfortunately, in paleontology,
the empirical system of logic isn't enough.
It isn't a question of empirics.
If a particle of the sun broke off
and flew into space...
...I wouldn't consider the man
who brought that news to be insane.
As a scientist, I would
examine every facet of it.
Yes, but if a particle of the sun were to
break off, 100 million people would see it.
If it broke off, it would make no difference
if one saw it or no one at all.
It would still be.
The same with the monster. It still is.
Perhaps I'm getting old.
Now, Jacob, you must be quite sure
about this creature you claim to have seen.
There must be no doubt in your mind.
If it's here, I'll know it.
- That.
- That's the one I picked.
It's the rhedosaurus,
extinct for 100 million years.
- A hundred million years?
- Yes.
And the direct ancestor
of that little lady there.
Only twice the size, according to theory.
The only fossils of its species
ever discovered...
...were found in a drag of the Hudson
submarine canyons.
A hundred and fifty miles
from New York.
Didn't Professor Edmonds
write a paper on that just last year?
Yes.
Yes.
If we could only be sure,
without a shadow of a doubt...
What further proof do you need?
Things have happened again and again,
and they'll continue.
I tried to get the authorities to keep
the coastline under close watch...
...they wouldn't listen to me.
- They'll listen this time.
Get them on the phone.
I'll talk to them.
Thanks.
Col. Evans, please.
Jack.
Tom Nesbitt.
I feel great.
That hallucination of mine...
...the one that everybody
was having such a good laugh about?
Well, I've got proof the monster exists.
Now, Tom, let's not start that again.
What?
I can just see myself requesting permission
to seek out a prehistoric monster.
Eagles on a straitjacket
are not regulation uniform.
I'm here at the university with Dr. Elson,
the foremost paleontologist in the world.
Just a moment.
He wants to talk to you.
Col. Evans. This is Dr. Elson.
I'm convinced that Professor Nesbitt
is onto something.
There have been all kinds of stories.
Stories of sea serpents...
...stories of the world coming to an end,
stories of flying saucers.
What makes you so sure
there are no flying saucers?
Nevertheless, I'm convinced that by some
strange trick of chance, this creature exists.
And I'm prepared to stake
my reputation on it.
I'm sure you know
what you're talking about, doctor...
...but it would look foolish
if we stick our neck out.
Will you promise if any reports come in,
you'll let us know?
I've got a friend in the Coast Guard.
I'll drop in to see him.
If he's heard of anything,
I'll get in touch with you. Okay?
Thank you, colonel.
We'll appreciate it.
He's going to check and let us know.
- We can't just sit around.
- I'm afraid there's nothing else we can do.
But wait.
I heard a new song at the tavern
the other day.
Something about gin and wild women.
- How'd it go?
- Oh, I don't remember.
I stuck five nickels in the box
to hear it again...
...and the thing busted down.
You know me, I couldn't carry a tune
in a bushel basket.
I like the ballads. The old ones that warm
you even when the fog is a foot thick.
Did you hear that?
Come in.
That's all.
- Jack, how are you?
- Phil, at this moment, I don't know.
Well, sit down. Sit down.
I haven't seen you
since the last Army-Navy game.
What a game that was.
What's the problem?
AEC getting you down?
- No, not at all.
- Good.
Stick around. I'll be through
in a minute. We'll go to the club.
Phil, here it is straight.
One of the scientists in the last polar test
claims he saw a monster.
The dean of the College of Natural History
believes him.
Then who am I to doubt it? Are you
trying to get a Section 8 discharge?
A neurotic colonel.
These scientists claim that this monster
or beast, this prehistoric thing...
...and if you laugh, I'll brain you,
is romping around the North Atlantic.
I guess you'll have to brain me.
You're nuts!
Anyway, that's what they say.
Look, Phil. Would you do me a favor?
Check around to see if there have been any
reports of any freak or unusual happenings.
- Are you on the level?
- Lf standing on my head's on the level, I am.
You certainly sound serious.
All right, I'll check.
But so help me, if this is a practical joke...
I'll die laughing.
Well, that's it.
No storm, no earthquake, nothing...
...but that lighthouse
was destroyed completely.
Were there any other
unexplained happenings?
Yes. Coast Guard station 37
reported minor shore wreckage...
...along the Massachusetts coast.
Several isolated buildings were destroyed.
And a farmer was found
crushed to death.
There's a certain inexorable chronology
in these disasters.
I don't follow you, doctor.
Tom first saw the rhedosaurus
near Baffin Bay.
While his latest presumed presence
was off the coast of Massachusetts.
- May I look at your chart, captain?
- Of course.
Now, first...
...north of Baffin Bay.
Second, the fishing ketch Fortune
was wrecked here...
...off the Grand Banks.
And another one attacked
shortly thereafter.
Here. Nova Scotia.
Third, the lighthouse
off the coast of Maine.
Fourth, unexplained wreckage
off the coast of Massachusetts.
You'll notice we've been following
the Arctic Current all the way down.
So it's just possible that he might
be making for here.
It was in these submerged canyons that
the only fossils of his species were found.
We could mine those canyons.
And kill the rhedosaurus? Oh, no.
Think what a loss to science
that would be. Oh, no.
But to capture it alive
would be an achievement.
How do you propose to capture it,
if it exists?
I don't know. But if we ascertain
it's down there in the canyons...
...l'll have to go see it before I decide
upon a method of capture.
That's much too dangerous.
Yes, but then the risk would be worth it
when one thinks of the benefit to science.
Captain, is it possible to obtain
the use of a diving bell?
- You really want to go down there?
- Yes.
I can get a diving bell.
What do you think, Jack?
Everything else checks out.
If he can get it, let's move.
Thank you.
I still don't see how he's gonna find it.
This canyon is 100 miles long.
As I understand it, he plans to drop down
at a different spot every hour till he finds it.
Hear this. Hear this. We are now ready
to make the dive at position number one.
I don't like the idea of you going
with just one man.
That's capacity. If there's any danger,
my crewman will know what to do.
- I brought your Dramamine.
- No, thank you.
I'm much too excited to get seasick.
Are you ready, Dr. Elson?
Remember, at the first sign
of danger, signal us.
Why will you persist
in talking about danger?
The rhedosaurus and I are old friends.
- Good luck, doctor.
- Thank you.
- Here you are, sir.
- Thank you.
Don't look so worried, Lee.
We're scientists.
This is our job.
This is a great moment for me.
Everything shipshape in there?
Splendid, thank you.
All the comforts of home. Lower away.
Hoist away.
Is there anything I have to do?
Oh, no, sir.
You just relax and enjoy the scenery.
This is such a strange feeling.
I feel I am leaving
a world of untold tomorrows...
...for a world of countless yesterdays.
Lee was right. I should have brought
the Dramamine pills.
This is all very frustrating. I do hope all
our endeavors are not going to be in vain.
- Thank you.
- You're welcome, doctor.
We are having coffee now.
And some visitors.
There appears to be a difference of opinion
between two of the local inhabitants.
There he is!
It's unbelievable.
He's tremendous.
I can only see part of him...
...the leg and the shoulder,
but he is enormous.
He found it.
Shall we pull you up?
No! No! No, put Lee on.
He wants to talk to you.
Yes, doctor.
Lee, there's no mistake about it.
It's a Paleolithic survival.
It's exactly as we pictured it except
the dorsal is singular, not bilateral.
The clavicle suspension
appears to be cantileveric.
But the most
astonishing thing about it is...
He doesn't answer.
- Get him up.
- Raise the bell.
We're pulling you up!
Dr. Elson!
Can you hear me? Answer me!
The line is dead.
Well, the report has been turned in.
The National Guard and Coast Guard
have been alerted. Evans is in charge.
This was being packed
for a very different reason.
What can I say?
I should have gone down instead of him.
I am to blame.
Nobody is to blame.
And everybody is to blame.
We all did what we thought was right.
But that doesn't bring him
through the door again.
With his funny little walk,
and that wonderful smile.
This place seems so empty.
He used to putter around with the
specimens and call them pet names.
His death was so futile.
He went down in that bell
because it was part of his job.
He used those same words just before...
Oh, Tom.
It's coming up Nassau Street toward Pine.
Get some help fast!
New York is like a city besieged.
A state of emergency
has been declared...
...and the entire police force
put on 24-hour duty.
Civilian defense is fully mobilized...
...and shelters have been opened
in an effort to stop the mounting hysteria.
All traffic has been halted.
And Times Square, the heart
of New York, has stopped beating.
The National Guard has been called out,
fully armed, to repel the invader.
This is full-scale war
against a terrible enemy...
...such as modern man
has never before faced.
Ordinary bullets have no effect...
...and a method of destroying the awesome
creature has not yet been formulated.
But the battlefield has been cleared.
Herald Square.
34th Street.
Broadway.
Every section of the city is guarded.
No one knows where the monster
will strike next.
It was last seen on Wall Street,
close to where it came ashore.
But lower Manhattan has become
no man's land...
...where the beast, at present,
lies hidden.
The National Guard
is barricading the area...
...in an effort to confine
the death and destruction...
...of what is already the worst disaster
in New York's history.
A screen here.
105 temperature.
Here's the blood specimen.
Get it to the laboratory quickly.
I'm afraid, Sam.
I am afraid of what that creature
has brought to us. Deadly afraid.
- Think you can place it between his eyes?
- We can try, sir.
- Fire when ready, corporal.
- Yes, sir.
His skull...
...it's at least 8 inches thick.
- Another one, colonel?
- No.
It would take a 3-inch shell
to penetrate that skull.
Bazooka squad, prepare to fire.
The high-voltage wires,
it's gonna touch them!
Bazooka men, fire!
Under the neck,
when he raises his head again.
Get those emergency search lights on!
We're working on it.
Sergeant. Sergeant!
- What is it?
- Blood.
Give me the walkie-talkie.
Col. Evans.
Col. Evans?
Sgt. Wyntoni.
Now, look,
proceed with extreme caution.
Wounded, the animal might be twice
as dangerous as before.
There's a possibility the animal
might've headed for the river.
We'll have all shore batteries alerted
and naval patrol vessels.
Get me a command car!
- Col. Evans speaking, go ahead.
- Look, colonel...
...something's funny.
Most of the detail, they're...
Well, they're out.
Out on their feet, sir.
Have your sergeant contact the medics.
And report to Capt. Mitchell.
Your car is ready, sir.
Have the medical officer report
to me...
...at area command.
- Yes, sir.
He is reported somewhere
in the lower bay area.
- Battery A in position zero.
- Battery A into position zero.
- Report radar findings.
- Report radar finding.
Sounding harbor bottom.
Sounding harbor bottom.
- Activate mines, numbers 8 to 24.
- Activate mines, numbers 8 to 24.
What's the situation, major?
We're sounding the harbor bottom.
No indications yet, sir.
Charting room. Col. Evans?
Majors, there's a call here
for Col. Evans.
This is Evans speaking.
Who?
Oh, yes. Hello, doctor.
Colonel, they've already brought in over 50
of your men and the people this afternoon.
The monster's a giant germ-carrier
of a horrible, virulent disease.
Contact with the animal's blood
can be fatal.
If you use shell-fire, who knows how
far the air will spread the particles of it.
- The entire city can be endangered.
- Right, doctor.
- Have the anti-submarine nets been raised?
- No, sir.
Order them raised.
- Raise the anti-submarine nets.
- Raise the anti-submarine nets.
Flamethrowers would've cremated
the beast and the plague with it.
Flamethrowers? The smoke would have
carried the blood particles just as far.
No, it will have to be reduced
so that not even a cinder would remain.
Any reports yet, major?
No signs yet, colonel.
He may be dying at the bottom.
We'll set the drags in the morning.
Attention! Monster ashore at Manhattan
Beach, heading towards amusement area.
- On land?
- I thought we had him in a corner pocket.
Jack, there's only one way
to beat him.
How?
Radioactive isotope.
Shoot it into him and destroy
all that diseased tissue.
Keep your men alerted.
But nobody's to fire unless ordered to.
Yes, sir.
How soon, Tom?
Should be any minute now.
Wait for us here.
- I'm Professor Nesbitt.
- We've got your baby, professor.
Good.
- We need your best marksman, Jack.
- Right.
Have him get into these.
Here's your man, Tom.
- Colonel says you need a dead shot, mister.
- Yes.
- Ever use a grenade rifle?
- Pick my teeth with it.
Good.
You know what
a radioactive isotope is?
- No, but if it can be loaded, I can fire it.
- I'll load it.
Just remember one thing:
It has to be shot into the wound.
And you have to make it
the first time.
This is the only isotope of its kind this
side of Oak Ridge, so you can't miss.
Let's get to the target.
I can't hit him from here, mister.
- Ever ride one of those things?
- Yes, sir.
Jack! Get somebody over here
who can operate that roller coaster!
We want to get to the top
in one of those cars.
Right!
- Put your hood on.
- Yes, sir.
[Rip by Talorg]