So much average

Good movie, but best of all time? Hardly . . .

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

If I could talk like Vincent Price could I would talk to myself all the time, out loud and I would probably get an MC Job or be a radio announcer. That guys voice was like audio gold. War Gods of the deep began with the narration that only Vincent Price could manage to deliver. He was a treasure and he is missed. The movie fits a model of the time period this was created. Do not expect any more than that and you will have an enjoyable time. I enjoyed the nostalgic vibe and the somewhat campy and predictable presentation. Not the worlds most advanced movie or soundtrack but it was fun if you let it be what it is and go with it a little bit. It did not try to be pretentious, it allowed Vincent to be who he is and do what he did best. The "Hen" was named Herbert...soooo...you see where this is going. But, A good time can be had, we enjoyed this.

In Jules Verne's "Journey to the Center of the Earth" (1959) there's Pat Boone and a Duck...In Edgar Allan Poe's "City In the Sea" there's Tab Hunter and a Chicken. Both Boone and Hunter and Duck and Chicken do Nothing but Cause Cringes and Sink Both Films to the Bottom of Their Respective Environment.In This One Vincent Price is On Hand to Do Some Poe Readings and Dialog Readings Like He has Somewhere or Something Else On His Mind (perhaps adding to His Art Collection). He Shows Up in One Shoddy Looking Costume and Never Makes Another Trip to Wardrobe.The Movie, While At Times has Some Impressive Sets, at Other Times the Movie Looks Cramped and Dull. The Film Fluctuates Like that from Beginning to End. It Impresses and Then Disappoints Regularly.The Director Tourneur Fought the Producers and Lost on Some of the More Embarrassing and Lackluster Things and Overall the End Product was a Lot Less than its Parts. The Underwater Chase Scenes are Slow and Boring and the Comedy Relief with the Chicken is just Intolerable.Overall, Worth a Watch with the Lowest of Expectations for Some of the Sets and Visuals and a Peek-A-Boo Look See at Some Hammer Inspired Cleavage.

After seeing "City Beneath the Sea", I can understand why this is among the lesser-known films Vincent Price made during the 1960s. The problem is that although the idea for the story is pretty cool and it's filmed in color, there really isn't much energy in the film and it never manages to rise above mediocrity. It's a real shame, as I was anxious to enjoy this film.The film is set near the beginning of the 20th century in Britain. Oddly, despite the British location, three of the four leads in the film are Americans--something they never really explained very well. Following a spate of odd occurrences and a dead body washed ashore, a woman (Susan Hart) is kidnapped by some sea creature. Tab Hunter and David Tomlinson set off to find her--begging the viewer to wonder if perhaps they could have found a more formidable search party had they just looked a bit further! Eventually, their search takes them to a swirling pool of water in a cave. The pair accidentally fall in and are sucked into an undersea city where Vincent Price rules with an iron hand. This might no be so bad if it weren't for the fact that Price seemed pretty irrational and blood-thirsty. Plus they discover the lady who'd been spirited away--it turns out she looked like some old lady that Price was in love with so he ordered his goofy sea monster friends to kidnap her.There are two huge problems in this underground paradise. First, there is increasing seismic activity that appears ready to destroy the city. Second, Price is so irrational that there is no way they'll die from the underwater volcano--Price is sure to have them killed sooner. So, Hunter, Tomlinson and Hart escape using primitive looking diving outfits. Naturally, Price, his henchmen and the sea monsters all give chase. Will the trio survive or be doomed to nutty old Price's mercy? This basic story isn't bad. The problem is that there is just not much energy in the film despite the story idea and a few nice special effects and underwater cinematography. In addition, Tomlinson was simply dreadful in the film, as his character was annoying, impossible to believe and a bit of an idiot. How anyone could be expected to rely on him is beyond me! Plus, I rather hoped that he would die--he was just not particularly good as a character. As for Price, his character's motivations seemed vague. He was bad and mad...but why?! In his films such as the Dr. Phibes films or "Theater of Blood", you clearly understood what made him tick and why he HAD to kill. Here he just seems like a jerk...and rarely is that sufficient motivation for a film. Overall, it's worth watching if you have nothing pressing to do or if you MUST see every film Price made.

From what I know about screen writing the more credited writers a film has the worse the narrative is supposed to be . I genuinely think this is nonsense and perhaps CITY UNDER THE SEA is proof of this . It's a movie that has three people involved in he screenplay but is far more entertaining and involving than a great number of films I've seen that have only one screenwriter First of all let's get the bad points out of the way . You don't need a University degree to know that there's no volcanoes off the coast of Cornwall which seems to be included to set up the ending and the back story of the gillmen are conspicuous by its absence . Also if you're a fan of Poe and you watched this movie expecting it to be an accurate adaptation of one of his works then you'll almost certainly feel cheated . The casting of two American characters in two lead roles to appeal to an American market does seem forced , especially when you've already got a well known American actor as the film's villain . Hammer films didn't bow to this type of casting so I've no idea why it's done here In fact CITY UNDER THE SEA plays very much like one of the better Hammer productions concentrating on atmosphere rather than gore . When the film concentrates on this aspect it is genuinely frightening as early in the film when one of the gillmen prowls around the house . I must have been about seven years old when I saw this scene and remember being terrified by it . I saw this scene again earlier today and was not disappointed which is a great compliment coming from me . It's a film that is not Oscar worthy but is great entertainment nonetheless