20 Million Miles to Earth – Movie Review
Director: Nathan Juran
Writer: Robert Creighton Williams, Christophe Knopf (Screenplay)
Writer: Charlott Knight (Story)
Cast
- William Hopper (The Bad Seed)
- Joan Taylor (Earth vs the Flying Saucer)
- Frank Puglia (Down Argentine Way)
- John Zaremba (Earth vs. the Flying Saucers)
Plot: The first U.S. spaceship to Venus crash-lands off the coast of Sicily on its return trip. A dangerous, lizard-like creature comes with it and quickly grows gigantic.
Runtime: 1 Hour 22 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: 20 Million Miles to Earth starts when a returning spaceship crashes off the coast of Sicily. Col Robert Calder (Hopper) is the only survivor. Marisa Leonardo (Taylor) and Dr Leonardo (Puglia) receive a specimen from the crash.
Marisa and Dr Leonardo look to make sure the creature is safe despite the fact it grows quickly. However, the military is searching for the specimen, wanting it to discover how to survive on Venus.
Verdict on 20 Million Miles to Earth
20 Million Miles to Earth is a vintage horror that was using the unknown of space for horror. We get a new creature to Earth and how it will make a major impact on Earth and not be as welcome as the government would like.
This was one of the movies that worked for the era and is one that has continued to be used throughout film today. It does have the balance between science and military, leading to the battle to do the right thing.
The effects in the movie are strong for the time, as we get to see the increasing size of the creature.
Final Thoughts –20 Million Miles to Earth is a great vintage creature feature.
