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The City under the Sea (Original title)City in the Sea (Working title)War-gods of the Deep (Alternative title)Warlords of the Deep (Alternative title)
Dates: 1965 (Copyright), 24 October 1965 (Release)

Countries: United Kingdom, USA

Directed by: Jacques Tourneur

Synopsis: Adventure mystery. One stormy night in Cornwall, a dead body is found washed up on a beach, a local house is broken into by a mysterious humanoid sea creature, and a young lady, Jill Tregillis, is abducted and taken to a subterranean community of smugglers living in the caves beneath the cliffs. Friends Ben Harris and the eccentric Harold Tufnell-Jones (carrying his pet rooster Herbert in a picnic basket) venture down into the caves too and find themselves in Lyonesse, the fabled drowned city (as suggested in the poetry of Poe), where a community of smugglers from around 1800 live in the shadow of tyrannical overlord Sir Hugh, known as The Captain. The air in the caves extends their lives abnormally, but they can never go back up into daylight and survive. The Captain sees in Jill the image of his lost love, which is why he has had her brought here. Yet he knows the nearby underwater volcano is unstable and may soon erupt, destroying the city forever. With Harris posing as a volcano expert to buy them some time, the three friends plot their escape, and are aided by the community's jaded clergyman, the Reverend Jonathan Ives, who helps them with directions. But the escape is perilous, as the sea creatures will fight to stop them.

Genres:
Fantasy, Science Fiction

Subjects:
Diving, Smuggling
Releases
Date: 1965Country: United KingdomRelease type: unknownFormat: not specified - Colour - Eastmancolor - SoundRuntime: 84 mins Length: 7613 FeetDialogue (original): English

Articles held in BFI Reuben Library (6)
In: Film Index n30 1974  Page: 105
Title: [Film Index - n30 1974: no known title]Language: English

In: British National Film Catalogue v3 1965
Title: [British National Film Catalogue - v3 1965: no known title]Language: English

In: The Daily Cinema n9123 1 Oct 1965  Page: 6
Title: [The Daily Cinema - n9123 1 Oct 1965: no known title]Language: English

In: Monthly Film Bulletin v32 n382 November 1965  Page: 166
Title: [Monthly Film Bulletin - v32 n382 November 1965: no known title]Language: English

In: The Hollywood Reporter v185 n44 2 Jun 1965  Page: 3
Title: [The Hollywood Reporter - v185 n44 2 Jun 1965: no known title]Language: English

In: Kine Weekly n2986 24 Dec 1964  Page: 8
Title: [Kine Weekly - n2986 24 Dec 1964: no known title]Language: English
Description: On special effects.