"Around the World Under the Sea" is a great looking movie. The photography, both underwater and above, is terrific. The set design is top-notch. The colors are so bright, they're great. Unfortunately, the script lets the movie down. There's just not enough going on to keep your interest. The cast is good but they're not given enough to do. Behinds the way "Around the World Under the Sea" looks, there is little worth remembering about this movie.

On a submarine filled with two pet hamsters and a group of scientists and experienced seamen (and one woman),the efforts to make predictions of when underwater earthquakes will take place are made which leads this important voyage into all sorts of danger. In addition to a friendly dolphin, schools of exotic fish and a curious manta, there's also an extremely large manta ray as well as a powerful underwater volcano where the submarine gets stuck on. Under the command of Lloyd Bridges, this all important voyage also features the beautiful Shirley Eaton, David McCallum, Keenan Wynn, Brian Kelly, Marshall Thompson and veteran actor Gary Merrill. The gorgeous underwater photography is stunning and the dangers are real and natural. Little attention is made to the crew member's personal lives (although Eaton does get herself intertwined between two of the younger members) so the focus is on what is happening outside the submarine. Bridges gives a truly commanding performance, and it is no wonder as undersea exploration was one of his great life passions. Wynn, as a grizzled old seaman, doesn't overdo the comedy, although he does get the best lines, and Eaton is nice to look at although not distracting. This is a perfect look at a part of our world we don't always get a chance to see, and realize that the dangers above ground are often small potatoes when compared to the dangers in our massive seas.

"Around the World Under the Sea" (1966) has both its admirers and its detractors. The truth, of course, lies between these two extremes. I agree, however, that there is no excuse for a shoddy print. M-G-M did not release the 70mm version in my home city, but the print I saw of the 120- minutes (sic),Panavision and Metrocolor version on first release back in 1966 was very good. I liked the cast too. I thought Lloyd Bridges had the knack of making both his heroics and clichés passably convincing. And, of course, I loved Shirley Eaton. She is one of my favorite stars. I agree that some of the other acting was not the best, and it was very disappointing to find Gary Merrill in such a small and unrewarding role. Nevertheless, Andrew Marton's direction, although typically straightforward, was pretty well on target so far as the action episodes were concerned. In all, back in '66, I thought the movie made a fair diversion for underwater-thirsty action fans.