"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.

Following the destruction of much of coastal Turkey by a massive tsunami, American scientists Dr. Doug Standish (a mugging Lloyd Bridges) and Dr. Craig Mosby (Brian Kelly playing kind of a sexist jerk) lead the crew of the submarine Hydronaut in a race to plant seismic sensors along fault lines on the ocean floor to create an experimental earthquake detection system in order to prevent other coastal countries from suffering the same fate. The crew consists of geologist Orin Hillyard (Marshall Thompson), electronics expert Dr. Philip Volker (David McCallum doing a hokey German accent) and marine biologist Margaret Hanford (the fetching Shirley Eaton as what basically amounts to eye candy). Also along for the ride is reclusive survival expert Hank Stahl (a delightfully curmudgeonly Keenan Wynn).While at times enjoyable, Around the World Under the Sea is, alas, a bit on the boring side. It isn't that badly written, not for a movie of its type, anyway, but in its apparent drive to depict the science fiction elements as realistically as possible (in a "this is totally plausible" sort of way), it tends to bog down. We spend far too much time focusing on the Hydronaut crew planting the various sensors that midway through the film a montage of them doing it gets the bulk of that out of the way to make way for... well, not undersea adventure, that's for sure.There is some of that, but it's few and far between and mostly, when the movie isn't methodically showing us in detail how they do various scientific tasks, it basically plays out like a soap opera set on a submarine: Volker wants to do a salvage dive for some valuable crystals but is opposed (for some reason the movie never bothers explaining) by Stahl, and the two have an epic chess game to decide whether they'll do it (Volker cheats!); Hanford is ostensibly Hillyard's girlfriend at the start, but starts falling for Mosby despite him being kind of a sexist pig, and on top of this she's Volker's ex and there is unresolved tension between them. The movie seems to think that this is all more interesting than giant eels and erupting undersea volcanoes. It would be wrong.One thing of note is the sexism against Dr. Hanford that Craig Mosby has, and, to some extent, so does the movie. With comments like "she's as good with a skillet as she is with a scalpel," it at times feels like a movie from a much earlier film, far less tolerant of women in the workplace. When Hanford is late for the Hydronaut's takeoff, the chief concern regarding her is that they can't set sail without a cook (!). If nothing else, at least the poor woman gets support from Standish if no one else, who points out "She's a scientist and so are we" and doesn't find the idea of female astronauts at all unusual, and hires her on the spot even once he learns the mysterious and overqualified "M.E. Hanford" is a woman, whilst it is Mosby who objects to having a woman aboard the sub. Still, most of it just seems like lip service, as, despite Standish's insistence in her abilities, all supposed marine biologist Hanford ever really does is "woman" stuff like serving coffee while Stahl (who isn't even a scientist) does most of the specimen collecting and lab work.This nonsense aside, it has its moments. There's a close call where Hillyard is burned by an undersea vent and has to be rescued by Volker, as well as a giant moray eel which attacks the sub, and a fairly satisfying climax involving a giant underwater volcano and a rock slide which buries the sub, trapping our heroes and forcing them to use their quick wits to escape. Recommended for viewers with lots and lots of patience. For a far better and more enjoyable undersea adventure flick, see either 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea or Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea.

A familiar cast, colorful underwater photography and unintentional laughs help make this completely unrealistic adventure film palatable. Due to increased seismic activity around the globe, a team of experts is assigned to float around the oceans of the world in a tiny submarine, planting sensors that will help predict underwater earthquakes. Bridges and Kelly (who earned their fins on the TV shows "Sea Hunt" and "Flipper", respectively) head up the mission, each competing to see who can most often rip their shirt off at a moments notice in order to fix some problem. Other scientists on board are older, rather colorless Thompson, bespectacled McCallum, reluctant Wynn and curvy, brassy blonde Eaton who boards the sub in white heels and a dress with a slit up the side. They trot around the globe as if it's the size of The Gulf of Mexico, planting their sensors (which, ludicrously, must explode in order to be anchored to the ground!) and experiencing various inter-personal conflicts. Moments after the credits have ended, credibility has already been jettisoned. Kelly, in a diving bell, gets knocked by a whale and Bridges dives 150 feet down without benefit of air and leisurely peeks in the window and knocks on the door! Later, he swims down to Wynn's underwater lair and, when his tank runs out, Wynn somehow (by benefit of an unseen Bat Pole?) goes from casual street clothes to a skin tight diving suit within seconds to rescue him! Also, unbelievably, Thompson proposes marriage to Eaton, yet she's already shacked up with McCallum previous to the mission and now has her sights set on Kelly! Small world! She claims not to be leading any of the men on, yet continuously gives it the "look at my body" act, up to and including an Esther Williams-esque swim in which she swirls her blonde mane towards the sub window and extends her bikini-clad body to it's fullest extent! Term papers could be written about the many, many scientific implausibilities of the film, but it's more fun to just sit back and make fun of the hysterically bad plotting and direction. Watch as Eaton and Kelly stare longingly at each other JUST AS two fish swim by and seem to nuzzle each other before disappearing behind a rock to do God knows what. Then they share a Doris and Rock-style moment with them each in bed, back to back, aching for each other over a cigarette. Who cares if the world may explode any minute? They're hot for each other, darn it! There are two guinea pigs on board. Watch for the second time the sub pitches forward and one of them finds it's face buried squarely in the behind of the other. By the way, Thompson loses Eaton, but seems perfectly happy to have wound up with these two rodents as a consolation prize. If one decompresses his brain for two hours, the film does have some interesting imagery, creative situations and manages to have some degree of suspense wondering who, if anyone, will die. Viewers looking for logic, reality or even sense, will be highly disappointed.

The summary alone should tell you to rent this "god help us all if this is available to rent" ONLY if a) your an insomniac, b) masochist or c) a masochist who has trouble falling asleep. The 'acting' is sub par, the characters are one dimensional and the plot.... well, it just proves that one can indeed write a movie script inspired by a box of corn flakes. Wait, that's not fair, corn flakes would make a better movie. The plot of the movie is this team of 'experts' travels the oceans laying down seismographic monitors to detect underwater earthquakes. Near the end, surprise, they get into trouble and have to think of a clever way to escape. The viewer on the other hand, has a much easier way out, change the channel to the Home Shopping Network in search of better entertainment. As for the cast, the only way they could have pulled some of those actors is by making this a contractual obligation or maybe blackmail.