20 Million Miles to Earth

Release Date: June, 1957
Starring: William Hopper as Col. Robert Calder
Joan Taylor as Marisa Leonardo
Thomas Browne Henry as Major General A.D. McIntosh
Director: Nathan Juran
Writers: Robert Creighton Williams, Christopher Knopf
Production Company: Morningside Productions
Producer: Charles H. Schneer
Special Effects: Ray Harryhausen
Editor: Edwin Bryant
Cinematographers: Irving Lippman, Carlo Ventimiglia
Distributor: Columbia Pictures
Time: BW WS (1.85:1) 82 min.

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Interesting Tidbits

As a youngster I came to associate the names of Charles H. Schneer and Ray Harryhausen with great sci-fi/fantasy films. 20 Million Miles to Earth is the third film out of a total of twelve films they jointly brought to the screen.

The film was shot on location in Rome, Italy. Ray Harryhausen wanted the film to be shot in color, but the budget wouldn't allow that.

In 2007 however, it was "colorized." Ray worked with personnel from the restoration and colorization company Legend Films during the process.

The Plot

The government of the United States, along with The Pentagon organizes the first interplanetary expedition to the planet Venus. The spacecraft XY-21 with a crew of seventeen successfully reaches the planet 20 million miles away and vast mineral resources and precious raw materials are discovered on the planet, but atmospheric conditions are extremely harsh and cannot support life from Earth, and several members of the expedition die because of the conditions. None of this is actually seen, but is all explained in dialogue later on in the film. More from Wikipedia.com.