‘Forgotten by nature… invaded by modern man… half human… half fish!’
Beyond Atlantis is a 1973 fantasy adventure film about a band of adventurers that invade a remote island to grab huge pearls. The islanders are just as determined to keep their sacred treasure. Trouble ensues.
Directed and co-produced by Eddie Romero from a screenplay written by Charles Eric Johnson [as Charles Johnson] based on a story by Stephanie Rothman. Also produced by John Ashley. Executive produced by Charles S. Swartz.
The American Dimension Pictures production stars Patrick Wayne, John Ashley, Leigh Christian, Sid Haig, Lenore Stevens, George Nader and Vic Diaz.
Producer John Ashley admitted that the movie was meant to be a ripoff of The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, but he had high hopes for it because he liked the script so much.
At one stage, Ashley was going to direct it, but “the production end of it got so spread out that I felt that for me to attempt to produce, direct and appear in it would be really difficult.”
Ashley said that the original intention was for the lead characters to discover the people living underwater and “for the most part they were going to be topless”. However, Larry Woolner, the head of Dimension Pictures, thought that they had the chance to make a slightly more ambitious film. They wanted to cast Wayne, and one of his requirements was that the film had a PG rating. They increased the budget and cast another relatively well-known name, George Nader.
Choice dialogue:
Vic Mathias [Patrick Wayne]: “Of all the dumb stunts! Telling a broad is like blasting it over a loudspeaker.”
The Mate [Eddie Garcia]: “Something’s fishy. Looks like they split when we came.”
Nereus [George Nader]: “I can no longer protect you. You must mate!”
Cast and characters:
Patrick Wayne … Vic Mathias
John Ashley … Logan
Leigh Christian … Syrene
Sid Haig … East Eddie
Lenore Stevens … Kathy Vernon
George Nader … Nereus
Vic Diaz … Manuel
Andres Centenera …
Eddie Garcia … The Mate
Kenneth J. Warren
Gil Arceo
Kim Ramos
Angelo Ventura
Release:
The film did not do well financially, something that John Ashley chiefly attributed to the PG rating. “Had we done it a little harder it probably would have done better”, he commented in retrospect. “At least we’d have had a picture that was a little more exploitable.” He also thought that the extensive underwater footage slowed down the action, saying, “It’s gorgeous. But watching it is like watching slow motion.”
Fun facts:
The music accompanying the fight scene in the water at 1 hour 21mins, is the same music played in the opening sequence for the British ITV News at Ten television programme.
Trailer:
Full free movie on YouTube [1080p HD]:
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