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This is, indeed, a wonderful film and I'm glad to see it's on DVD.  How come you call the creature a "Vesuvian"?

Ymir looks like the Kraken from "Clash of the Titans"...

Ymir's cool. High quality stop-motion!

Ah yes, another masterpiece from the that stop-motion wizard, Ray Harryhausen. The Ymir is a truly memorable creature(I don't think I'll ever forget the scene where it's being torched by the tanks near the pillars), and back then the plot was not as horrendously overused as it is these days. I've always been a big fan of Harryhausen's work, and this film is something I don't think I'll ever get tired of watching(I taped it off that "Ray Harryhausen Week" event on Sci-Fi) P.S. I read in The Book Of The Subgenius that this is one of the films that Bob appears in. If anyone spots him, let me know where he is!

I'm with MBPALME on this one. It definitely reeks of the Kraken. Harryhausen did such great animation. Like in the movie "Jason and the Argonauts" or the Sinbad movies.

Great stuff. Thanks for all the time and effort. Badmovies.org is the Mecca of bad movies.

I have to agree that this is some of Harryhausens best work.  I think the pathos created for the Ymir is just as powerful as O'Brien created for King Kong.  Now that someone has suggested Clash of the Titans for review, I have to ask...Anybody ever see Valley of Gwangi?  I think that one would make for a good review as well.

Looking at the IMDB entry, I was shocked to see Pepe was played by Bart Braverman, who is still active in Hollywood. He was the annoying reporter who pokes around once too often in "Alligator." (I wanted to put "Pepe" and the Li'l Bastard from "The Black Scorpion" in a bag a whale on them with a stick. Forget the Kenny: the Pepe is the most annoying force in the universe.)

As with so many of Harryhausen's films, the animated creature is the best, most believable actor in the picture.  The Ymir is one of his best creations, and the sympathy he invokes undercuts the rest of the "army guys track monster" story.  As presented here, much of the Italian countryside strongly resembles Southern California.  Once things get to Rome, though, Harryhausen sets up many nice shots of Ymir among the Roman ruins.  Harryhausen must have it in for elephants - Gwangi later fights and kills one too.  The ending is a wonderful Roman version of King Kong's finale.  Unfortunately, unlike Kong this movie has to really entirely on Harryhausen's actor for any emotional impact.  After the military-types off the poor creature the "hero" just skips across the street to go on a date!  Feh!  Drop the army guys off the top of the Coliseum and let Ymir go home with the girl - he deserves a break!

I haven't seen that movie, but really want you now that I know that Harryhausen worked on it.  And the Ymir does look so much like the Kraken, in fact he looks like a mix between Calibos and the Kraken.  "Clash of the Titans" was one of my favorite movies when I was a kid.  It would be great if someone write a review on it here.  It's one of the great inspired bad movies of all time.  

What a way to go. You're walking thrugh the zoo, enjoying yourself, when suddenly a 20-foot reptilian Venusian monster tips an elephant onto you. This happened to at least 3 people. It's gotta suck as much as turning into a paper doll and being eaten by a lime J-Ello spewing rubber snake or flying your jet into a blue space chicken's forehead. Still, this movie is a lot better than REPTILICUS or X FROM OUTER SPACE. Make mine Harryhausen.

There's definitely a Krakken-like look to the Ymir, but that's a reaccuring theme of Harryhausen's monsters, the martians in his version of War Of The Worlds also have the Krakken face. And that troll-ogre thing in Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger looked almost exactly like a giant version of Calibos. I almost always sympathise with the monster in these kinds of movies, which is why I appreciate an artist like Harryhausen, who always gives his monsters a soul. BTW, anybody catch the Harryhausen show on TCM tonight? They're having a weekend marathon of his movies, as well as some previously unseen stuff and behind the scenes, so check it out.

 It doesn't matter that the Krakken resembled the Ymir, Mr. Harryhausen creative two completely different stories for each creature, both ranking high on the entertainment scale for their time. And let us not forget his other classics: Beast From 20,000 Fanthoms (Rhedosaur wasn't that the same dinosaur that was used in "When Dinosaurs Ruled The Earth"?), It Came From Beneath The Sea, and yes... Valley of the Gwangi!
  Thank you BADMOVIES.ORG for creating a website with the classics I grew up watching at the saturday afternoon matinee's.

Elephant was a bad choice as an animated element. Elephants are too familiar to not look phoney next to an unknown critter.
The kid was abnoxiously BAD beyond compare.
BUT...

a pretty cool movie!

Just thought I'd mention that "Ymir" is, in Norse mythology, the name of the primordial giant who is killed by Wotan, who uses his corpse to create the world from. I'm a nerd, you see.

http://davemunger.blogspot.com

I like this movie. The little 6-inch high monster fresh from the egg is c-u-u-u-te. You had to feel sorry for the "Monster" since all anybody wanted to do is attack him. He got fed up and big enough eventually to attack back - just to go out with a fall from a building in King Kong fashion.

If you guys are interested check out my site that has tons on info on Ray Harryhausen and his creatures

WWW.theseventhvoyage.com

As a life long fan of Ray Harryhausens work, I had no doubt that the Ymir was recycled for Clash of the Titans...I recognized him right away! Notice the recycling the next time there is a Twilight Zone marathon...all the props from Forbidden Planet show up over and over! Way to budget! I must take issue that the creatures from The War of the Worlds did not look like the Ymir. They were these strange looking upside down triangle shapes with one eye(?)on marionette strings...I remember seeing the space ships from
The War of the Worlds recycled in something, but I can't remember what at the moment...

Oh, joy! TCM is having a sci-fi event today(July 5th)! I keep switching back and forth between "The Thing" and the Twilight Zone marathon on Sci-Fi. Just watched 20 Mil..."Forbidden Planet" is next!

Ray harryhausen was a master of special effect before there were comperized special effects who can forget the giant two headed rocs in THE 7TH VOYAGE OF SINBAD or the giant or amry of skelletons in JASON AND THE ARGANUATS and can you remember his giant crab,bird and bees in MYSTERIOUS ISLAND? wow there will never be another person like him

To answer sarasvati, I believe the space ships from Mars in War of the Worlds were re-cycled in Robinson Crusoe on Mars. Kind of ironic, in one film they're from Mars, in another they bring slaves to mine Mars.
As for 20 Million Miles to Earth, Mr. Harryhausen was the prime mover behind the entire film. Sad that the Ymir had to kill an oliphant. Too bad the Ymir didn't meet Mike Meyers or Bill Maher.

Yes they were the martian ship fro WAR OF THE WORLDS  was indeed reused in ROBINSON CRUSOE ON MARS(another great movie)i do recall how much those minning ships looked like the war ships from GEORGE PALS sci fi classic

Hey! Ymir DOES look like the Kraken from Clash of the Titans.

My favorite Si Fi movie!  I saw it in 1957 at the Allan Theater in Farmington NM.

Things to look for.
The control panel in the space ship appears to be a power plant control panel.  Some of the handles have HOLD cards on them to prevent them from being closed.

The ship lands nose down yet the control room and everything is "up" meaning they had to be upside down when the ship was launched.

This movie is absulutly as close to perfect as a 50's B-movie can get! Andrew should review more Ray HarryHausen movies. I agree with you guys. Pepe is unlikeable.

This movie is just classic 50's Sci-Fi.
Good stuff indeed, and yes Pepe should have been taken out back and shot.

Question for those who criticise the use of an elephant - since they wanted a fight scene, what other Earth animal could make a fight of it?
Science nitpicks:
Like so many movie monsters, the Ymir grows with astonishing rapidity, to many times its original size. In the real world, no creature can increase its weight by X pounds without consuming at least X pounds of something. Curiously, I find that many people refuse to accept this. Anyway, all the Ymir eats is a few handfuls of sulphur. For the purposes of the film, however, we can accept the impossibility.
We are told the Ymir does not have a centralized breathing system, but as it lies on its slab just before escaping, its chest rises and falls just like yours and mine. This mistake is not so acceptable, because it contradicts what the film has just told us.

 Harryhausen's Ymir was created long before the Kraken in "Clash of the Titans"... though there are similarities around the corners of each creature's mouth... even as there are in the old stock footage of Ray's Martians from his "War of the Worlds" concept...which, sadly, never saw realization on the screen.
  I own a replica of the famous Ymir in my model figure collection ( also have Talos, the Hydra, the 7th Voyage Dragon and Cyclops and Kali...you fans out there know the films), and it is among my favorite possessions; I have longed to own a replica of the creature since childhood!
  Ymir is my favoroite 'creature' from the artistic genius of Ray Harryhausen!

The comic book ANOTHER 20.000.000 MILES is out.
Harryhausen is involved.
Wish he wasen't.
It lost me by saying the events of 1957 were "Hushed up".
NO! No you don't hush up an event like that! Stupid,stupid plot!
And it has a secret plot to infect people with stuff from the monster to make "Ymirpeople"....i hate this book.
Trite tripe. harry...how could you?

It is the the creature from clash of the titans. he recycled it and added more arms.

It dose resemble the kraken from CLASH OF THE TITANS do you think their related? :bouncegiggle:

Doesn't the monster look like the guy from the motorcycle show

I'm sure the monster is grateful to Clash of the titans for recycling and repairing the damage done to his reputation after the release of 20 million miles to Earth. Forever Kraken!

Yo, Rick. Get me some (Bleeping) sulphur, and fix the damm motor!

this movie is the beast! :teddyr:

Reeks of "The Kraken"? It's a total ripoff of the kraken!

What a bastard that Ray Harryhausen is, going 20 odd years into the future to steal his own idea!! :bouncegiggle:

Aww come one MR PHILL theres no doubt that RAY HARRIHUASENS the best next to GEORGE PAL,GEORGE LUCUS and the others

This is not a Bmovie. This film is a masterpiece of science-fiction cinema. It should not be on this webite. No one mess with Ray Harryhausen.

I had nightmares for a week of that egg thing when I first saw it as a kid.

Brian

About 54 minutes in, the Ymir walks past a large globular boulder which has a raised circular area right in the middle. There is a small raised "nubbin" in the middle of the smaller circle. Once you actually look at it, you will think, "Hey, there's a boobie!"

I've read dozens of reviews of this movie and talked about it with several people and I've never heard anyone mention what I call "the Boob-ish rock." I suppose some guy involved in setting up the scenery decided to play a little joke. And he's been waiting 50 years for someone to notice what  he did.

A couple of minutes later some soldiers gather at the rock so you get a really good look at it. Oh yeah, that's a boob.

Another great work of Ray Harryhausen's. Still a pretty good B-Movie, however.