I noticed another reviewer gave this one a score of 1. I do not understand this. While few would consider "City Beneath the Sea" a great film, it certainly is a modestly enjoyable one.

Two deep sea divers, Brad (Robert Ryan) and Tony (Anthony Quinn), arrive in Jamaica dive for the Fornby Company. Apparently, one of their ships sank and it was filled with gold...so no wonder they'd employ a could divers to look for it. However, they don't know that the rep from the company is a crook...and he has a nasty partner. Their plan is to send Brad and Tony to the wrong area...and return later themselves to get the gold. Not surprisingly, this is very dangerous stuff.

While the dives were undoubtedly filmed in a pool at the Universal lot, the diving scenes looked pretty good and there were no goofy sea monsters or giant squids or octopi (like in "Reap the Wild Wind"). Additionally, while the story is light and not especially memorable, it is a decent time-passer. Not a perfect or excellent film by any standard, it still is reasonably entertaining and worth a look.

City Beneath the Sea came on BBC2 one Saturday afternoon some years ago and I was pleased I taped it. This has never been released on video so I was glad I kept this TV copy.

Two divers come to Jamaca to recover some gold on a sunken ship off the coast. One evening, they visit a club and meet two girls and both subsequently fall in love with them. Rivalry then breaks out between the two men over who will keep the gold when retrieved. The ship sunk near the ruins of an underwater city (not Atlantis) and the locals are against the men recovering the gold because the city is one of their tabu's. Not surprisingly, danger looms when the city collapses as a result of an undersea earthquake, trapping one of the divers. He is rescued by his mate and neither of them get the gold in the end.

Despite being a bow budget movie, the underwater scenes in City Beneath the Sea are not that bad.

The cast includes Robert Ryan and Anthony Quinn as the divers and Mala Powers and Susan Ball as the love interests. This also stars George Mathews and Woody Strode.

Watching this movie is a good way to spend just under 90 minutes one afternoon or evening. Very enjoyable.

Rating: 3 stars out of 5.

Though competently directed by the currently "in" idol, Budd Boetticher, this is a fairly routine adventure/romance. Robert Ryan seems miscast as a laconic, two-fisted (thanks to a double in his fight scenes) hero, but Anthony Quinn is even less sympathetic as his greedy partner. The girls, Mala Powers and Suzan Ball, seem determined to be picture postcard pretty, but little else. In fact, nearly everyone's clothes in this seedy outpost in the West Indies are always remarkably clean and shiny. However, as usual, it's the villains who come off best in both writing and acting. Indeed it's George Mathews who ascends to the top spot in his Hollywood career as the ex-captain Meade. And Technicolor is also cleverly utilized (by cinematographer Charles P. Boyle) to give "A" stature to a basically "B"-budget picture.