After seeing "The Earth vs. the Flying Saucers" with its nifty special effects by Ray Harryhausen, I thought I would search out another movie he was involved in. I came up with "20 Million Miles to Earth." The film is a mixed bag. I really had a hard time deciding whether or not I was going to write a review for this movie simply because so much of the movie is based around Ray's great special effects, which are immensely entertaining. I decided, however, that the rest of the movie was bad enough to warrant an inclusion on this page.

The plot in this movie is pretty much pointless and stupid. A spaceship crashes in Italy on its return journey from Venus. A survivor, some military guy, is rescued, and an animal specimen from Venus escapes. The military guy captures the monster. The monster escapes. The military guy kills the monster. None of the characters hold any real interest, and the feeble attempt to make them likeable by introducing a romance factor in the plot doesn't help much.

The monster, however, is a different story. The monster is represented with a claymation-like model. It doesn't look especially realistic in still shots, but in motion it is quite amazing. The animation was done so well that it almost seems as though it is an actual actor whose acting ability is leaps and bounds above the other cast members. The monster is also presented as being a fairly docile and gentle creature. Soon after he escapes the first time he encounters a herd of sheep. They all run away from him except for a tiny lamb. Does the monster attack it? No, he watches with interest as the lamb bleats, then runs away. When the military guy corners him in a barn, the monster cowers against the wall instead of lashing out in violence. He just wants to get away. In fact, the monster only resorts to violence when others attack him, which happens quite often since the human characters see him as a huge threat. Even the animals seem to hate him, as he gets into skirmishes with a dog and an elephant. Throughout the whole movie I was rooting for the Venutian, hoping he would stomp on the cruel bastards that brought him to earth.

I can't really recommend this movie wholeheartedly, simply because the scenes without the monster in them are incredibly boring. If you don't mind sitting through that stuff, or you have the fast forward button handy, I think you will have some fun.

Turkey rating: 3 turkeys.

Scene to watch for: The monster fighting the elephant.

Line to watch for: The scientist's explanation for the ineffectiveness of bullets as a Venutian deterrent.

Things that make you go "Huh?": Why do the soldiers continue to shoot at the monster when they know bullets won't hurt it?