Unternehmen Feuergürtel (1961)

Unternehmen Feuergürtel: Directed by Irwin Allen. With Walter Pidgeon, Joan Fontaine, Barbara Eden, Peter Lorre. When the Earth is threatened by a burning Van Allen Radiation Belt, U.S. Navy Admiral Harriman Nelson plans to shoot a nuclear missile at the Belt, using his experimental atomic submarine, the Seaview.

“Walter Pidgeon leads fellow iconoclasts aboard a giant, futuristic (for 1961) submarine in a desperate race to save the world from firey oblivion. Another reviewer once commented that there was plenty of action but precious little logic in this film, but so what? If one views it as escapist nonsense, itu0026#39;s pretty enjoyable, even if the plot does get a little overheated (sorry, we couldnu0026#39;t resist) toward the end. Van Allen belt catching fire? Absurd. Three thousand foot crush depth for a Thresher-class attack sub? Ridiculous. But again, so what? The effects hold up pretty well, thereu0026#39;s a solid cast including Peter Lorre (not his last film but clearly his days were numbered), Michael Ansara, and Frankie Avalon, who was thrown into the mix to attract a younger audience, and, of course, the giant octopus. The octopus scene was actually shot in reverse, since octopi are quite timid and this one could not be coaxed into attaching itself to the submarine for any usable length of time. Seriously though, in spite of bad science and stupendous leaps of questionable logic, u0026quot;Voyageu0026quot; is a better than average vintage sci-fi flick. Make a big bowl of popcorn and enjoy the ride!”