20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954 film)

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Theatrical release poster
Directed byRichard Fleischer
Screenplay byEarl Felton
Based onTwenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas
by Jules Verne
Produced byWalt Disney
Starring
CinematographyFranz Planer
Edited byElmo Williams
Music byPaul Smith
Production
company
Distributed byBuena Vista Distribution
Release date
  • December 23, 1954 (1954-12-23)
Running time
127 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$5 million[1]
Box office$28.2 million[2]

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is a 1954 American science fiction adventure film directed by Richard Fleischer, from a screenplay by Earl Felton. Adapted from Jules Verne's 1870 novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas, the film was produced by Walt Disney Productions. It stars Kirk Douglas, James Mason, Paul Lukas, and Peter Lorre. Photographed in Technicolor, the film was one of the first feature-length motion pictures to be filmed in CinemaScope. It was also the first feature-length Disney film to be distributed by Buena Vista Distribution.

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea was a critical and commercial success, being especially remembered for the fight with a giant squid, as well as Mason's definitive performance as the charismatic anti-hero Captain Nemo. The film won two Academy Awards for its art direction and special effects.

  1. ^ "Disney's Fiscalities". Variety. January 11, 1956. p. 5. Retrieved August 25, 2019 – via Internet Archive.
  2. ^ "Box Office Information for '20,000 Leagues Under the Sea'". The Numbers. April 15, 2013.