ALL SCI-FI

[Bud Brewster]

The Red Chinese dig a tunnel under the Pacific Ocean to transport troops and atom bombs to an underground network beneath America.

Science-wise, the concept is doomed from the start, of course. If the Chinese had the technology to tunnel thousands of miles through solid rock . . . and the materials strong enough to support the tunnel . . . and the superconducting material needed to supply power to the what would basically be underground habitats populated by thousands of workers employed to do the work . . . etc. etc. etc. . . .

. . . then China would be the most powerful nation on Earth, and Americans would be working in giant factories for pennies a day, making cheap goods for export to the rest of the world.

But never mind all that, this is an adventure movie with an ambitious story and a good cast. Here's the plot.

Only one scientist knows of the devious Chinese plot, and everybody thinks he's crazy because he stops on crowded street corners and puts his ear against the sidewalk, listening for underground Chinese invaders.


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Okay, everybody must be right about Professor Nutcake, because underground tunnels wouldn't make noises you could hear on a noisy street corner by pressing your ear against the sidewalk. A stethoscope in a nice deep coal mine maybe, but never mind all that either. Here's more of the plot.

The scientist finally convinces the military that he's not crazy. Kerwin Matthews ("The 7th Voyage of Sinbad") spearheads a small attack force in an underground war against the invaders.


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What you imagine this would look like probably looks pretty good, I'm sure — but your imagination has an unlimited budget, and this movie definitely didn't, which means the movie looks and sounds too much like a 1960s TV show (bright colors, brightly lit sets, not-so-bright script).

But Kerwin Matthews is a likeable hero, and young kids will enjoy the action. Martin Benson in oriental makeup is the cold, calculating military leader of the Chinese invaders.


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Semi-oriental Vivian Ventura is the attractive heroine, fighting shoulder-to-shoulder with the men, proving that all Asians aren't bad.


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Co-star Robert Ayres ("First Man Into Space") was born to play generals.


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Directed by Montgomery Tully. The DVD of this movie looks fairly good.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Pow]

Looks like that clever China attacked the US from above ground instead via the economy/debt.

[Bud Brewster]

Right. They "tunneled" into our financial system, and apparently we didn't have our "ear to the ground" when we should have!
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[bulldogtrekker]

Actually, I like this movie

[Bud Brewster]

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Enjoy this great (if a bit overly dramatic) trailer!

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______ Battle Beneath the Earth (1967) Trailer


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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Bud Brewster]

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Thinking Outside the "Plot"!
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~ A Question for the Members: Could the Chinese really build a tunnel all the way to North America?

~ My Theory: The idea of a tunnel under the Pacific Ocean is pretty ambitious, and anyone who's seen this movie will agree that it just didn't have the budget to convince us that those tricky Chinese could have reached the U.S. in such a tunnel, much less create a network that spanned the entire country!

But here we are, 50 years later, and Wikipedia's article on the subject of a transatlantic tunnel includes this remarkable statement under the subheading Modern research.

Robert H. Goddard, the father of rocketry, was issued two of his 214 patents for the idea. Arthur C. Clarke mentions intercontinental tunnels in his 1956 novel The City and the Stars. Harry Harrison's 1975 novel Tunnel Through the Deeps (also published as A Transatlantic Tunnel, Hurrah!) describes a vacuum/maglev system on the ocean floor.

The April 2004 issue of Popular Science suggests that a transatlantic tunnel is more feasible than previously thought, and without major engineering challenges. It compares it favorably with laying transatlantic pipes and cables, but with a cost of 88 to 175 billion dollars. In 2003, the Discovery Channel's show Extreme Engineering aired a program, titled "Transatlantic Tunnel", which discussed the proposed tunnel concept in detail.

So, this movie might have a modest budget, but it has an ambitious concept. And that's the kind I like! 'Cause, you know, I'm so damn clever and all.

Apparently the building of a tunnel under the ocean might be the easy part. The article below details the building of an underwater transportation system which doesn't involve a tunnel at all, just an enclosed underwater "road or railway" along the ocean floor.

The article includes this excerpt.

New technologies could enable the building of tunnels that once seemed impossible. For example, some engineers would like to build a Transatlantic Tunnel to connect New York with London. The 3,100-mile tunnel could house a train that could travel 5,000 miles per hour. The trip that now takes 7 hours by plane could someday take less than one hour!

How Do You Build a Tunnel Underwater





While looking at the above picture and thinking about Harry Harryhausen's vacuum/maglev system, it occurred to me that it makes a lot more sense to pump air into the submerged tunnel at the departure end and suck it out at the arrival end — thus causing the tunnel to maintain normal air pressure while the air moves right along with the train!

Thus the tunnel doesn't have to resist the intense pressure caused by having a vacuum inside. And even though it's filled with air, the train doesn't have push it out of the way. The train and the air move along together.

Bear in mind that if a vacuum-filled tunnel on the bottom of the ocean develops a leak at some point, it will be water rushing in, not more air!

And with my way of doing it, there's no need to seal the vacuum-filled tunnel at both ends! Air blows into it from one end and rushes out the other.

(See, I told you I was clever! )

If this idea has already been suggested by somebody else, I swear I didn't know it. It just came to me while making this post. Scout's honor!

But if you're not impressed by the amazing engineering feats described above (and my enhancements of them), this next article will knock your socks off!

China wants to build a 200km tunnel to America!


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~ Pictured above: the Behring Strait. Russia is to the west, Alaska to the east.

Here's the interesting lead paragraph to the article.

China likes trains. Its latest idea is to drive a railway route from Beijing to America via Russia, running under the Bering Strait to Alaska, Canada and America.

The 8,000 mile route would need two undersea tunnels; one running from Russia to the Big Diomede Island, and one from Little Diomede Island to America — well, Alaska. The three miles between the two islands could be crossed by a shorter third tunnel or a bridge.

Ah, but don't put those socks back on yet! The Chinese in the movie also build a network of tunnels under the United States itself. And according to the article below, that network actually exists . . . and nobody is quite sure who built it!

There's a vast network of underground tunnels beneath the USA, and some of the entrances are under closed Walmart stores!

The article below opens with this statement, and then a bit further down, another statement which will (you guessed it) knock your socks off again!

Please note that the Wal-Mart spokesperson does NOT deny the tunnels are there! He just denies that they're part of a plot by the military to take over Texas.

Wal-Mart: "No Truth To The Rumors" Of Tunnels Being Built To Take Over Texas

Wal-Mart issued a statement Monday to TPM dismissing "rumors" that tunnels were being built by the U.S. military beneath closed stores in an attempt to launch a takeover of Texas.

Theorists have suggested that five Wal-Mart retail locations were shuttered abruptly because of Jade Helm 15 [a United States military training exercise which took place in multiple U.S. states in the summer of 2015].

They have suggested that the closed stores, one of which is located in Texas, will serve as "food distribution centers" and will be used to "house the headquarters of invading troops from China, here to disarm Americans one by one."

So, folks, let's recap what we've learned here.

~ Tunnels under the ocean are considered to be possible in the future.

~ China wants to build one to America.

~ There is already a network of tunnels under parts of the U.S. which seem to be related to secret military activities, possibly related to the Chinese threat!

I guess Battle Beneath the Earth is a prime candidate for a remake!
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Bogmeister]

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I think I saw this as a kid. I think I liked it. That would make sense because this film seems to be aimed strictly at kids.

I watched it again a couple of years ago. The film really has a unique flavor to it. I picture the writers sitting down and writing a script for a comic book, in the sixties. Remember some of those? Like, Total War and MARS Patrol, some of those.

The plots had to do with the invasion of the USA by an army using futuristic weapons. There were also the comic books published by Titan, called the THUNDER Agents. These were well illustrated, superior comic books for the time.

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So, the authors write the script for BATTLE BENEATH THE EARTH, but instead of having it illustrated as a comic book, it's made into a film.

That's my take on this.

A lot of the stuff here and some scenes would be OK in a sixties comic book, but come across as a bit wacky in a film. Case in point, the first scene in Las Vegas (not really Vegas, but let it go). One of the main characters, a scientist (Peter Arne), is pressing his ear to the pavement and ranting about ants beneath us. He's carted off to the loony bin because he's behaving like a complete lunatic.

Later, when the military becomes aware of the plot against the USA, this scientist is perfectly rational. This odd and conflicting behavior may work in a typically over-the-top comic book for kids, but makes little sense within the framework of a film.

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__________________ Battle Beneath The Earth

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Also, the total extent of U.S. military strength in this film seems to be one squad of soldiers, usually led by hero Kerwin Matthews. (Are all other soldiers and tanks deployed in other countries at the moment?)

The Chinese leadership seems to have been taken over by Caucasians in this version of Earth. (What, are there no Oriental actors around?).




There is entertainment to be found, however. The Chinese have developed heat-ray weapons and a special rock-melting/boring machine while the U.S. is busy with outer space technology.

When the U.S. soldiers fire their rifles, the Chinese simply point what looks like a flashlight and Sssssssss — yyyahhhh!!!

So, there is some similarity to the James Bond pictures of the time. It's just a little more goofy.

Finally, I didn't understand how one atomic blast would take care of all of the enemy, considering that there were 3 tunnels, each about 500 miles apart. Comic book logic? Why not? (Oh, and didja know you can avoid an atomic blast by merely running for about 10 minutes?)

________________ Chinese Hypnotist Torturer


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BoG's Score: 6 out of 10



BoG
Galaxy Overlord Galactus

[Bud Brewster]

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Watch this great video about the building of a tranatlantic tunnel!

_____ Extreme Engineering - Transatlantic Tunnel


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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)