The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms movie poster

The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms


The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms Goofs/Mistakes

  • Movie Goof (revealing mistake): The fact that the roller coaster is in Long Beach, Cal, not New York (already noted under Trivia) is revealed by the scene in which the two men climb into the cars. They didn't cover up the sign which says "Cyclone Racer." New York's coaster is just called "Cyclone." And in one of the outdoor shots you can see the "Jackrabbit Racer" which is also in Long Beach.
  • Movie Goof (errors made by characters, possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): When Prof Nesbitt is being interviewed in the hospital shortly after the start of the movie, he is being told that sea monsters do not exist and the interviewer mentions Loch Lomond as an example. He obviously means the Loch Ness monster. Given that, he is further erroneous in stating that it had never been photographed, as one of the most famous photos of "Nessie" was taken in the 1930s.
  • Movie Goof (continuity error): When the hero and the lady scientist are looking at the drawings of the dinosaur in her living room, the sandwich and coffee cup keep appearing and disappearing.
  • Movie Goof (continuity error): As the policeman fires a pistol at the monster, the beast picks up the policeman and proceeds to eat him. As the officer begins firing, he is next to a car and the passenger side door is open. When he is bitten and lifted off the ground the same passenger side door is now closed.
  • Movie Goof (revealing mistake): (At 62:15) In the scene in which the scared pedestrians are fleeing down the subway steps with the Beast close behind them, one man, in a dark overcoat and lighter hat with dark band, telescopes the collapse of the subway wall and raining debris by raising his arm head high to protect himself *before* the wall collapses.
  • Movie Goof (revealing mistake): At the end of the underwater struggle between the octopus and the shark, a segment of the fight is run and then played in reverse to stretch the scene out. You can see the shark twist, pause, and then reverse its movements.
  • Movie Goof (factual errors): The monster is reported to be in "Manhattan Beach", and when the authorities arrive there they discover it in a big amusement park. This park is actually a replica of that at Coney Island, which is actually several miles from Manhattan Beach in Brooklyn; there's never been an amusement park such as this in Manhattan Beach.
  • Movie Goof (revealing mistake): In the shot of people fleeing down the subway steps to escape the beast, the monster is shown approaching from behind, but the building next to the steps collapses and rains debris down on the pedestrians before the monster has gotten close enough to destroy the building.
  • Movie Goof (continuity error): Shortly after Nesbitt has awakened in the hospital he notices something in the newspaper. This something is below the fold, but when he shows it to the nurse, it is above the fold.
  • Movie Goof (factual errors): One fathom equals six feet. The beast must have come from about 23 miles down. The sea is only seven miles deep at its deepest!
  • Movie Goof (revealing mistake): After the monster comes ashore in New York, tenement buildings are seen with fire escapes, but the fire escapes do not have steps connecting them from floor to floor, as fire escapes always do.
  • Movie Goof (revealing mistake): Shortly after the beast comes ashore in New York, he is shown emerging onto a street from a side street, and pausing. Behind him are a number of cars and pedestrians who continue to drive or walk casually, which they would certainly not be doing if a huge prehistoric monster had just appeared less than a block away.
  • Movie Goof (revealing mistake): The "blind" man braces himself before he gets knocked down.
  • Movie Goof (continuity error): Just after the beast enters New York City, a policeman approaches him on foot firing a pistol at the monster. The beast then picks up the policeman and proceeds to eat him. Several scenes later, a group of four policemen is shown approaching the beast with rifles. The officer who had just moments before served as "lunch" for the beast is clearly one of the four officers.
  • Movie Goof (errors made by characters, possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Character refers to the "Loch Lomond monster" when he almost certainly meant the "Loch Ness monster" (there being no famous monster in Loch Lomond).