Baker’s Log – A Quick Look: Battle Beneath the Earth (1967)

Here’s a movie I just love. BATTLE BENEATH THE EARTH told of the discovery of tunnels being dug under the United States by a rouge red Chinese Army unit. Heroic Kerwin Matthews leads the counter-attack forces. MGM release was actually a British picture, though one that tried as hard as it could to come across as American in origin. Espionage, science fiction, pulp adventure all wrapped together into a delightful package filled with familiar faces. Ed Bishop has a nice showy role, which is always welcome. The score is just fantastic, the color beautiful, the whole affair is just fantastic fun -though it feels more like a TV movie than an actual theatrical affair. Probably for the comfort of the actors, the US soldiers wear helmet liners rather than actual helmets! Happily, the film has been issued in a gorgeous scope transfer on DVD, paired with the post-apocalyptic adventure THE ULTIMATE WARRIOR.