Episode Guide, Year 1

Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea
Episode Guide, Year One, show 8.
Production information and notes by Mark Phillips
Story synopses, Mike Bailey

Village of Guilt (Airdate: November 2, 1964)
STORYLINE:
Reports of a giant sea monster that devours people and sinks boats catch Nelson's scientific curiosity, and he directs Crane to steer Seaview to the North Sea for a look around. Intending to interview a survivor, the two men head ashore to the village at the center of the attacks. They find the survivor murdered and encounter a conspiracy of silence and misdirection, but the discovery of a section of giant tentacle tells Nelson and company that there's something rotten in Denmark, er....Norway. It seems Lars Mattson's quest for a new food source has led to the successful creation of giant sea creatures.

Nelson examines tentacle segment.

Ana Lisa as Sigrid.

Richard Carlson as Lars.

Desperate Sigrid Fires on Lars

Lars bites the bullet (so to speak.)

His beautiful wife Sigrid tries to get him to stop, but to no avail, and in the end, it is she who fells him. Unfortunately for Seaview, the giant cephalopod that's been wreaking all the havoc is unleashed on the submarine, but a mighty jolt of power from the reactor system sends the tentacled behemoth to the bottom for good.

Nelson (Basehart) and Crane (Hedison) confer,
nicely framed by veteran academy award-winnning
cinematographer Winton C. Hoch

Great Season One effects--note, background
& foreground detail.



Written: Berne Giler
Directed: Irwin Allen
Guest Cast
Lars Mattson ...Richard Carlson
Sigrid Mattson............Anna Lisa
Oscar Dalgren.......Steven Geray
Otto Hassler.......Frank Richards
Getera......................Erik Holland
Torganson............Brendan Dillon
Maris.......................Peter Bourne
Homer................Kort Falkenburg
Boy..........................Gregor Vigen
Rolvaag...............Clyde Cameron
Anderson...........G. Stanley Jones
Bartender..............Torben Meyer
O’Brien................Gordon Gilbert
Malone......................Mark Slade
Helmsman................Jim Goodwin
Newscaster’s voice.....Irwin Allen
Bar Patron................Paul Kremin
Villagers..................Jesse Franco
                               Alfred George
                          Kenneth Bischoff
                                    Paul Stader
                               Frank Graham
Sonarman #2________________

Credit Alert: A brief clip of a sonarman as the squid attacks Seaview is stock foootage from the Voyage feature film. Anyone know who this actor is?


Anna-Lisa in scene from "TheVillage of Guilt."

    Anna-Lisa says: "I remember this episode was afloat with dark, dramatic events and that Richard Carlson’s character had created some sort of dreadful sea monster. I must admit I found the whole yarn a bit farfetched and I worked extra hard on my character’s interpretation to make her believable. But I rather enjoy challenges of those kind. Richard Carlson was a charming person, a dream to work with and very supportive. Director Irwin Allen was a soft-spoken, gentle man and he left us alone to work out our scenes without interference.  In the 1960s,

there was no time for directors to give actors personal instructions. It was, `These are your marks, hit ‘em, roll ‘em and action!"

For more on
Anna-Lisa,
Click Here

Mark says: This has all the makings of a B-movie - a mad scientist, hostile villagers and a giant sea monster, but the matter-of-fact presentation makes it dramatic and supersedes the clichés. There’s also a great scene of giant catfish surrounding Seaview. A rousing battle between the submarine and the monster delivers the goods. Richard Carlson valiantly struggles to master a Norwegian accent and Anna-Lisa, with her wonderfully expressive eyes, is good as the sad but ultimately courageous wife.

Mike says: Like Mark says, a classy mini B-movie. Great b&w exterior shots, excellent sets. Keyword: mood, as is the case with many Season One episodes. Irwin Allen was actually a pretty fair director given a decent script, and a straightforward, unsentimental story.   Such is the case with "The Village of Guilt," a cautionary tail which notes that scientists, like politicians, can become overly zealous in their work. If this is a mad-scientist episode, it's certainly a good one.

Classy matte shot sets ambiance of Norwegian setting.

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