City Under the Sea

City Under the Sea
Theatrical release poster by Reynold Brown
Directed byJacques Tourneur
Screenplay by
Additional dialogue by
Based on
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyStephen Dade
Edited byGordon Hales
Music byStanley Black
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release dates
  • 26 May 1965 (1965-05-26) (United States)
  • June 1965 (1965-06) (United Kingdom)
  • 2 June 1965 (1965-06-02) (New York City)
Running time
85 minutes
Countries
  • United Kingdom
  • United States
LanguageEnglish

City Under the Sea (released as War-Gods of the Deep in the US) is a 1965 British-American adventure horror science fiction film. It was directed by Jacques Tourneur (his final film) and starred Vincent Price, Tab Hunter, Susan Hart and David Tomlinson.

The plot concerns the discovery of a lost city beneath the sea off the coast of Cornwall. Price is the captain overseeing a group of sailors who have lived there for more than a century where the peculiar mix of gases has allowed them to extend their lifespan.

The film was a period fantasy in the manner begun with Disney's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954). The film attempted to capitalize on the series of Edgar Allan Poe films that had been made by Roger Corman, starring Price. To this extent the film took the title of a Poe poem, "The City in the Sea", and attempted to exploit the Poe films' trend, even though the plot is only loosely based on the poem, with a recitation of the poem at the beginning of the film and a brief reprise at the end. The film was also loosely based on H. P. Lovecraft's novella The Shadow over Innsmouth.