The Sea Around Us

"A Thrilling World of Wonders You've Never Seen Before!"

1953 1h 2m EN

😐

6.1

MID

★6.1TMDB · 12

Documentary

Synopsis

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Irwin Allen explores the mysteries of the deep blue sea in this Technicolor documentary. Based on Rachel L. Carson's famous study, this Oscar winning project investigates everything under the sea, from sharks, whales and octopuses to microscopical creatures and their coexistence in this vast underwater world.

“A Thrilling World of Wonders You've Never Seen Before!”

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Cast

Don Forbes
Commentator (voice)
Theodore von Eltz
Commentator (voice) (as Theodor Von Eltz)

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Irwin Allen
Writers: Irwin Allen
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Tight 62-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

73 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Paul Sawtell. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Doane Harrison shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Don Forbes and Theodore von Eltz carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

AWARDS

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "A Thrilling World of Wonders You've Never Seen Before!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0044009 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Irwin Allen directs. Paul Sawtell scores. Doane Harrison cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Tight 62-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.
273 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
4Original score by Paul Sawtell. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Doane Harrison shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Don Forbes and Theodore von Eltz carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "A Thrilling World of Wonders You've Never Seen Before!".
8IMDB entry: tt0044009 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Only 12 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Original score: Paul Sawtell
Editing: Doane Harrison
Runtime: 62 min · 1h 2m
Status: Released
Original language: EN
IMDB: The Sea Around Us (1953)

Awards

Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Irwin Allen

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2025-07-09
★ 6/10
Not that Irwin Allen could ever have done this, but it’s quite fascinating to watch this in the context of the currently circulating “Ocean” documentary from Sir David Attenborough looking at just how mankind has profoundly affected the pristine waters that are so clearly and colourfully illustrated in this feature. According to the commentary, mankind only obtained 3% of it’s total food from the sea at the start of the 1950s, and what we see clearly here is that the natural resources at least had some degree of a fighting chance against fishing fleets or industrial harvesters of minerals that couldn’t quite trawl the depths as and where they wanted, in all weathers and in unsustainable quantities. There’s an impressive array of underwater photography showing us the Technicolor beauty of the life below the waves. From colourful reefs to lively sea creatures, we see nature at it’s most uninhibited by man with plenty of activity going on. That ranges from the beautiful to the curious and from the violence of overhead storms to fish and plants swimming about. There’s also a duel between an octopus and a shark - and no guarantees who will win! There is perhaps a little too much by way of overly optimistic narration, but it’s still sometimes quite informative and doesn’t overwhelm us with endless statistics as it allows so much of the imagery to tell us the story and appreciate for ourselves. It is worth a watch, but could hardly be described as a documentary that advances or respects the complexities of the underwater ecosystem.

Production companies