Just when you thought it was safe to get back on a submarine! In the early fifties the big on-screen bugaboo was not the shark, it was the octopus and the squid. In several Blood 'N' Bubbles of that era giant, eight-armed beasts came out of the ocean to sink ships, wreck San Francisco and crush hard hat divers. The Disney Studio helped propagate the myth that anything with tentacles is bad with this 1954 underwater thriller. Can you identify the besieged star shown above, the name of his submarine and the title of the movie?

The year was 1954 and the Disney Studio was able to lure England's top dramatic actor, James Mason to America to captain the submarine Nautilus. The movie, 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, was a not too accurate film version of the classic Jules Verne underwater story. Directed by Richard Fleischer, the movie starred Kirk Douglas, James Mason, Peter Lorrie and Paul Lukas.

Typical of the Disney films of that era there are great special effects, big monsters, comedy and a sing-a-long song or two. A stoic James Mason avoids singing but Kirk Douglas, as an imprisoned whale hunter takes time out from diving and squid fighting to get chummy with a seal and sing "A Whale of Tale and It's All True (I swear by my tattoo)".

The movie did take viewers diving. Mason and his Nautilus crew went out hunting and farming on the sea bed. When underwa ter they wore airtight sea shells on their heads, à la hard hat diving, and used heavy boots to keep them on the bottom.

In the annals of 19th century literature, Captain Nemo was an evil genius. He built the world's first submarine, invented underwater horticulture and had a habit of sinking American and British warships without provocation.

The Disney movie wasn't the first screen version of the Verne tale. In 1916 American producer Stuart Paton released a 101 minute silent movie about Nemo and his stainless steel Nautilus.