The Man from Atlantis

Director: Lee H. Katzin Lee H. Katzin

Overview

In this TV pilot that spawned a brief series on NBC during 1977-78, Patrick Duffy plays the title character--an amphibian/human, equipped with gills--who washes up on shore and is taken to the hospital to recover. When the American government finds out his identity, it recruits him to help in the recovery of a secret submarine.

Product Details

Release Date:	03/12/2019
UPC:	0883929673643
Original Release:	1977
Rating:	NR
Source:	Warner Archives
Presentation:	[Full Frame]
Time:	1:36:00
Sales rank:	31,204

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Art Lund	Actor
Victor Buono	Mr. Schubert
Lilyan Chauvin	French Scientist
Charles Davis	British Scientist
Patrick Duffy	Mark Harris
Steve Franken	Actor
Virginia Gregg	Whale Scientist
Philip Baker Hall	George
Larry Holt	Ambulance Driver
Mark Jenkins	Actor
Michael J. London	Popeye
Curt Lowens	Emil
Trudy Marshall	Woman at Party
Belinda Montgomery	Dr. Elizabeth Merrill
Robert Phalen	Habitat Technician
Lawrence Pressman	Phil Roth
Alex Rodine	Russian Scientist
Scott Stevenson	Boy on Beach
Philip Tanzini	Boy at Phone Booth
Michael Watson	Diver
Peter Weiss	Test Lab Assistant
Dean Santoro	Actor

Technical Credits

Mayo Simon

Lee H. Katzin	Director,Producer
Dann Cahn	Editor
William H. Cronjager	Cinematographer
Thomas Fisher	Special Effects
Gary Griffen	Editor
Robert H. Justman	Producer
Fred Karlin	Score Composer
Mayo Simon	Screenwriter
Herbert F. Solow	Executive Producer

Editorial Reviews

This made-for-television film, which would eventually spawn three sequels and a short-lived series, is an engagingly smart and thoughtful example of small-screen science fiction. Mayo Simon's script has a cinematic flair to it, using a mystery-style approach to slowly reveal the nature of the title character before moving into a James Bond-styled plot in the second part of the film. It's an engaging, well-crafted pulp tale and is slickly helmed by television veteran Lee H. Katzin, who downplays overt flashiness to allow the unusual storyline to sell itself. A pre-Dallas Patrick Duffy does a fine job as the enigmatic hero, using his charisma to make the character engaging even as he uses stoic mannerisms to give him the right note of "otherness." There is also strong support from Belinda Montgomery as the hero's main earthly ally and Victor Buono, who delivers an intense turn as the villain that is theatrical without being campy. All in all, The Man From Atlantis is a fun sci-fi effort and worth the time for fans of cultish 1970's TV artifacts.

All Movie Guide