This was the first film in the Doug McClure boxed set that I watched, and initially I wondered if it was Steampunk at all! There was a surprisingly non-Victorian boat in the middle of the ocean which got me worried initially – but within moments we were discussing suitably Victorian subjects while wearing absurdly restrictive suits. Then, they revealed their contraption – a diving bell. Almost worth it just for that, it was a beautiful brass device with rivets and valves aplenty. Full marks there for Steampunk Device.

The plot from there on in seemed strangely familiar, and it wasn’t until later that I realised that at some point during my childhood I’d played the “Choose your own Adventure” book of the same story. There are humerously tretcherous employees, suitably noble but innocent men of science, and Doug McClure being irresistable to the ladies and punching the men. The depiction of the Atlanteans world is fair enough – the effects are in this day and age, laughable, but if you can laugh with them, instead of at them, then you’ll do ok.

Verdict: The diving bell is lovely, the characters are old fashioned stereotypes, and the special effects are as cheesy as they come. A biased score, purely because the diving bell was very nice indeed.

Steampunk Score: 7/10