MovieChat Forums > The Monster That Challenged the World (1957) Discussion > THE best Salton Sea movie ever made !!!

THE best Salton Sea movie ever made !!!

posted 14 years ago by surf_dude
13 replies | jump to latest

If it were'nt for this movie I would never have even heard of the Salton Sea. Like about 99% of the people posting here, I first saw this as a kid (for my first viewing it was on television in the early 1960's). And like the other posters here, I think this film is really not that bad. It's on cable right now!
Keeping to the subject of the thread topic, the only other Salton Sea movie was the recent "Salton Sea" with Val Kilmer. That was an unbelievably dark depressing movie about meth addicts. Gee, if you want to see that kind of stuff, just watch the 6:00 o'clock news.

This might be the only time that Hans Conreid played a serious dramatic character and he's really quite convincing. Actually, the acting by everyone in this film is rather good.
As the IMDB mentions, there are many mistakes in this film - I even noticed one as a kid. In some scenes in this movie, the Salton Sea is shown with waves breaking on its shore. It's actually a lake isn't it? Do lakes have waves breaking on the shore?

I'd like to type more but there's no more room left ... Proposition 14a was defeated you know.

[–] vawlkee_2000 14 years ago

I've been there many times in the last 10 years and even before that when it was in it's "heyday". I saw "MTCTW" in 1964 originally and liked it immediately.
The Salton Sea was actually created by accident in 1905-'06 as a result of SPRR and their dynamiting errors.
The waves breaking and the seaweed was a result of footage being shot on Catalina Island.

[–] surf_dude 14 years ago

Thanks for the reply vawlkee.
Yes, I've lived about a half mile from a beach since I was born and the first time I saw a lake I noticed a distinct difference.
So that was Catalina Island? Interesting.

Every now and then, the Salton Sea makes the news, most notably for its declining ecological health. From what I've read, it is evaporating faster than it gets replenished by rain. Besides this causing the Salton Sea to decrease in size, the remaining water has a higher salinity percentage.

The other reason for the Salton Sea making the news? The murder and mutilation of elderly canal gatekeepers.

[–] vawlkee_2000 14 years ago

OY VEY! Gatekeepers eh. Well he got his along the All American Canal, not the Salton Sea.

Yes I'm quite aware of the "Seas'" declining environment. It's all wrapped up in politics unfortunately. With a few billion dollars investment it could become another Laughlin, but that would probably take a decade. Once done it would probably hurt Vegas and Laughlin both. The potential here is nothing short of endless!
I've been doing research on the "Sea" for over 10 years.

[–] surf_dude 14 years ago

Darn!! Yes, that would be the All American Canal. Somehow I have no sense of direction when discussing the Imperial Valley.

[–] greenbudgie (2356) 2 years ago

Catalina Island has been popular as a filming location. Roger Corman had filmed a monster movie there three years before.

[–] mobocracy 14 years ago

It's surprising there aren't more movies that use the Salton Sea. It's such an unusual geographic feature and the faded glory aspect of some of the surrounding area has it's own appeal. It could really be any kind of film.

When I was there they said the big problem was, ironically, runoff from irrigation. It apparently picks up a lot of mineral sodium that increase salinity.

At a state park the displays seemed to indicate the plan at the time was some kind of passive desalination.

[–] essex9999 10 years ago

Yes, the Salton Sea and the surrounding areas are a great place to visit if you like somewhat creepy, semi-abandoned, other-worldly places out in the middle of nowhere (although actually not that far from Palm Springs). I do, so it was fun to drive around down there. Very weird, with so many abandoned buildings and so few people. It's definitely worth a visit, although it must be a fairly hellish place to live.

[–] greenbudgie (2356) 2 years ago

I just watched the John Walter's 2004 documentary "Plagues and Pleasures on the Salton Sea." Some of it's residents back then were describing it as a hellish place to live. Perhaps some were living there out of need, rather than choice, as welfare claimants had moved there by that time.

By contrast, other residents were describing it as paradise. Perhaps it depended on which part they were living as it covers quite an expanse.

[–] frannywentzel 13 years ago

I remember something about a silent era movie about the creation of the Salton Sea called 'A Race For Millions'. IMDB does show such a movie as existing but has no other info but the documentary I'd seen years ago noted that the villain in the movie gets done in by the flood he'd caused.

[–] oldblackandwhite 10 years ago

frannywentzel:

The silent movie you describe sounds like The Winning Of Barara Worth (1926) (see my review).

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He maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good... St. Matthew 5:45

[–] jbuckets 9 years ago

Surf_Dude:

Um, yes, ALL lakes have waves breaking/ crashing on their shores - as caused by a strong-enough wind, which also generates the same wave motion on ocean shorelines.

On really very windy days here in the Great Lakes region when the waves are 8+ ft tall - usually in the winter & spring - a few hardy souls do actually surf the waves. And thus make the local news every time, too! lol

You're gonna need a bigger boat.

[–] greenbudgie (2356) 2 years ago

I'd not hard of the Salton Sea before watching this. I noticed Hans Conreid calls it a lake early on so I expect this qualifies as a lake monster movie.

[–] voiceofstl (250) 5 months ago

Lake Superior has waves.