The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms is a 1953 science fiction film

Science fiction film

Science fiction film is a film genre that uses science fiction: speculative, science-based depictions of phenomena that are not necessarily accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial life forms, alien worlds, extrasensory perception, and time travel, often along with futuristic...

 directed by Eugène Lourié

Eugène Lourié

Eugène Lourié was a French film director, art director, production designer, set designer and screenwriter who was known for his collaborations with Jean Renoir and for his 1950s science fiction movies...

 and stars Paul Christian

Paul Hubschmid

Paul Hubschmid was a Swiss actor. He appeared as Henry Higgins in a production of My Fair Lady. In some Hollywood films he used the name Paul Christian...

, Paula Raymond

Paula Raymond

Paula Raymond was an American model and actress.In 1950, she was put under contract by MGM, where she played opposite such leading men as Cary Grant and Dick Powell...

 and Cecil Kellaway

Cecil Kellaway

Cecil Lauriston Kellaway was a South African-born character actor.Cecil Kellaway spent many years as an actor, author, and director in the Australian film industry until he tried his luck in Hollywood in the 1930s. Finding he could get only gangster bit parts, he got discouraged and returned to...

 with visual effects by Ray Harryhausen

Ray Harryhausen

Ray Harryhausen is an American film producer and special effects creator...

. The film is about an atomic bomb test in the Arctic Circle

Arctic Circle

The Arctic Circle is one of the five major circles of latitude that mark maps of the Earth. For Epoch 2011, it is the parallel of latitude that runs north of the Equator....

 that unfreezes a hibernating fictional dinosaur, a Rhedosaurus, that begins to wreak havoc in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

. It was one of the first monster movies that helped inspire the following generation of creature features, coining it with the atomic age.
Far north of the Arctic Circle, a nuclear bomb test, dubbed Operation Experiment, is conducted.