Ever likable fantasy genre star Kerwin Mathews is cast here as Commander Jonathan Shaw, an officer with the U.S. Navy. He's called into action due to mysterious seismic forces occurring underground throughout the U.S.A. He and his men find that a renegade Chinese general, Chan Lu (Martin Benson), is creating enormous tunnels DEEP underground stretching all the way from mainland China to the States, and placing bombs at strategic points. With the help of a shapely geologist, Tila Yung (Vivienne Ventura), he sets out about foiling the efforts of the diabolical villain.Provided the prospective viewer is aware that this is VERY old fashioned entertainment - with various Caucasians cast in Asian roles - and isn't too distracted by this fact, they should find this to be quite colourful and amusing. The movie (as well as its female actresses) is gorgeous to look at, with eye catching costumes and props and vehicles, and cinematography by Kenneth Talbot. The whole scenario is deliciously preposterous, and director Montgomery Tully gives the story a decent pace while getting solid and straight faced performances from his actors. "Battle Beneath the Earth" isn't overflowing with action set pieces, but it's reasonably rousing just the same, with some interesting "lasers" that offer little more than a light show. The sets are just right for this sort of deliberately cheesy diversion.Mathews, Ventura, and Benson are among a cast also featuring capable performers such as Robert Ayres and Bill Nagy as ramrod straight military officers, Peter Arne as the passionate Arnold Kramer, Al Mulock and Earl Cameron as reliable soldiers Mulberry and Hawkins, Peter Elliott as the nefarious Dr. Kengh Lee, and Ed Bishop as the engaging Lieutenant Commander Vance Cassidy.Fun to watch, and clearly never meant to be taken very seriously.Seven out of 10.

The picture concerns upon Chinese communists (leader is Martin Benson as general goes berserk and who places atomic bombs) trying to destroy United States via some continued series of underground tunnels , made all the way from China under the Pacific Ocean , but some US Navy soldiers , scientists , military (Kerwin Mathews , Al Mulok , Ed Bishop) and a gorgeous geologist (Vivienne Ventura) discover the scheme and go underground to repel the invaders .It's a pulp movie of science-fiction genre in which there are noisy action , suspense , intrigue , tension and results to be quite bemusing . The history deals with nasty Chinese people and American patriots who fight strongly to vanquish them . In spite of lack luster and budget is quite agreeable and fun . The plot is almost ridiculous and senseless but it's developed in fast moving and numerous surprises and that's why it is amusing . The movie has precedent in those films of the 30s with Fumanchu (by Sax Rohmer) and Boris Karloff as heinous starring and nearest the series of the 60s (produced by Harry Alan Towers with Christopher Lee as the Chinese baddie) in which the ¨yellow danger¨ was a fearful enemy . The motion picture takes part of a genre which in the 80s attained splendor , thus : ¨Red Dawn¨ (by John Milius with Patrick Swayze) , ¨Invasion USA ¨ (by Joseph Zito with Chuck Norris) and ¨Amerika¨ (by Donald Wyre with Kris Kristofferson) where the communists -Russkies generally- execute invasion on America . Rating : Average but entertaining .

This a British film attempting to pretend to everyone and fooling no one that it`s a big budget Hollywood movie . It starts with a couple of Las Vegas cops with laughably bad American accents getting a report of a disturbance . Cut to some stock footage of Vegas with the cop car stopping beside a sidewalk that was obviously filmed inside a studio . Every expense has been spared with BATTLE BENEATH THE EARTH . Despite being set in the 1960s all the American troops have firearms and wear kit from the second world war while those nasty Chinese commies have death rays that are obviously flash lights , and in order to save on importing Chinese actors we have caucasians playing oriental villains . Why couldn`t they have employed Burt Kwouk ( Kato from THE PINK PANTHER movies ) I ask myself ? There is some enjoyment to be had from BATTLE BENEATH THE EARTH since it`s one of those " So bad it`s good " type films complete with absolutely ridiculous scenes that defy logic such as GIs` being able to defuse atomic bombs and people managing to outrun the blast from a nuclear explosion

If you used to enjoy watching Napoleon Solo and his friends back in the sixties, saving the world from democracy every week on television then this might be a movie for you. On second thoughts, get some old Man from Uncle videos, or go and see the new James Bond.