One contemporary trade reviewer stated that the screenplay, based on Jules Verne’s 1870 novel of the same name, incorporated plot material from Verne's 1874 novel The Mysterious Island. Universal chief Carl Laemmle was credited in a 28 Oct 1916 Moving Picture World brief with the original idea to make a screen adaptation of 20,000 Leagues under the Sea. According to most contemporary sources, production took place over a two-year period, between 1914 and 1916; however, an interview with submarine photographers Ernest Williamson (a.k.a. J. Ernest Williamson) and George Williamson (a.k.a. George M. Williamson) in the 30 Jul 1916 NYT suggested that the Williamsons began their work on the picture as early as 1913, when they were studying sharks off the coast of Nassau, Bahamas. In addition to underwater scenes taken in the Bahamas, the film's interiors were shot both at Universal's Eastern studio in Leonia, NJ, and at Universal City, CA. Pre-release trade articles stated that the film was planned as a twelve-reeler, and the copyright holdings list it as an eleven-reeler, but nearly all contemporary reviews gave its length as eight reels.
       The film was a big-budget spectacle costing an estimated $500,000, as stated in multiple sources including the 30 Jun 1916 LAT. A 20 Aug 1915 Var brief noted that production was currently underway in the Bahamas, where scenes were being shot with the aid of at least one airplane, a submarine, a balloon, and two boats. A 23 Dec 1916 Motion Picture News item later claimed that 20,000 Leagues under the Sea was the “first photo drama ever made under the sea…destined to make two separate fortunes for its joint owners.” The joint owners referred to were Universal Film Mfg. Co. and the Williamson Submarine Film Corp. According to the 28 Oct 1916 Motography, the Williamsons designed and built Nautilus, the submarine craft used to shoot underwater scenes, specifically for the film, and their co-producing contract with Universal stipulated that they would “operate their undersea picture apparatus…and direct and supervise the construction of all submarine props.”
       An article in the 28 Oct 1916 Motion Picture Mail reported that Universal’s New York-based editorial staff “threw up its hands in despair” upon receiving a 38,000-foot rough cut of the picture from the West coast. Universal general manager Joe Brandt and his associate, Jack Cohn, took over post-production duties, reducing the length to 11,000 feet, then further shortening the film with input from Carl Laemmle, R. H. Cochrane and Pat Powers. At a later point in the editing process, Cohn reportedly “made a suggestion which cut out a whole reel and gave the picture a finish ‘punch’” by shifting an undersea burial scene from the middle to the end of the picture, to mark “the tragic end of Capt. Nemo.”
       The film's first public showing occurred on 9 Oct 1916 at the Studebaker Theater in Chicago, IL. Later that month, the Williamson brothers ran in advertisement in several publications, correcting “certain news items” that had wrongly credited Universal for the submarine scenes and clarifying that they were the originators and sole producers of the undersea material. Following the 24 Dec 1916 opening at the Broadway Theatre in New York City, the 29 Dec 1916 Var review predicted the film would be “an unqualified artistic and financial success.” It went on to gross $22,000 in its first two weeks at the Broadway, as noted in the 10 Feb 1917 Moving Picture Weekly. In the meantime, the 5 Jan 1917 Var announced that Universal planned to sell further distribution rights on a states’ rights basis.
       The 1 Sep 1916 Var noted that Ned Holmes did publicity work for the film, and the 13 Oct 1916 issue listed the Jones-Linick-Schaefer firm as publicists. One pre-release article gave "Brulatier" as the last name of the cinematographer who shot the undersea scenes. The copyright holdings list the name of the character played by Matt Moore as “Gideon Spilett,” but reviews refer to the character as “Lieutenant Bond.”
       Jules Verne's novel was also the basis of the 1954 Walt Disney production of the same name, directed by Richard Fleischer and starring Kirk Douglas and James Mason (see entry).