Main Cast: Michael Craig, Joan Greenwood, Michael Callan, Gary Merrill, Herbert Lom
Release Year: 1961
Country: US/UK
Run Time: 100 minutes
MPAA Rating: NR
Plot
Filmed at least nine times over the last nine decades, Jules Verne's Mysterious Island received its most popular picturization in the hands of producer Charles Schneer, director Cy Endfield and special-effects maestro Ray Harryhausen. During the Civil War, several P.O.W.s led by Gary Merrill escape from a southern stockade in a huge observation balloon. Buffeted about by a violent storm, the balloon lands on an unchartered island somewhere near New Zealand. The fugitives soon discover that this is no ordinary desert isle, especially after being attacked by a giant-sized crab. Joined by a pair of shipwrecked British gentlewomen (Joan Greenwood and Beth Rogan), the castaways find evidence that the island has been previously inhabited-and that they're all being watched. Sure enough, it turns out that the island is the domain of Captain Nemo (Herbert Lom), skipper of the futuristic underwater vessel Nautilus. Having failed to end all wars by blasting battleships out of the sea, Nemo is now experimenting with new means of ending starvation in the world: hence the outsized crabs and birds that the castaways have confronted. Before Nemo can spread his goodwill elsewhere, he is destroyed by the island's volcano, while the others manage to escape in the Nautilus. As in 1957's 7th Voyage of Sinbad, the combination of Ray Harryhausen and musical composer Bernard Herrmann is unbeatable; otherwise, Mysterious Island tends to slow to a halt in-between its spectacular special-effects highlights. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
The cinematic equivalent of a good old British "ripping yarn," Mysterious Island takes a great deal of liberties with the Jules Verne story upon which it is based. The result is not vintage Verne, but it's a fun-filled Saturday afternoon-type adventure film that young boys (of all ages) will enjoy. The plot doesn't make a lot of sense, but it's not really supposed to; all it needs to do is provide a few excuses for some neat-o Ray Harryhausen giant animals. While these are far less sophisticated than what one expects in current films, they are very good for the period and have a certain strange power to them. The sequence involving the giant bees is especially well done. Equally impressive is the lengthy balloon flight/storm sequence that opens the picture. In between the adventure sequences, the film bogs down; dialogue and character development are not among its strong points, nor is the explanation for why these giant creatures exist particularly credible. In general, the acting takes second place to the special effects, although Herbert Lom is quite amusing and Joan Greenwood has some very good moments. Bernard Herrmann's score is excellent, as always, and adds tremendously to the adventure segments. Mysterious Island is not a great film, but it's a great deal of fun. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
Percy Herbert - Sgt. Pencroft; Beth Rogan - Elena; Dan Jackson - Neb; Nigel Green - Tom; Harry Monty
Credit
Bill Andrews - Art Director, Rene Dupont - First Assistant Director, Cy Raker Endfield - Director, Frederick Wilson - Editor, Bernard Herrmann - Composer (Music Score), Bernard Herrmann - Musical Direction/Supervision, Jack Mills - Camera Operator, Wilkie Cooper - Cinematographer, Egil Woxholt - Cinematographer, Charles H. Schneer - Producer, Ray Harryhausen - Special Effects, Dan Ullman - Screenwriter, Crane Wilbur - Screenwriter, John Prebble - Screenwriter, Jules Verne - Book Author
The film centers around escaping Union soldiers from a Confederate prison camp during the American Civil War in a gas balloon. They end up crashing in the ocean, only to find themselves washed up on an unknown island where gigantic animals abound. It would later be revealed that the animals were experiments of the presumed-dead Captain Nemo, who is an unknown benefactor to the castaways as they struggle to survive on the island. The island's volcano threatens to erupt. After a skirmish with pirates, the stranded group manages to escape from the island on the pirate's ship as the volcano destroys the island.
The highlights of the film were Ray Harryhausen's animation sequences. The different animated "monsters" that the castaways encountered were: a giant crab, a giant flightless bird (which most viewers thought was a chicken, but Harryhausen originally intended it to be a prehistoric bird called a Phorusrhacos), giant bees and a giant cephalopod resembling a prehistoric Ammonite. The book on which the film is based is a sequel to two other books by Jules Verne, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and In Search of the Castaways. The latter of these featured a character named Ayrton, who does not appear in this film. The only connection with the former is the presence of Captain Nemo and the Nautilus.
