The Mysterious Island (1929)

On a volcanic island near the kingdom of Hetvia rules Count Dakkar, a benevolent leader and scientist who has eliminated class distinction among the island's inhabitants. Dakkar, his ... See full summary »

Directors:

Lucien Hubbard, Benjamin Christensen (uncredited)

Writers:

Jules Verne (from the book by), Lucien Hubbard (screen play)

Stars:

Lionel Barrymore, Jacqueline Gadsdon, Lloyd Hughes

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Lionel Barrymore	...	Count Andre Dakkar
Jacqueline Gadsdon	...	Countess Sonia Dakkar (as Jane Daly)
Lloyd Hughes	...	Nikolai Roget
Montagu Love	...	Baron Falon
Harry Gribbon	...	Mikhail
Snitz Edwards	...	Anton
Gibson Gowland	...	Dmitry
Dolores Brinkman	...	Teresa
Karl Dane	...	Crewman (scenes deleted)

Storyline

On a volcanic island near the kingdom of Hetvia rules Count Dakkar, a benevolent leader and scientist who has eliminated class distinction among the island's inhabitants. Dakkar, his daughter Sonia and her fiance, engineer Nicolai Roget have designed a submarine which Roget pilots on its initial voyage just before the island is overrun by Baron Falon, despotic ruler of Hetvia. Falon sets out after Roget in a second submarine and the two craft, diving to the ocean's floor, discover a strange land populated by dragons, giant squid and an eerie undiscovered humanoid race.

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Plot Keywords:

based on the works of jules verne | three word title | foreign language adaptation | utopia | psychotronic film | 

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Taglines:

The Most Daring Departure From Film Convention Yet to Reach the Screen (Print Ad-The Sunday Call,((Newark, NJ)) 8 September 1929)

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Genres:

Adventure | Romance | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Passed

Did You Know?

Trivia

A costume test of Karl Dane, shot in Technicolor, has been preserved by the BFI National Archives.

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Goofs

The initial views of the ship's nose during construction shows a blunt rounded appearance as with modern submarines, but the animation views of the ship underway show an almost cartoon-like shape with a swordfish-like pointy nose.

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Quotes

Count Andre Dakkar: Here - on this island - all men are equal, Falon.
Baron Falon: I know - of course - but - but - - a sister of Count Dakkar - and - *and a common workman*!
Count Andre Dakkar: No doubt Nikolai has carried things too far, Baron Falon. I'll speak to him - severely.

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Alternate Versions

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer also released this as a totally silent movie.

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Connections

Version of Mysterious Island (1951)

User Reviews

high adventure

Count Andre Dakkar (Lionel Barrymore) considers himself a scientist and rules his island as a benevolent leader. He creates submarines to search for a suspected underwater civilization. His daughter Sonia falls in love with engineer Nicolai Roget. Despotic ruler Baron Falon disapproves of the mixing of the classes. With revolution brewing in the Kingdom of Hetvia, Falon seizes the island and hopes to use the research submarine vessels as weapons. The Count and Sonia face torture. Nicolai returns with the first submarine to rescue them. Under attack, they are forced deeper and deeper until they discover the sea people.

The Jazz Singer was released two years earlier. This is still mostly silent with a few scenes with sound. It's also an early colored film but I didn't see that print. The TCM showing looks black and white. It is loosely adapted from Jules Verne. It faced a long production as film technology started to change. The story is high adventure. There are miniatures, creatures, and midget sea people. It is the fun of simple thrills.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 October 1929 (USA)

Also Known As:

La isla misteriosa

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,130,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min 93 min (Turner library print)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric System) (musical score and sound effects) (talking sequences) Silent (original version)

Color:

Color (2-color Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.20 : 1