Mysterious Island (1961)

During the Civil War a group of Union soldiers and two Confederates escape the stockade using a hot air balloon and end up on a strange Pacific island.

Director:

Cy Endfield

Writers:

John Prebble (screenplay), Daniel B. Ullman (screenplay) (as Daniel Ullman)

Stars:

Michael Craig, Joan Greenwood, Michael Callan

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Michael Craig	...	Capt. Cyrus Harding
Joan Greenwood	...	Lady Mary Fairchild
Michael Callan	...	Herbert Brown
Gary Merrill	...	Gideon Spilitt
Herbert Lom	...	Captain Nemo
Beth Rogan	...	Elena Fairchild
Percy Herbert	...	Sgt. Pencroft
Dan Jackson	...	Cpl. Neb Nugent

Storyline

During the US Civil War, Union POWs escape in a balloon and end up stranded on a South Pacific island, inhabited by giant plants and animals. They must use their ingenuity to survive the dangers, and to devise a way to return home. Sequel to '20,000 Leagues Under the Sea'.

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Plot Keywords:

19th century | pacific ocean | based on the works of jules verne | psychotronic film | geyser | 

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Taglines:

Soar with Jules Verne on the most astonishing adventure in all creation.

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Genres:

Adventure | Family | Fantasy | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of the factors that led to the green-lighting of this project was the huge success of a film with a similar story, Swiss Family Robinson (1960), that was made by Walt Disney.

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Goofs

When the fight with the Giant Crab takes place, Cpl. Neb Nugent is snatched up in the crab's claw. On the close-up in two of the shots you can clearly see a crack in the fiberglass of the claw, not to mention on the wider shots it's obvious that Neb is a Plasticine model.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Confederate soldier: All right, now get down.

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Crazy Credits

Opening credits prologue: THE SIEGE OF RICHMOND, VIRGINIA 1865

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Connections

Followed by Captain Nemo and the Underwater City (1969)

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Soundtracks

Toccata and Fugue
in D Minor, BWV 565 (uncredited)
Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach
Played on organ by Captain Nemo

User Reviews

Put it back on the big screen

Mysterious Island is a very political movie as it progresses, which is a sign of the times as opposed to the very traditional Journey to the Center of the Earth which was released just two years earlier. While Journey to the Center of the Earth was absolutely magical, Mysterious Island is explosive and dynamic. The magic is on hand, with wondrous shots and music to go along with the island's flora and fauna. The movie is also extremely charismatic. Michael Craig is too good to be true as the lead, Captain Cyrus Harding, but he has a hard edge that gets respect. The supporting players, especially Gary Merrill and Percy Herbert, more then pull their weight. Merrill's role reminds me a little of Dr. Smith from Lost in Space, and Percy Herbert is a gas as Pentcroft. Neb's character is treated like one of the gang, although I believe that Union regiments in the Civil War were either all white or all black so it is somewhat unrealistic. Indeed, how the character's mix together for the good of all is a hallmark of the movie. The strengthening of Michael Callan's character seems to be a major plot point but it gets lost along the way and is moot when Nemo shows up. Beth Rogan is sexy as Elena and the Lady Mary Faichild character ( I can't remember the actresses' name) shoots the movie full of musky, female intensity. The special effects are brilliant and (I hate to keep harping on it) blow away the "movie within a movie" digital nonsense of today. The bees are worth the price of admission alone and the movements of the crab are top notch. When Nemo arrives, the movie gets so political that I feel that I'm back in college. Herbert Lom is a little too snitty for me as Nemo but he's a cool guy and is great in other things so I accept him. The music is absolutely awesome and is one of my favorite musical scores of all time. A grossly underrated movie overall that is clearly meant to manipulate at the end. Along with Journey to the Center of the Earth, this movie would look incredible back on the big screen.

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 December 1961 (USA)

Also Known As:

Jules Verne's Mysterious Island

Filming Locations:

Estudios Sevilla Films, Madrid, Spain

Box Office

Budget:

$2,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Ameran Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1