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 | island | 

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Taglines:

Venture to the ends of the Earth... Beyond the span of time and beyond the farthest reaches of human imagination...

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Genres:

Adventure | Family | Fantasy | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 December 1961 (USA)

Also Known As:

Jules Verne's Mysterious Island

Filming Locations:

Benidorm, Alicante, Comunidad Valenciana, 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

Did You Know?

Trivia

Bernard Herrmann's main title score for The Mysterious Island was used by Walt Disney for the Disneyland Railroad, in Anaheim, California. It can be heard while the train passes through "The Primeval World" portion of the attraction between the Tomorrowland and Main Street stations.

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Goofs

The "neck" of the balloon is shown blown out of position when first seen. It is then shown in place, too quickly to have been repaired.

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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

Referenced in Land of the Lost (2009)

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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

Highly Enjoyable

This is a nice, satisfying telling of the Verne story, with special effects by Ray Harryhausen and a good score by Bernard Herrman. Escapees from a Civil War prison camp are blown way off course in a balloon they stole. They find themselves on an apparently deserted island somewhere in the Pacific, are joined by two women who were shipwrecked, and eventually come face-to-face with Captain Nemo and the wrecked Nautilus.

They have to deal with pirates, an erupting volcano and Harryhausen's creature threats. These include very large versions of a hungry red crab, an aggressive chicken (or dodo), a bee and an unhappy squid. Some of the creatures turn out to be very good boiled or roasted.

The movie holds up well because of a strong story, good action, and fairly well-defined characters. It features Herbert Lom, in my view an under-rated actor, and Joan Greenwood. By this time Greenwood was taking character parts and doing a lot of stage work. But from the mid-Forties to the mid-Fifties she was, I think, one of the sexiest, smartest actors Britain has ever produced. Her plummy, smoky voice is inimitable.