Movie: Mysterious Island (1961)
James Craig, Joan Greenwood & Michael Callan Star in Sci-Fi Film
Jules Verne's fantastic Mysterious Island revisited the silver screen in 1961, with James Craig, Joan Greenwood, Michael Callan and Herbert Lom heading the cast.
Cy Endfield directed and Ray Harryhausen provided the special effects for the 1961 movie adaptation of Jules Verne's Mysterious Island, starring James Craig and Joan Greenwood. Add a fantastic escape in an observation balloon, an active volcano, giant creatures, the Nautilus and the enigmatic Captain Nemo, and it all spells classic science fiction.
Based on the Novel by Jules Verne
Mysterious Island was based on the novel L'Ile Mysterieuse (The Mysterious Island) by French science fiction master Jules Verne (1828-1905). The book was first published in France in 1874 by Pierre-Jules Hetzel, with Jules Ferat serving as illustrator.
The Mysterious Island 1929 Film
The Mysterious Island was first staged for the big screen in 1929 by writer/director Lucien Hubbard for MGM. It starred Lionel Barrymore, Jacqueline Gadsden, Lloyd Hughes and Montagu Love.
Various incarnations of Mysterious Island followed, including a 1951 Columbia serial and a 1975 animated TV movie.
Mysterious Island 1961 Movie
The 1961 version of Mysterious Island was written by John Prebble, Daniel Ullman and Crane Wilbur. Directing the picture was Cy Endfield, whose previous credits included Tarzan's Savage Fury (1952), Hell Drivers (1957) and Jet Storm (1959).
The Cast
Mysterious Island featured James Craig (Captain Cyrus Harding), Joan Greenwood (Lady Mary Fairchild), Michael Callan (Herbert Brown), Gary Merrill (Gideon Splitt), Herbert Lom (Captain Nemo), Beth Rogan (Elena Fairchild), Percy Herbert (Sergeant Pencroft) and Dan Jackson (Corporal Neb Nugent).
Filming Locations, Special Effects, Music
Produced by Charles H. Schneer for Columbia Pictures, Mysterious Island was filmed on location in Sa Conca Beach, S'Agaro, Castell-Paltja d'Aro and Girona, Spain. Additional work was completed at Shepperton Studios in the United Kingdom. Shepperton Square served as the exterior location for the thrilling balloon escape sequence.
The movie's superlative special effects were done by the incomparable Ray Harryhausen. Real crabs and stop-motion techniques -- SuperDynamation -- were used by Harryhausen to achieve the realistic monster scenes.
Bernard Hermann provided the movie's haunting music score.
Observation Balloon Escape, Giant Crabs, Captain Nemo
Set in 1865, Mysterious Island opens at a Confederate stockade during the siege of Richmond, with three Union soldiers, a Johnny Reb and a newspaperman making their escape in an observation balloon. Whisked into the upper atmosphere by strong winds, the men eventually wash up on an uncharted island in the South Seas.
The island proves to be the home of the mysterious Captain Nemo, who secretly assists the castaways in their struggle for survival and in a later encounter with cutthroat pirates. Nemo, a brilliant oceanographer and scientist, has been conducting experiments on the island, which explains the presence of giant crabs, bees and other fantastic creatures.
The Americans are eventually joined by a pair of shiwrecked English women. But they all must leave the island soon, as an active volcano is threatening to erupt at any moment. The Nautilus, Captain Nemo's futuristic submarine, is no longer operable, which leaves the sunken pirate ship resting off the coast as their only means of escape.
Release, Reviews, DVD
Mysterious Island went into general release in the United States on December 20, 1961.
"Dramatically the film is awkward, burdened with unanwered questions and some awfully ineffectual giant animals, but photographically it is noteworthy for the Super-dynamation process and special visual effects by Ray Harryhausen," reported Variety.
Mysterious Island was first released on DVD in 2002.
Mysterious Island was one of six films in which Ray Harryhausen plied his unique talents during the 1960s. The others were The 3 Worlds of Gulliver (1960), Jason and the Argonauts (1963), First Men in the Moon (1964), One Million Years B.C. (1966) and The Valley of Gwangi (1969).
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