Mysterious Island (1961)

Director:

Cy Endfield

Writers:

John Prebble (screenplay) &
Daniel B. Ullman (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

20 December 1961 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Family | Sci-Fi | Fantasy

Tagline:

adventure! mystery! excitement!

Plot:

During the US Civil War, Union POWs escape in a balloon and end up stranded on a South Pacific island...

Plot Keywords:

Escape | Island | Bee | Giant Chicken | Bird

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
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Harry Monty	...	(uncredited)

Directed by
Cy Endfield

Writing credits
John Prebble		(screenplay) &
Daniel B. Ullman		(screenplay) (as Daniel Ullman) &
Crane Wilbur		(screenplay)
Jules Verne		(novel "L'Île mystérieuse")

Produced by
Charles H. Schneer	....	producer

Original Music by
Bernard Herrmann

Cinematography by
Wilkie Cooper		(photographed by)

Film Editing by
Frederick Wilson

Art Direction by
William C. Andrews		(as Bill Andrews)

Production Management
Raymond Anzarut	....	production supervisor
Robert Sterne	....	production manager (as Bob Sterne)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
René Dupont	....	assistant director (as Rene Dupont)

Sound Department
John Cox	....	sound supervisor
Peter Handford	....	sound recordist
Bob Jones	....	sound recordist

Visual Effects by
Ray Harryhausen	....	special visual effects creator

Camera and Electrical Department
Jack Mills	....	camera operator
Egil S. Woxholt	....	underwater photographer (as Egil Woxholt)

Music Department
Bernard Herrmann	....	conductor: The London Symphony Orchestra
Bernard Herrmann	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Other crew
Bob Gill	....	title designer
Marjorie Lavelly	....	continuity

Production Companies

• Ameran Films (uncredited)
• Columbia Pictures Corporation (presents)

Distributors

• Columbia Pictures (1961) (USA) (theatrical)
• Columbia Pictures Corporation (1961) (UK) (theatrical)
• RCA/Columbia Pictures Video Ltd. (1990) (UK) (VHS)
• Pioneer Entertainment (1992) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (1995) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (2002) (UK) (DVD)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1965) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment (2002) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• LK-TEL (2003) (Argentina) (DVD)
• RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video (????) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2000) (USA) (DVD) (widescreen)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2004) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• London Symphony Orchestra, The (LSO)  music played by
• Pathé  Eastmancolor by (as Pathe)

Also Known As:

Jules Verne's Mysterious Island (UK) (complete title)
L'île mystérieuse (Belgium: French title) (poster title) (France) [fr]
La isla misteriosa (Argentina) (Spain) [es]
Den hemlighetsfulla ön (Sweden) [sv]
Den hemmelighedsfulde ø (Denmark) [da]
Die geheimnisvolle Insel (West Germany) [de]
Esrarengiz ada (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Het geheimzinnig eiland (Belgium: Flemish title) (poster title) [un]
I mystiriodis nisos (Greece) [el]
L'isola misteriosa (Italy) [it]
Salaperäinen saari (Finland) [fi]

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Australia:PG | Iceland:12 | Netherlands:12 | Argentina:Atp | Finland:K-8 | Sweden:11 | UK:U | USA:Unrated | West Germany:6

Filming Locations:

Benidorm, Alicante, Comunidad Valenciana, Spain

Company:

Ameran Films

Trivia:

Although produced by different studios, it is obvious that the exterior design of the "Nautilus" submarine as seen in the film was heavily influenced by Harper Goff's "half crocodile/half shark" Nautilus design in Disney's 20000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954), especially with respect to the sub's top spar and rounded "eye" windows. In the original Jules Verne novels of "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" and "Mysterious Island", the Nautilus is described as being rather plain, basically a cigar-shaped steel tube with very little outside detailing.

Goofs:

Continuity: On the surface of the water, you can see the masts of the sunken pirate ship extending above the surface. However, in the underwater shots the ship is fully submerged.

Quotes:

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

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Troldspejlet: (#28.15)" (2002)

Soundtrack:

Toccata and Fugue

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.