''Mysterious Island'' (UK: ''Jules Verne's Mysterious Island'') is a 1961

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

adventure film An adventure film is a form of adventure fiction, and is a genre of film. Subgenres of adventure films include swashbuckler films, pirate films, and survival films. Adventure films may also be combined with other film genres such as action, ani ...

about prisoners in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...

who escape in a balloon and then find themselves stranded on a remote island populated by giant and tiny animals. Loosely based upon the 1874 novel ''

The Mysterious Island ''The Mysterious Island'' (french: L'Île mystérieuse) is a novel by Jules Verne, published in 1875. The original edition, published by Hetzel, contains a number of illustrations by Jules Férat. The novel is a crossover sequel to Verne's f ...

'' (''L'Île mystérieuse'') by

Jules Verne Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet, and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the '' Voyages extra ...

(which was the sequel to two other novels by Verne, 1867's ''

In Search of the Castaways ''In Search of the Castaways'' (french: Les Enfants du capitaine Grant, lit=The Children of Captain Grant) is a novel by the French writer Jules Verne, published in 1867–68. The original edition, published by Hetzel, contains a number of ill ...

'' and 1870's ''

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea ''Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas'' (french: Vingt mille lieues sous les mers) is a classic science fiction adventure novel by French writer Jules Verne. The novel was originally serialized from March 1869 through June 1870 in Pierre- ...

''), the film was produced by

Charles H. Schneer Charles Hirsch Schneer (May 5, 1920 – January 21, 2009) was an American film producer, best known for working with Ray Harryhausen, the specialist known for his work in stop motion model animation. Life and career Born in Norfolk, Virginia, he ...

and directed by

Cy Endfield Cyril Raker Endfield (November 10, 1914 – April 16, 1995) was an American screenwriter, director, author, magician and inventor. Having been named as a Communist at a House Un-American Activities Committee hearing and subsequently blacklisted, ...

. Shot in

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the no ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

, and at

Shepperton Studios Shepperton Studios is a film studio located in Shepperton, Surrey, England, with a history dating back to 1931. It is now part of the Pinewood Studios Group. During its early existence, the studio was branded as Sound City (not to be confused ...

Shepperton Shepperton is an urban village in the Borough of Spelthorne, Surrey, approximately south west of central London. Shepperton is equidistant between the towns of Chertsey and Sunbury-on-Thames. The village is mentioned in a document of 959 AD ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, the film serves as a showcase for

Ray Harryhausen Raymond Frederick Harryhausen (June 29, 1920 – May 7, 2013) was an American-British animator and special effects creator who created a form of stop motion model animation known as "Dynamation". His works include the animation for '' Mi ...

stop motion Stop motion is an animated filmmaking technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exhibit independent motion or change when the series of frames i ...

animation effects. Like several of Harryhausen's classic productions, the musical score was composed by

Bernard Herrmann Bernard Herrmann (born Maximillian Herman; June 29, 1911December 24, 1975) was an American composer and conductor best known for his work in composing for films. As a conductor, he championed the music of lesser-known composers. He is widely r ...

. Another version of the story was produced in 2005.

Plot

In 1865, during the

, Union soldiers Cyrus Harding, Herbert Brown and Neb, along with war correspondent Gideon Spillet are being held at the Libby Military Prison in

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

. While escaping, they kidnap Pencroft, a Confederate guard that knows how to pilot a nearby gas balloon. The balloon carries them westwards, over the Pacific Ocean. A storm arises, tearing open the airship and forcing the men to crash land on an unknown island. This strange place turns out to have lush tropical jungles, harsh plains, and many volcanoes which frequently erupt. While exploring the island, the men are attacked by a giant crab. They manage to push it into a boiling geyser and have crab meat for dinner. Afterwards, they find two unconscious English ladies, Lady Mary Fairchild and her niece Elena, who were shipwrecked there by the same storm. Working together, the castaways find cover and protection in a cave. A treasure chest later washes ashore. It has a variety of useful items, including rifles, nautical charts, and books such as ''

Robinson Crusoe ''Robinson Crusoe'' () is a novel by Daniel Defoe, first published on 25 April 1719. The first edition credited the work's protagonist Robinson Crusoe as its author, leading many readers to believe he was a real person and the book a tra ...

''. Markings upon one of the rifles indicate that it came from the ''

Nautilus The nautilus (, ) is a pelagic marine mollusc of the cephalopod family Nautilidae. The nautilus is the sole extant family of the superfamily Nautilaceae and of its smaller but near equal suborder, Nautilina. It comprises six living species in ...

''. Spillet gives Lady Fairchild a brief summation of the ''Nautilus'', its creator

Captain Nemo Captain Nemo (; later identified as an Indian, Prince Dakkar) is a fictional character created by the French novelist Jules Verne (1828–1905). Nemo appears in two of Verne's science-fiction classics, ''Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas'' ...

, and its supposed destruction off the coast of

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

some eight years earlier. Spillet expresses a sense of respect and admiration for Nemo's genius and principles against war, while Harding derides him for being a madman, someone that killed numerous sailors during his crusade. Using one of the charts, the castaways are able to determine their location and proceed with the construction of a boat on which they can escape the island. One day, Mary, Elena and Spillet encounter a giant flightless bird, belonging to a

prehistoric Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The us ...

species called '' Phorusrhacos''. Spillet and the women retreat, while the bird attacks. As it tries to eat Elena, Herbert arrives and apparently kills the creature. Later, as they consume the bird, they discover it was actually killed by a bullet none of them had fired. A few weeks later, Herbert and Elena are sunning outside when they notice a rivulet of honey. Atop a rocky bluff, they come across a hive of giant bees. While escaping from the hive into a large flooded cave, Herbert and Elena spot the ''Nautilus''. They enter the vessel, but knowing that it belongs to someone else, retreat, swimming out of the cave. Meanwhile, Harding, Spillet, Neb, Mary and Pencroft spot an approaching pirate ship. They try to hide, but are discovered, and a fight ensues. The castaways prevail only after an explosion mysteriously sinks the pirate ship with all hands aboard. Once outside, the castaways reunite and meet

, who is living aboard his disabled submarine. Nemo has been watching the castaways and secretly assisting them by sending the chest, shooting the giant bird, and sinking the pirate ship. He invites them to dinner aboard the ''Nautilus''. There, they find out that the giant creatures are results of Nemo's genetic experiments to enlarge the world's food resources, thereby eliminating hunger and economic competition which he sees as prime causes for the wars he was striving to end all his life. Due to their fortitude, he has selected them to assist him in his efforts to make his achievements known to the world, especially since the ''Nautilus'' is incapacitated beyond repair and the volcano will soon erupt, destroying the island. When time runs out, the castaways discover that Nemo has invented an air-filled raising system which can refloat the pirate ship, the only readily seaworthy vessel on the island. Nemo teaches them to breathe underwater using his special "shell" air tanks, and they work to raise the ship, despite interference by a giant

Ammonite Ammonoids are a group of extinct marine mollusc animals in the subclass Ammonoidea of the class Cephalopoda. These molluscs, commonly referred to as ammonites, are more closely related to living coleoids (i.e., octopuses, squid and cuttlefis ...

. With the pirate ship raised and seaworthy, the castaways set sail. The volcano erupts and Nemo is killed as the ''Nautilus'' is buried. The rest escape and begin the journey home, vowing to continue Nemo's dream of achieving lasting peace throughout the world.

Cast

* Michael Craig as Captain Cyrus Harding * Joan Greenwood as Lady Mary Fairchild * Michael Callan as Herbert Brown * Gary Merrill as Gideon Spilitt *

Herbert Lom Herbert Charles Angelo Kuchačevič ze Schluderpacheru (11 September 1917 – 27 September 2012), known professionally as Herbert Lom (), was a Czech-British actor who moved to the United Kingdom in 1939. In a career lasting more than 60 ye ...

Beth Rogan Jenifer Puckle (19 July 1931 – 25 November 2015), known professionally as Beth Rogan, was a British film actress and Rank Films starlet of the 1950s and 60s. She was married and divorced three times, said by friends to be charming but "dangerous ...

as Elena Fairchild * Percy Herbert as Sergeant Pencroft * Dan Jackson as Corporal Neb Nugent

Production

Development

In May 1959, Columbia announced it had signed a deal with Charles Schneer to distribute nine of his films over three years. The films would include ''Battle of the Coral Sea'', ''Gulliver's Travels'', ''The Werner Von Braun Story'', ''Mystery Island'', ''Gentleman of China'', and ''Air Force Academy''. ''Mysterious Island'' would be the sixth collaboration between Schneer and Ray Harryhausen, beginning with "It Came From Beneath the Sea," and the third in color, following ''

The 7th Voyage of Sinbad ''The 7th Voyage of Sinbad'' is a 1958 Technicolor heroic fantasy adventure film directed by Nathan H. Juran and starring Kerwin Mathews, Torin Thatcher, Kathryn Grant, Richard Eyer, and Alec Mango. It was distributed by Columbia Pictures ...

'' and '' The 3 Worlds of Gulliver''. Like "Sinbad" and "Gulliver," it would be shot in Spain.

Screenplay

The novel on which the film is based is a sequel to two other novels by Jules Verne, ''

'' (1867) and ''

'' (1870). The first book featured the island, the pirates and a character Tom Ayrton who was marooned on a nearby island. The second book featured

and the ''

'' presumed lost in the maelstrom at the end of that novel. In ''

'' (1874) after the escapees' balloon landed on the island, among many adventures, they encountered Ayrton alive, fought the pirates and discovered that Captain Nemo was their benefactor and the island the base for the ''Nautilus''.

Casting

The film was mostly cast with British actors. Michael Craig was under contract to Rank. Michael Callan was under contract to Columbia at the time. Percy Herbert was originally rejected for his role due to his British accent, but got the part after practising a southern accent by watching ''

Suddenly Last Summer ''Suddenly Last Summer'' is a one-act play by Tennessee Williams, written in New York in 1957. It opened off Broadway on January 7, 1958, as part of a double bill with another of Williams' one-acts, '' Something Unspoken'' (written in London i ...

'' several times.

Filming

Filming started 21 June 1960. The beach scenes in ''Mysterious Island'' were shot on location at Sa Conca Bay,

Castell-Platja d'Aro Castell d'Aro, Platja d'Aro i S'Agaró is a municipality in the middle of the Costa Brava in Catalonia, Spain. It is formed from two parts: Castell d'Aro is an ancient village built around a medieval castle and a fortified church, 3 km (2 mi ...

. The escape from the Confederate prison - using an observation balloon - was filmed in Church Square,

. Interiors were completed at

. The

animation effects were created by

. All the model creatures except the giant bird (which was re-purposed for use as the '' Ornithomimus'' in ''

The Valley of Gwangi ''The Valley of Gwangi'' is a 1969 American fantasy Western film produced by Charles H. Schneer and Ray Harryhausen, directed by Jim O'Connolly, written by William Bast, and starring James Franciscus, Richard Carlson, and Gila Golan. Creat ...

'' in 1969) still exist. Michael Craig called Endfield "a dismal arsehole of an ex-pat American" and Schneer "a real Hollywood suit... the epitome of 'the son in law also rises".

Soundtrack

The film's music was composed by

who had already scored two previous Harryhausen and Schneer productions (''

'' and '' The 3 Worlds of Gulliver''). The score was performed by the

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...

Critical reception

In their review, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' noted "the impressive white-haired person of Herbert Lom," "Cy Endfield's spirited direction," and that Joan Greenwood "gurgles and croaks in a pleasantly distracting style."; and in 1978, their TV critic called the film a "Dandy fantasy-adventure, done with skill and imagination, keyed by fine Bernard Herrman score. A pip of this kind." Time Magazine said " It should thrill the geewillikers out of anyone!" The film's rentals brought in over $5 million and was successful worldwide.

Home media

Blu-ray ''ALL America - Twilight Time - The Limited Edition Series'' *Picture Format: 1.66:1 (1080p 24fps)

VC MPEG-4 VC may refer to: Military decorations * Victoria Cross, a military decoration awarded by the United Kingdom and also by certain Commonwealth nations ** Victoria Cross for Australia ** Victoria Cross (Canada) ** Victoria Cross for New Zealand * Vic ...

*Soundtrack(s): English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and 2.0 *Subtitles: English *Extras: *Isolated Score (presented in 2.0 Stereo) *Original Theatrical Trailer (2:31) *TV Trailer Spot #1 (1:03) *Case type: Keep Case *Note: Limited as in only 3,000 copies were made (none are numbered) DVD ''R1 America - Columbia/Tri-star Home Entertainment'' *Picture Format: 1.78:1 (Anamorphic) TSC*Soundtrack(s): English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono *Subtitles: English, French, and Spanish *Extras: *"The Making Of Mysterious Island" featurette *"The Harryhausen Chronicles" featurette *"This Is Dynamation" featurette *Photo Gallery *Theatrical Trailer *Bonus trailers for ''

The Golden Voyage of Sinbad ''The Golden Voyage of Sinbad'' is a 1973 fantasy adventure film directed by Gordon Hessler and featuring stop motion effects by Ray Harryhausen. Based on the ''Arabian Nights'' tales of Sinbad the Sailor, it is the second of three ''Sinba ...

'' and '' Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger'' *Case type: Keep Case *Notes: Also available in ''The Fantastic Films of

: Legendary Science Fiction Series'' 5-disc box set, with ''

Earth vs. the Flying Saucers ''Earth vs. the Flying Saucers'' (a.k.a. ''Invasion of the Flying Saucers'' and ''Flying Saucers from Outer Space'') is a 1956 American science fiction film from Columbia Pictures. It was produced by Charles H. Schneer, directed by Fred F. Sears ...

'', ''

20 Million Miles to Earth ''20 Million Miles to Earth'' (also known as ''The Beast from Space'') is a 1957 American horror science fiction monster film directed by Nathan Juran and starring William Hopper, Joan Taylor, and Frank Puglia. It was produced by Charles H. S ...

'', '' It Came from Beneath the Sea'', and H.G. Wells' ''

First Men in the Moon ''The First Men in the Moon'' is a scientific romance by the English author H. G. Wells, originally serialised in ''The Strand Magazine'' from December 1900 to August 1901 and published in hardcover in 1901, who called it one of his "fantasti ...

''.

LaserDisc The LaserDisc (LD) is a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium, initially licensed, sold and marketed as MCA DiscoVision (also known simply as "DiscoVision") in the United States in 1978. Its diameter typical ...

''Columbia Tri-Star Video'' * Picture Format: 1.33:1 * Soundtrack: English * UPC: 043396767461 * * Extras: **Ray Harryhausen on the making of the film **Posters, lobby cards ''Pioneer Special Edition'' * Picture Format: 1.33:1 * Soundtrack: English * UPC: 13023 26225 * Extras: **Premiere digital stereo soundtrack restoration **CAV presentation **Film score isolated on second audio channel **Trailer for ''The 7th Voyage of Sinbad'' **The Making of ''The 7th Voyage of Sinbad'' (''This is Dynamation!'' vintage featurette)

References

External links

* * * *
''Mysterious Island
' at DBCult Film Institute * {{Authority control 1961 animated films 1961 films 1960s fantasy adventure films 1960s science fiction adventure films 1960s monster movies American fantasy adventure films American Civil War films American science fiction adventure films British fantasy adventure films British science fiction adventure films Columbia Pictures films Films directed by Cy Endfield Films scored by Bernard Herrmann Films set in 1865 Films set on islands Films shot at Shepperton Studios Films shot in Spain Giant monster films Films based on The Mysterious Island Films based on science fiction novels Films using stop-motion animation Films about size change Films adapted into comics Films produced by Charles H. Schneer 1960s English-language films 1960s American films 1960s British films