''Mysterious Island'' is a 1951 American 15-chapter

movie serial A serial film, film serial (or just serial), movie serial, or chapter play, is a motion picture form popular during the first half of the 20th century, consisting of a series of short subjects exhibited in consecutive order at one theater, gene ...

from

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...

, the studio's 46th, that stars Richard Crane,

Marshall Reed Marshall Jewel Reed (May 28, 1917 – April 15, 1980) was an American actor who appeared in over 200 films between 1943 and 1978. He was born in Englewood, Colorado. Early years Reed's parents were Walter George Reed and Ruth Dustin. By a ...

, Karen Randle, and Ralph Hodges. It is an adaptation of Jules Verne's 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''). As in the original story, which was Verne's follow-up to ''

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- ...

'', this serial is set in 1865. However, Columbia's screenwriters added alien Mercurians as an additional set of villains. The serial has been labeled a space opera version of Verne's novel.

Plot

During the siege of Richmond, Virginia, in the

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

, POW Capt. Cyrus Harding escapes from his Confederate captors in a rather unusual way – by hijacking an observation balloon. In his escape, Harding is accompanied by sailor Pencroft, his nephew Bert, writer Gideon, loyal soldier Neb, and a dog. A hurricane blows the balloon off course, and the group eventually crash-lands on a cliff-bound, volcanic, uncharted (and fictitious) island, located in the South Pacific, with very unusual inhabitants. They name it "Lincoln Island" in honour of American President

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

. The castaways soon encounter a group of people that include the local natives (who worship the island's volcano), Rulu (a woman from Mercury trying to extract an unnamed superexplosive element in order to conquer the Earth), Ayrton (a wild man exiled on the island) and Captain Shard (a ruthless pirate). A mystery man, who possesses great scientific powers, also makes his presence known to the group of people; he is

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'' ...

, who survived the whirlpool in ''20,000 Leagues Under the Sea'', and unlike the character in the Disney film, was not fatally wounded by military troops from warships. On the way, our quintet of heroes must battle the elements and peoples while trying to figure out a way off the island and back to civilization.

Cast

* Richard Crane as Capt. Cyrus Harding *

as Jack Pencroft * Karen Randle as Rulu of Mercury * Ralph Hodges as Herbert 'Bert' Brown *

Gene Roth Eugene Oliver Edgar Stutenroth (January 8, 1903 – July 19, 1976), known profesionally as Gene Roth, was an American film actor and film manager. Early years Roth was born in Redfield, South Dakota. He was the son of a German father an ...

as Pirate Capt. Shard * Hugh Prosser as Gideon Spillett *

Leonard Penn Leonard Penn (13 November 1907 – 20 May 1975) was an American film, television and theatre actor. Early life and education Penn was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, to parents Marcus Penn and Eva Monson. He majored in drama at Columbia U ...

Terry Frost Sir Terence Ernest Manitou Frost RA (13 October 1915 – 1 September 2003) was a British abstract artist, who worked in Newlyn, Cornwall. Frost was renowned for his use of the Cornish light, colour and shape to start a new art movement in ...

as Ayrton - The Wild Man *

Rusty Wescoatt Norman "Rusty" Wescoatt (August 2, 1911 – September 3, 1987) was an American supporting actor who appeared in over 80 films between 1947 and 1965. Early life The son of Mr. and Mrs. W.W. Wescoatt, he was born on August 2, 1911, in Maui, Hawa ...

as Moley * Bernard Hamilton as Neb (as Bernard Hamilton) * Stanley Blystone as Confederate Officer (uncredited) *

Tom Tyler Tom Tyler (born Vincent Markowski; August 9, 1903 – May 1, 1954) was an American actor known for his leading roles in low-budget Western films in the silent and sound eras, and for his portrayal of superhero Captain Marvel in the 1941 ...

as Union Rider (uncredited)

Chapter titles

# Lost in Space # Sinister Savages # Savage Justice # Wild Man at Large # Trail of the Mystery Man # The Pirates Attack # Menace of the Mercurians # Between Two Fires # Shrine of the Silver Bird # Fighting Fury # Desperate Chances # Mystery of the Mine # Jungle Deadfall # Men from Tomorrow # The Last of the Mysterious Island _Source:

Production

Costumes belonging Western Costume Company were recycled from earlier serials for use in ''Mysterious Island''. The Mercurian soldiers wear shirts from Universal's '' Flash Gordon'' and masks from Columbia's '' The Spider's Web''.

Critical reception

Authors

Jim Harmon James Judson Harmon (21 April 1933 – 16 February 2010), better known as Jim Harmon, was an American short story author and popular culture historian who wrote extensively about the Golden Age of Radio. He sometimes used the pseudonym Judson Grey ...

and Donald F. Glut were largely positive when writing about the serial: "Although fantastic beyond credibility, ''Mysterious Island'' actually contained more elements from the original source than most such adaptations of the sound era".

References

External links

* * *
Mysterious Island at Cinefania.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mysterious Island (Serial) 1951 films 1950s English-language films 1950s science fiction films 1950s fantasy films American fantasy adventure films American black-and-white films Films based on The Mysterious Island Columbia Pictures film serials Films directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet Films set in 1865 Fiction set on Mercury (planet) American fantasy American science fiction films Films with screenplays by George H. Plympton American Civil War films 1950s American films