Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959)

Director:

Henry Levin

Writers:

Jules Verne (novel)
Walter Reisch (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

29 January 1960 (West Germany)

Genre:

Adventure | Family | Romance | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

A fabulous world below the world

Plot:

An Edinburgh professor and assorted colleagues follow an explorer's trail down an extinct Icelandic volcano to the earth's center.

Plot Keywords:

Volcano | Professor | Icelandic | Expedition | Iceland

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 1 win

Cast

Pat Boone	...	Alexander 'Alec' McKuen
James Mason	...	Sir Oliver S. Lindenbrook
Arlene Dahl	...	Carla Göteborg
Diane Baker	...	Jenny Lindenbrook
Thayer David	...	Count Saknussem
Peter Ronson	...	Hans Belker
Robert Adler	...	Groom
Alan Napier	...	Dean

Also Known As:

Jules Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth
Trip to the Center of the Earth

Runtime:

132 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Icelandic | French | Italian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (Westrex Recording System) | Dolby SR (re-issue)

Certification:

USA:Approved | Brazil:Livre | Australia:PG | Finland:K-12 | Iceland:Unrated | UK:U | USA:G (1969) | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Carlsbad Caverns National Park - 3225 National Parks Highway, Carlsbad, New Mexico, USA

Company:

Cooga Mooga

Trivia:

The professor's name in the original novel (French language) was Otto Lidenbrock, a German. In the movie it was changed to Oliver Lindenbrook, a Scotchman. The name of his assistant Axel was Caledonized into Alec. (This was done because of historical hindsight, as 19th-century Scots had become known as the best field geologists, with Germans preferring lab-bound geology.) A more drastic change had already been made with the first (anonymous) English translation of the novel when the Professor's surname became Hartwig and Axel became an English student named Henry Lawson.

Goofs:

Continuity: When 'Atlantis' is discovered, Mason is heard delivering one line in a regular voice and the next in a voice with an echo without changing locations.

Quotes:

Carla Göteborg: [in Icelandic] Hans, let him go.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Descent (2005)

Soundtrack:

The Faithful Heart

Excellent for its day, and still fun to watch.

I saw this one when it first came out (and I was about 9 years old) and was hugely impressed with it, though I couldn't understand why they needed to add a girl to the plot. 40 some odd years later, I am still impressed by what they achieved in the way of plot, acting, and even the special effects still look not bad, but I still don't really see why they felt the need for adding a woman to the mix.<G> But Arlene Dahl is good enough in the part that I no longer feel bothered by it. James Mason is excellent as always, Pat Boone is not, but sings nicely, and the villain is villainous, and comes to a fitting ending, though i do regret that they left out the encounter with the ocean going monsters from the tale. All in all, a very pleasant way to spend part of your day.