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)

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:

Ray Harryhausen has related the story of watching a cut of the film with composer Bernard Herrmann. In a sequence involving a giant bird, Herrmann told Harryhausen that he was going to score it with "Turkey in the Straw" (he was only kidding).

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Capt. Nemo plays the organ he begins with the opening toccata of Bach's Toccata & Fugue in D minor. His hands are not even playing notes, it seems he is just massaging the keys. The second time you see his hands, they are quite still showing in both instances that he is obviously not playing and that the organ sound was dubbed in.

Quotes:

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

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Simpsons: Moe'N'A Lisa (#18.6)" (2006)

Soundtrack:

Toccata and Fugue

Mystrious Island

Wow, I loved the "Seventh Voyage of Sinbad" as a kid, the cyclops, the giant roc bird, the skeleton fight, etc. and then the team of Charles Schneer and Ray Harryhausen did it again with the great film "Mysterious Island". I don't know if Island topped Sinbad, but I loved both of those films in equal amounts. How about the musical score of Bernard Hermann....right from the start that pounding, intense musical score, you knew this film would be so good. Loved the scenes of the escape from the confederate prison camp and the photography of the 4 men who fought with all they had to stay tucked inside the hot air balloon as it blew out of control over uncharted territories. Landing on an uncharted island they became a Robinson Crusoe foursome and set up a camp and foraged for food. How lucky they were to stumble onto a giant, and I mean giant rock lobster to feed the men for weeks and a giant bird who supplied a tasty bird dinner. Also two saucy women shipwrecked to add spice to the film as they provided companionship and love for one of the men. Throw in pirates, a floating trunk of weapons, monsters to fight, a cave hidden in a mountain, giant bees, the discovery of Captain Nemo and his hidden nautilus submarine anchored in the cave while he plotted a new scheme to provide food for mankind with experiments that produced the giant creatures, you were thoroughly entertained for two hours. Then check out the underwater scenes with the fight from a giant squid, reminiscent of the Disney classic "Twenty Thousand leagues under the Sea" and home made sea shell "aqua lungs" to breathe under water.....wow! I just loved this film as a kid and now at age 60 I still love this film and watch it a few times a year on DVD. Believe it or not the first time I saw this film as a kid was in 1963 at a Saturday afternoon matinée along with "Seventh Voyage of Sinbad"...my brother and I were mesermized by two such great films. The great English actor Percy Herbert with an accent as a captured confederate prisoner was a gem. Gary Merrill as a union war correspo dent plays the role of the so called cook in the film with his goofy shenanigans....Herbert Lom another underrated English actor with a stellar performance as Captain Nemo. Michael Craig as the captain of the so called "crew" with a tough disposition to follow as the leader of the group. Great entertainment for all ages.