Mysterious Island Film Review

Director: Cy Enfield
Year: 1961
Rating: 6.0

Other than the giant crab, the giant dodo bird, the giant bees, the giant octopus and the two women who are washed ashore, this was a stone's throw away from resembling the Jules Verne novel of the same name. A film version had been produced in 1929 that is a brilliant sci-fi mash but has practically nothing to do with the book. But they had to give Ray Harryhausen something to do - thus the giant animals - but not the two women. Having the giant animals really makes little sense but why not. It is produced by Charles Schneer who had entered into a partnership and friendship with Harryhausen since It Came from Beneath the Sea in 1955 and continued through Earth vs Flying Saucers, 20 Million Miles to Earth, The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, The 3 Worlds of Gulliver and so on until Clash of the Titans. Clash of the Titans was to be the last film for both. The stop-motion animation sequences are the highlights of the film. The remainder of the film is interesting but nothing that will grab you and the cast won't either. Other than Herbert Lom, most of them are basically forgotten now - though Joan Greenwood should not be. That husky whisky drenched sounding voice is quite delicious to listen to. She was married to Hammer favorite André Morell for 18 years.

It begins in the last days of the Civil War, 1865 as the Union is bombing Richmond. Three Union soldiers and a Yankee journalist escape from prison and pile on to a weather balloon - a Confederate soldier tries to stop them and becomes part of the crew. They get caught in an enormous storm and have no idea where they end up but with the balloon running out of air, they spot an island ahead and crash land there. It appears to be a craggy deserted island with a steaming volcano always in the background. A few days later two women from a sinking ship are washed ashore and the five men and the two ladies make a home and begin building a boat. And the giant crab shows up and grabs one of them while the others fight with spears. Stop-motion with one of them held in the pincers and the others spearing it had to be complicated. It ended up being a wonderful soup.

This takes the first 70 minutes of the film - but all along there seems to be an invisible hand helping them. When the pirates show up, they discover who their benefactor is. The Great Captain Nemo. After 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea in which it is assumed that Nemo and the Nautilus are destroyed, it turns out he was able to make it back to his home base but the crew had died. Verne knew better than not to set up a sequel. Nemo (in Latin it means nobody) or Prince Dakkar as is his real name is one of the more fascinating characters of literature and film. The white-haired Lom makes a fine Nemo. The Nautilus is no longer functional except for its relaxing couch comfy bordello looking sitting room and supply of whisky with its dreadful plush red velvety decor and Nemo in a green smoking jacket. But the volcano looks ready to burst.

An old-fashioned fine adventure tale that at 100 minutes doesn't rush it but develops the characters and the situation. Another version was made in 2010 which gets a 3.5 rating on IMDB and a 2005 version with Nemo played by Patrick Stewart that gets a 4.3. So, stick with this one. Directed by Cy Endfield, who had been forced to leave America during the blacklisting days to find work in England and was to direct Zulu following this.