Mysterious Island (1961)

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Mysterious Island (1961)
Topic Started: Jul 18 2009, 07:16 AM (199 Views)
Laughing Gravy	Jul 18 2009, 07:16 AM Post #1
Revered in the UK Posts: 11,067 Group: Admin Member #1 Joined: August 31, 2005	A band of hardy Union soldiers escape from a Confederate POW camp in an observation balloon, but are blown out to sea and land on an island that is indeed mysterious: odd things pop up to help them in the struggles, but odder still are giant crabs, bees, and chickens. Eventually, they discover the island's secret, which is no secret at all if you read the opening credits: it is the island of Captain Nemo, whose wondersub the Nautilus lurks below. Highly entertaining spectacle with stop-motion effects by Ray Harryhausen and a score by Bernard Herrmann. I haven't read the book, but word on the street is that this is more "inspired by it" than based on it. For one thing, a boat with a couple of babes washes ashore, and thankfully the younger one is soon wearing a li'l skimpy goatskin outfit that would've made Maureen O'Sullivan blush in Tarzan and his Mate. Herbert Lom has little to do as Nemo but makes the most of his screen time. Having finished the 1951 serial version of Mysterious Island only moments before, the FNF gang was disappointed that Top the dog wasn't present in this one. They also made merry at Percy Herbert (who plays Pencroft, and somewhere between the serial and the feature he switched sides from the Union army to the Rebs) and his struggle with a Southern accent. This is one o' those movies I saw as a kid (they showed it in my school) and I loved it then and it makes me feel like a kid when I see it now. BTW... What sort of a deal did my elementary school have with Columbia Pictures? They showed us this, Hey There It's Yogi Bear, The Three Stooges in Orbit, Zotz!... Too bad we couldn't have gotten The Spider Returns... Which reminds me, our short subjects... The cartoon ("The Mad Hatter") was hilarious; a woman goes shopping for a new hat, and we learn that all the fancy & ridiculous hats of the 1940s are created by lunatics; the comedy short was "Ain't Love Cuckoo", and Schilling & Lane were introduced to the FNF crowd. Like the Stooges, the women were horrified and the men laughed. In general, Mysterious Island was enjoyed for its overall looniness, but we were sorry to see Cap'n Shard go, and the serial we saw right before this one was Captain Marvel, so the ridiculousness of M.I seemed magnified 100x. Wraps up our FNF for the year; we'll be back in September.



CliffClaven	Jul 18 2009, 01:36 PM Post #2
Balcony Gang, Foist Class Posts: 229 Group: Members Member #712 Joined: March 30, 2009	The Harryhausen-Schneer films are still great fun, and I think Schneer deserves more credit for putting together decent productions to showcase Harryhausen's creations. Once they got past the generic sci-fi nonsense with the six-legged octopus and the flying saucers, the writing and acting were always several notches up from most B movies (financially speaking, they were definitely B movies). At the same time, they remembered to deliver the goods for preteen boys: monsters, thrill scenes, and a babe or two without turning into a chick flick. And the "talky parts" were generally interesting, even for preteen boys. First Men in the Moon takes it time getting there, but it keeps you entertained with a great opening (a moon landing party finds a tattered (!) Union Jack) and a flashback that feels like Jules Verne Meets Jackass (Never mind the anti-gravity science -- You sit there thinking how cool it WOULD be, and whether you'd actually have the nerve to get in that thing). Usually, talky scenes are some variation of this: The well-built archeologist approaches the freelance hero by the campfire ("Stop calling me Doctor. It's Amanda . . . Brad"). After too much chat and not enough of Amanda's tied-off shirt, the jealous financial backer appears and Has Words with the hero ("You're supposed to be on watch for the monster!" "And where were YOU when it ate Miguel, Mr. Bagley?"). And after another long buildup, just when we might get a decent fistfight, the professor turns up ("Warm salt water! That's why it didn't follow us back to the boat! You, see, it must have evolved from a fresh-water species, like trout . . . I have a chart . . ."). Then a dull montage of building a giant hot-salt-water-shower stall with smiles between Amanda and Brad, and glowers from Bagley as he doesn't notice the knot he just tied fell loose. Off by himself, Miguel's brother plays a lonely guitar and doesn't notice the background music is getting really ominous. Back to the giant shower stall for five minutes of Amanda breaking up a fight between Brad and Bagley before we hear an off-camera scream, following by a shot of a broken guitar . . . And you're still not going to see any monster action for another 15 minutes or so.



Vornoff	Jul 19 2009, 07:36 AM Post #3
Charter Member Posts: 483 Group: Members Member #54 Joined: September 16, 2005	I agree First Men in the Moon was a little slow getting started but turned into an enjoyable movie. I was fond of Edward Judd (who died this year at a ripe old 77) and remember him in The Day the Earth Caught Fire. Of course, Martha Hyer is always worth a look-see - what classic beauty! In my less lucid moments I get this movie confused with From the Earth to the Moon, a real snorer despite the addition of the magnificent Debra Paget.
	"Doctor of nothing!"


Frank Hale	Jul 19 2009, 12:52 PM Post #4
Balcony Gang, Foist Class Posts: 828 Group: Members Member #59 Joined: October 6, 2005	First Men in the Moon was a nice try, but it was too little and too late in the series of Victorian SF films starting with 20,000 Leagues and continuing through Journey To the Center of the Earth, The Time Machine, and undoubtedly many others. The UK flag opening and the Dynamation were nice, but I remember seeing it in 1964 and thinking it was dull even then. Many scenes seemed lifted from the latter two films I mentioned. Its fatal flaw was forgetting the romance factor. Harryhausen�s Jason and the Argonauts succeeded because it remembered that factor. Which has nothing to do with Mysterious Island. I�ll queue that one up.



CliffClaven	Jul 20 2009, 02:53 PM Post #5
Balcony Gang, Foist Class Posts: 229 Group: Members Member #712 Joined: March 30, 2009	I'd rate First Men in the Moon a bit higher on the Victorian SciFi list than, say, The Time Machine. Not to sneer at Time Machine -- there's a lot of good stuff in there, but the movie as a whole definitely shrinks on second viewing. First Men in the Moon actually rose in my estimation, perhaps because I was surprised at how much of it gave the illusion of sense. Might be fun to work of a list of Verne/Wells/Wannabe films (Island at the Top of the World and League of Extraordinary Gentlemen would fall under the last heading).



Frank Hale	Jul 25 2009, 05:28 PM Post #6
Balcony Gang, Foist Class Posts: 828 Group: Members Member #59 Joined: October 6, 2005	I thought �Mysterious Island� was fairly good, rather more low-key than most of these films. Always nice to see Gary Merrill getting some work. I could have done without the women. Overall, though, I�m rather tired of the whole genre, and especially tired of being told what a genius Ray Harryhausen is.


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