Mysterious Island (1961)

Did you people see the same film I saw?

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

This colourful adventure yarn has plenty going for it. There's lots of action, some romance, a cast populated by B-movie types (aside from Herbert Lom, who once again puts in a distinctive and fun performance) and glamorous girls, some excellent special effects, and lots of nice scenery and photography. Sure, it doesn't exactly stick close to the plot of Jules Verne's original novel, as lots of liberties are taken with it, but it's pretty much all you could want from a simple, old-fashioned adventure yarn.I myself have always been a fan of shipwreck movies and this doesn't disappoint. The opening kicks off with a thrilling battle for escape, involving fist fights, shoot-outs, and lots of near-misses. A lot of clichés pass us by including the frightened hero who turns out to be one of the strongest of the group, plus the young glamour interest who wears a tiny short dress which also just happens to be extremely low cut. There's a lot of inconsequential dialogue and some naïve (by today's standards) romance going on between a couple of the group, but these bits never get in the way of the action.One of the film's main problems is that throughout the film mysterious events occur (to make up for the title I suppose), and when it turns out that Captain Nemo is responsible, we're supposed to be surprised. Well, we're not. I actually think Herbert Lom is billed as being Captain Nemo at the beginning credits, which kind of defeats the object of the whole thing. When Lom actually arrives on screen (not until the final third of the film) the whole thing actually falls apart a little, as it was a lot tighter adventure up until this point. Then suddenly we're bogged down in dialogue and some dodgy special effects of polystyrene rocks being thrown about. The method the survivors use to escape is implausible to say the least, involving as it does so an inflated balloon being used to raise a sunken ship. The balloon is blown up via a pipe line (constructed by bamboo) running from the ocean to Nemo's secret underground base, where a submarine pump does all the hard work. It sounds silly and it definitely is.Thankfully, up until this point, there are some great scenes involving various superbly-animated creations from the stop motion master himself, Ray Harryhausen. From the first monster, a giant crab, you know you're going to be in for a good ride and these giant horrors are 95% realistic. They're wonderfully animated too, none of this jerky motion seen in other films. From then on we get giant birds, giant wasps (again, excellent effects, and pretty creepy too), and even a giant octopus to join in on the action. Basically, Harryhausen's wonderful creations raise what is, in other respects, a fairly average yarn into something unique and exciting to watch. Worth tracking down for fans of the animator's work, or nostalgists.

"Mysterious Island" (1961) based on the classic Jules Verne book, is outstanding for a number of reasons: A truly awe-inspiring score by Bernard Herrmann, one of cinema's best ever.Likable cast & characters, including Michael Craig as Captain Harding and Herbert Lom as the eccentric genius Captain Nemo. Good acting & script.Fantastic stop-motion creature F/X by Ray Harryhausen, which hold up pretty well.Compelling adventure/survival story (unlike, say, the comparatively boring "Jason and the Argonauts").A mysterious ambiance.Some interesting musings on humanity's penchant for war & violence and possible solutions, etc.Fabulous Spanish coastal locations; with interesting fake mountain & volcano backdrops (which, I admit, get old after awhile).If you're a red-blooded male you'll find it hard to take your eyes off cutie Beth Rogan (Elena) and her skimpy island outfit. She blows Raquel Welch and her infamous cavegirl outfit in "One Million Years BC" out of the water.Lastly, the seven castaways include African-American Dan Jackson as Corporal Neb Nugent, a likable character just as important as any of the others. This is no big deal today, of course, but keep in mind the film was made in 1961 BEFORE the Civil Rights Movement and five full years before Star Trek featured Uhura as an important cast member in 1966.CONCLUSION: Although "Mysterious Island" is from 1961 it's so well made that its age is irrelevant. It's a must for all fantasy/adventure/survival fans.The film runs 101 minutes.GRADE: A-

I may have been only 8 years old when I first saw Mysterious Island and there were some scenes in the movie that gave me nightmares for years to come but more than 50 years later I maintain great memories of my first Ray Harryhausen film. This was also the very first film that I ever saw in the movie theaters and it turned me in to a movie junkie for the rest of my life. I did realize it was only a movie and through the passing of time, the nightmares vanished and some wonderful memories are what I have still retained. Movie makers like Ray Harryhausen are worth their weight in gold. By gold I mean Academy Award gold. With the sad passing of Ray Harryhausen in May 2013 at the age of 92, I sincerely hope the Academy honors him with a special tribute to his body of work and his vast contributions to the evolution of the special effects technique.Ray Harryhausen's creatures were the work of a true innovator. There is one scene in Mysterious Island where Michael Callan and Joan Greenwood are out exploring in the caves on the island and get caught when the giant bees return home to their honey comb hive. The bees try and devour the two explorers but they hide behind the honey combs until the bees fly out of the hive. One of the truly suspenseful scenes of all time.This is a great family film that provides full value for ones entertainment dollar. More than fifty years later I still watch this original adventure movie and I am still in awe of how well done this film was made. It contains superb special effects (without any of today's boring (CGI) computer graphic interface), adventure, heroism, action, romance, and based on a storyline from Jules Verne that was first published in 1874.Mysterious Island is a classic adventure film story that has been remade several times over the past five decades by many other production companies. Don't be fooled by the subsequent imitations, they may be good, but the 1961 Mysterious Island is "THE ORIGINAL" classic and I am hoping to see a clip of it in this years Academy Award ceremony as part of a special tribute to the late and great innovator of the special visual effects, the great Ray Harryhausen.A perfect 10 out of 10 rating!

This movie must have looked great back in 1961, though the special effects today look pretty dated. Now I am not trying to be nasty--I can respect the work Ray Harryhausen did with the film but in this age of incredible CGI work, his stop-motion work does look pretty quaint. Plus, the superimposed backgrounds and other effects just seem to have aged poorly. HOWEVER, the film still looks good and is entertaining--making it sort of a 'turn off your brain and enjoy' sort of film.It begins at a Confederate prison camp during the US Civil War. A group of Union soldiers have a remarkably easy time escaping and seizing an observation balloon. But, once in the balloon they hit a huge storm that takes them way out over the Pacific Ocean. After many days, they arrive at an odd island--odd because there are some HUGE creatures there and also because oddly fortuitous things keep happening. First, some ladies conveniently land there as well (yet the island is supposedly in the middle of no where). Second, when pirates or giant animals attack, Captain Nemo suddenly appears and saves the day. Third, when the island decides to explode and kill them all, they manage to create a means of escape.Now you might think this would make for a silly film, but the overall effect was actually pretty cool. The acting, while most of the actors are relative unknowns, was quite good. The only really familiar faces I saw were Herbert Lom (who played a nice Captain Nemo) and Gary Merrill (one of Bette Davis' many husbands and a very underrated actor). I think kids, fantasy and Harryhausen fans will enjoy this. However, if you are a person who only watches DVDs from the Criterion Collection or the latest and most up to date films, you probably won't enjoy this film nearly as much. I liked it because it was charming for its kitsch value--plus it was pretty fun.By the way, although there are several silly effects in the film, the one that made me laugh is one I see all the time. At one point the folks find a skeleton and it is fully articulated--in other words, all the bones are connected like you'd see in a skeleton in a science classroom. Well, despite seeing these all the time in movies, once the flesh is removed from a skeleton, the ligaments and tendons become disconnected from the bones and the whole thing falls apart. In other words, you'd just find a pile of bones. That's your biology lesson for today, kids!