Mysterious Island (1961)

I didn't realise until I read about this film that it was based on the book by Jules Verne, and is the sequel to 20,000 Leagues Beneath the Sea, so I was made much more keen to see it, directed by Cy Enfield (Zulu). Basically set in 1865, during the American Civil War, during the siege of Richmond, Virginia, Union soldiers Captain Cyrus Harding (Michael Craig), Neb Nugent (Dan Jackson) and Herbert Brown (Michael Callan) are POWs. They make their escape in an air balloon during a hurricane storm, with two confederate prisoners, Sergeant Pencroft (Percy Herbert) and journalist Gideon Spilitt (Gary Merrill), the storm takes the group to a mysterious island near New Zealand in the South Pacific, with lush tropical jungles, harsh plains, and many volcanoes. Captain Harding appoints himself leader of the group, they look for food, they find that they are stranded on a deserted island, before being attacked by a giant crab, but they overthrow the beast and make it their first meal. As time passes they build themselves shelter, find two other castaways who got caught in the same storm, English aristocrat Lady Mary Fairchild (Joan Greenwood) and her niece Elena (Beth Rogan), a trunk of weapons, a sextant (an astronomical instrument used to determine latitude and longitude at sea) and evidence that pirates marooned a man. The group are encountered by a series of more deadly creatures that inhabit the island, including a Phororhacos, a giant prehistoric flightless bird bird, and gigantic honey bees, that build large honeycomb in caves. Pirates later return to the island, the group are able to fend them off and sink their ship, they are then met and helped by Captain Nemo (Herbert Lom), mysterious commander of the legendary submarine Nautilus, including an encounter with cephalopod, a gigantic prehistoric mollusc. In the end, an erupting volcano threatens to obliterate their island, the group are forced to make their escape, so they find a way to raise the sunken pirate ship and use it to sail away, Captain Nemo however is trapped in a cave and is killed when it collapses, the group escape and vow to continue Nemo's dream of making peace in the world. It is a simple story of people stranded on a deserted island doing what they can to survive against the many beastly inhabitants, the creatures brought to life by the great stop-motion animation of Ray Harryhausen are indeed what keep you watching, and a good musical score by Bernard Herrmann, overall it is an entertaining classic adventure. Worth watching!

A group of Union prisoners break out of a Confederate military prison and flee in an observation balloon (while being shot at by the enemy, who, luckily for the escapees, fail to hit them or the balloon). Caught in a storm, the men are whisked westwards for thousands of miles, before a tear in the balloon leaves them stranded on an uninhabited island in the Pacific, where they discover oversized animals, encounter a couple of castaway women, battle against pirates, and meet Captain Nemo (Herbert Lom), creator of the submarine Nautilus, who has been conducting experiments on the island in an effort to solve world hunger.Mysterious Island opens in superb form, with its wonderfully exciting US Civil War escape sequence, followed by the soldiers' perilous flight; once the characters land on the island, the film settles into routine adventure mode, as they explore the island, confront a variety of perils, and are faced with an erupting volcano, before putting into action a far-fetched escape plan. This mildly entertaining nonsense is enlivened by several impressive (for the day) Ray Harryhausen effects set-pieces (a giant crab, a huge flightless bird, some big bees, and a massive tentacled sea creature), but made far more enjoyable by the presence of gorgeous Beth Rogan, who plays shipwreck survivor Elena; once she sheds her Victorian gown for something a little (OK, a lot) more revealing, things definitely get more interesting!6.5 out of 10, rounded up to 7 for sexy Elena and her yellow pants.

Fascinating adventures and glimmer scenarios along with colossal animals (such as an over-size crab, a giant hen and huge bees) , about a band of Union soldiers who flee a Conferate prison . This classic adaptation from Jules Verne novel starts on American Civil War , after the battle of Richmond . Union POWs , an official named Cyrus(James Craig who leads the gang) , Pencroff (Percy Herbert), a journalist (Gary Merrill) ,an African-American soldier and other prisoners escape from jail in an observation balloon and terminate stranded on a lonely South Pacific island . They must use their talents to survive dangers , facing off pirates and devise a way to return home . At the uncharted island find gigantic bugs such as a large chicken , giants crabs , monstrous bees and other enormous animals , among them . The team will have to utilize their ingenious to survive the risks and heinous attacks , making a barge to flee . They also find two shipwrecked women ( Joan Greenwood and a sexpot Beth Rogan ) who unite to the motley group . Off course , also encounter a lone captain Nemo and his riveting submarine of the future called Nautilus . Furthermore, an unstable volcano on the edge of eruption.This follow-up to ¨20.000 leagues under the sea¨ is an exciting fantasy-adventure full of special effects created by means of stop-motion technique by the magician Ray Harryhausen . The runtime is adequate with several incidents and sub-plots , taking too much liberties from original novel . The cast is great but wasted, as weak performance by Herbert Lom with brief performance at the ending and notorious British actors as James Craig , Gary Merrill , Percy Herbert and Joan Greenwood as the washed up woman . Colorful cinematography by Wilkie Cooper with excessive matte-painting , being filmed on location in Benidorm, Alicante,Costa Brava, Paltja d'Aro, Girona, Cataluña, Spain and Shepperton Studios, Shepperton, Surrey, England, (studio). Rousing and thrilling musical score by Bernard Herrmann , Hitchcock's usual . The motion picture is well directed by Cy Endfield and stands out the creatures designed by the master Ray Harryhausen, it's the best adaptation of the known novel .Other versions based on this classic story are the following : 1) Silent rendition made in 1929 ; 2) European take on by Juan Antonio Bardem(1973) with Omar Shariff as captain Nemo , Rick Battaglia , and Gerard Tichy 3) 2005 TV version with Kyle Maclachlan , Gabrilelle Anwar, Omar Gooding , Vinnie Jones, Roy Marsden and Patrick Stewart as Nemo and directed by Russell Mulcahy.

Michael Craig (Captain Harding) organizes an escape from a Confederate prison during the US Civil War in the 1800s with fellow inmates Michael Callan (Herbert) and Dan Jackson (Neb). During some intense fighting and poor weather conditions they make it into a hot air balloon and cast off. They take with them Unionist Percy Herbert (Sergeant Pencroft) and journalist Gary Merrill (Spilitt). As they drift up into the sky, their adventures are about to begin.....The bulk of the story takes place on the mysterious island that the group land on which they need to exit before the volcano erupts. While they battle for survival, the group is joined by 2 castaways from a sunken ship - Joan Greenwood (Lady Fairchild) and Beth Rogan (Elena). Herbert Lom (Captain Nemo) is also lurking around on the island with what is left of his submarine "The Nautilus".The group have some interesting hurdles to overcome - treacherous weather, a giant crab, a giant chicken, some giant bees, pirates, a giant octopus and an erupting volcano - but more excitement could have been delivered from each of these situations. The best of the cast are Gary Merrill and Herbert Lom, and the film screams out for Gregory Peck and Tony Curtis in the roles taken by Michael Craig and Michael Callan respectively. Greenwood can be irritating - her voice is good (think Fenella Fielding) but her stage-like delivery is comical. Almost as comical as the giant chicken.A mention must be made about this giant chicken as the author (Jules Verne) has predicted the future of a great food source, namely Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC). Colonel Sanders must have seen this film and then started his business as today, as we all know, KFC chickens are bred in secret and grow to enormous heights, not to mention the abnormalities they are mutated into like having 7 wings, 12 legs and 3 heads as they are processed for human consumption. Tasty, though.Overall verdict - it's all rather pointless and certainly doesn't leave you with anything to think about once the film has finished. It's lightweight, forgettable fluff that's OK as being just that.