I was 11 years old when this movie came out in the theaters and I really enjoyed it! Adventure movies always were my favorites even in the 1950s. This one starred James Mason and Pat Boone the 1950s Singer.
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Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959 film)
| Journey to the Center of the Earth | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Henry Levin |
| Written by | Charles Brackett Walter Reisch |
| Based on | Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne |
| Produced by | Charles Brackett |
| Starring | James Mason Pat Boone Arlene Dahl |
| Cinematography | Leo Tover, ASC |
| Edited by | Stuart Gilmore Jack W. Holmes |
| Music by | Bernard Herrmann |
Production companies | Cooga Mooga Film Productions, Inc. Joseph M. Schenck Enterprises, Inc. |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
Release date |
|
Running time | 129 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $3.44 million[1] |
| Box office | $10 million[2] |
Journey to the Center of the Earth (also called Jules Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth) is a 1959 American science fiction adventure film in color by De Luxe, distributed by 20th Century Fox. The film, produced by Charles Brackett and directed by Henry Levin, stars James Mason, Pat Boone, and Arlene Dahl. Bernard Herrmann wrote the film score, and the film's storyline was adapted by Charles Brackett from the 1864 novel of the same name by Jules Verne.
Plot[edit]
In 1880 Edinburgh, Professor Sir Oliver Lindenbrook, a geologist at the University of Edinburgh, is given a piece of volcanic rock by his admiring student, Alec McEwan. Finding the rock unusually heavy, Lindenbrook discovers a plumb bob inside bearing a cryptic inscription. Lindenbrook and Alec discover that it was left by a scientist named Arne Saknussemm, who, almost 300 years earlier, had found a passage to the center of the Earth by descending into the volcano Snæfellsjökull, in western Iceland. After translating the message, Lindenbrook immediately sets off with Alec to follow in the Icelandic pioneer's footsteps.
Professor Göteborg, upon receiving correspondence from Lindenbrook regarding the message, attempts to reach the Earth's center first. Lindenbrook and McEwan chase him to Iceland. There, Göteborg and his assistant kidnap and imprison them in a cellar. They are freed by local Hans Bjelke, and his pet duck Gertrud. They later find Göteborg dead in his hotel room. Lindenbrook finds potassium cyanide crystals in Göteborg's goatee and concludes that he was murdered.
Göteborg's widow, Carla, who initially believed Lindenbrook was trying to capitalize on her deceased husband's work, learns the truth. She provides the equipment and supplies that her husband had accumulated, including much sought after Ruhmkorff lamps, but only on the condition that she accompanies them to protect her husband's reputation. Lindenbrook grudgingly agrees. Hans and Gertrud also join the new expedition.
On a specific date, they mark the sunrise's exact location on Snæfellsjökull and descend into the Earth from there, following markings left by Saknussemm. However, they are not alone. Göteborg's murderer, Count Saknussemm, believes that, as Saknussemm's descendant, only he has the right to be there. He and his manservant trail the group secretly. When Alec becomes separated from the others, he almost trips over the servant's dead body. When Alec refuses to take the servant's place, Saknussemm shoots Alec in the arm. Lindenbrook locates them from the multiple echos of the pistol shot and after a quick trial for murder sentences Saknussemm to death. No one is willing to execute him, however, so they reluctantly must take him along.
The explorers eventually come upon a subterranean ocean. They construct a raft to cross it, but not before narrowly escaping a family of Dimetrodons. Their raft begins circling in a large mid-ocean whirlpool. The professor deduces that this must be the center of the Earth: The magnetic forces of north and south meet there and are powerful enough to snatch away even the gold in their rings and tooth fillings. Now completely exhausted, they reach the opposite shore.
While the others are asleep, a hungry Saknussemm catches and eats Gertrud. When Hans finds out, he rushes at the count, but is pulled off by Lindenbrook and McEwan. Reeling back, Saknussemm inadvertently loosens a column of large stones and is buried beneath them, killing him. Right behind the collapse, the group comes upon the ruins of the sunken city of Atlantis. They also find the remains of Arne Saknussemm. The right hand of his skeleton points toward a volcanic chimney. While a strong updraft suggests it leads directly to the surface, a giant rock partially blocks the way. Lindenbrook decides to blow up the obstruction with gunpowder left by Saknussemm, and they take shelter in a large sacrificial altar bowl. A giant monitor lizard, Megalania attacks, but is completely covered by molten lava released by the explosion. The bowl floats atop the moving lava toward the passage and is driven upward at great speed by a lava plume, finally reaching the surface. Lindenbrook, Carla, and Hans are thrown into the sea by the eruption, while Alec lands naked in a tree in a convent's orchard.
When they return to Edinburgh, they are hailed as national heroes. Alec marries Lindenbrook's niece Jenny, and Lindenbrook and Carla kiss, a pledge of their coming wedding.
Cast[edit]
- James Mason as Sir Oliver Lindenbrook
- Pat Boone as Alec McEwan
- Diane Baker as Jenny Lindenbrook
- Arlene Dahl as Carla Göteborg
- Peter Ronson as Hans Bjelke
- Thayer David as Count Saknussemm
- Bob Adler as Groom (Credited as Robert Adler)
- Alan Napier as Dean
- Ivan Triesault as Professor Göteborg
- Alex Finlayson as Professor Boyle
Production[edit]
The film was a co-production between 20th Century-Fox and Joseph M. Schenck, who had been instrumental in helping establish Fox in 1935.[3] The film was produced by Charles Brackett who said:
Brackett called the original story "a delightful book, written for young people. We simply couldn't have any solemnity about it. I wanted very much to do it at this time. I'm tired of all these films based on thoughts at the back of sick minds."[5]
The script was written by Walter Reisch who later said:
Pat Boone was the first star announced.[7] He said he was reluctant to make the film because it was science fiction, even after Fox promised to add some songs. It was only when they offered him 15% of the profits that he agreed at the urging of his management. He said, "Later on, I was very glad I did it, because it was fun to do, it had some good music and it became a very successful film".[8]
Following up on that point, Diabolique magazine later observed:
The role of the professor was meant to be played by Clifton Webb. Reisch said:
Webb was replaced at the last minute by James Mason, who had previously appeared as Captain Nemo in Disney's earlier adaptation of Jules Verne's novel, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954).[11] Reisch:
Some of the underground sequences for Journey to the Center of the Earth were filmed at Carlsbad Caverns National Park. Other shooting locations included Amboy Crater and Sequit Point, California, as well as Edinburgh, Scotland. Principal photography took place from late June to mid-September 1959.[13]
Originally, Life magazine editor and science writer Lincoln Barnett was to write the screenplay and later acted as one of the technical advisers on the film.[14][15]
The giant Dimetrodon depicted at the center of the Earth action sequence were actually rhinoceros iguanas with large, glued-on make-up appliances added to their backs. The giant chameleon seen later in the ruins of Atlantis scene was actually a painted Tegu lizard.[16]
Boone recalled filming the climax:
Dahl became unconscious and it took 30 minutes to revive her.[18]
Reception[edit]
Box office[edit]
At the time of release, Journey to the Center of the Earth was a financial success, grossing $10,000,000 at the box office[2] (well over its $3.44 million budget).[1]
Critical response[edit]
Film review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes assigns a rating of 86% based on 29 critics, with an average rating of 7/10. The website's critical consensus describes Journey to the Center of the Earth as "a silly but fun movie with everything you'd want from a sci-fi blockbuster – heroic characters, menacing villains, monsters, big sets and special effects".[19]
Upon the film's release, New York Times film critic Bosley Crowther said Journey to the Center of the Earth is "really not very striking make-believe, when all is said and done. The earth's interior is somewhat on the order of an elaborate amusement-park tunnel of love. And the attitudes of the people, toward each other and toward another curious man who happens to be exploring down there at the same time, are conventional and just a bit dull".[20]
Ian Nathan, writing a retrospective review for Empire, gave the film four stars, stating that "it has dated a fair bit, but it's a film that takes its far-fetchedness seriously, and delivers a thrilling adventure untrammelled by cheese, melodrama or ludicrous tribes of extras, shabbily dressed bird-beings or lizard men", ultimately concluding that the film is "still captivating despite the obviously dated effects".[21]
Accolades[edit]
Journey to the Center of the Earth won a second place Golden Laurel award for Top Action Drama in 1960.
The film was nominated for three Academy Awards: for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration (Lyle R. Wheeler, Franz Bachelin, Herman A. Blumenthal, Walter M. Scott, Joseph Kish), for Best Effects, Special Effects, and for Best Sound (Carlton W. Faulkner).[22][23]
Comic book adaptation[edit]
- Dell Four Color #1060 (November 1959)[24][25]
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