The Mysterious Island (1929 film)
| The Mysterious Island | |
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_poster.jpg)
original theatrical poster
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| Directed by |
Benjamin Christensen Lucien Hubbard Maurice Tourneur |
| Produced by | J. Ernest Williamson |
| Written by |
Jules Verne (novel) Lucien Hubbard Carl Pierson |
| Starring |
Lionel Barrymore Jacqueline Gadsden Lloyd Hughes Montagu Love Harry Gribbon |
| Music by | Martin Broones Art Lange |
| Cinematography | Percy Hilburn James Basevi Irving G. Ries J. Ernest Williamson |
| Edited by | Carl Pierson |
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Production
company |
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| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
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Release date
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October 5, 1929 |
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Running time
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95 minutes 93 minutes Turner Library print 67 minutes restored version |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $55,000 (estimated) |
| Box office | $1,130,000 (USA) |
The Mysterious Island (1929) is a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film directed by Lucien Hubbard, a film adaptation of Jules Verne's 1874 novel L'Île mystérieuse (The Mysterious Island). It was photographed entirely in two-color Technicolor and released as a part-talkie, with some scenes that featured audible dialog and some that had only synchronized music and sound effects.
On a volcanic island near the kingdom of Hetvia rules Count Dakkar, a benevolent leader and scientist who has eliminated class distinction among the island's inhabitants. Dakkar, his daughter Sonia and her fiance, engineer Nicolai Roget have designed a submarine which Roget pilots on its initial voyage just before the island is overrun by Baron Falon, despotic ruler of Hetvia. Falon sets out after Roget in a second submarine and the two craft, diving to the ocean's floor, discover a strange land populated by dragons, giant squid and an eerie undiscovered humanoid race.
According to an article in the original Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine, production was actually started in 1926. There were various problems, including weather and the advent of talkies, which slowed/halted production several times before the film was finally completed and released three years later. The article included stills showing the original 1926 undersea denizens and the redesigned version which actually appeared in the film. Footage shot by Maurice Tourneur and Benjamin Christensen in 1927 was incorporated into the final 1929 version.
The film is loosely based on the back-story given for Captain Nemo in the novel The Mysterious Island, and might more properly be thought of as a prequel to Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea but for the fact that the man who would be Nemo dies in this film's finale. It is the story of Count Dakkar (Captain Nemo's real name is revealed to be Prince Dakkar in The Mysterious Island), how he built his submarine, how he was betrayed, and how he became an outcast seeking revenge.
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Wikipedia