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The Mysterious Island (1929 film)
Encyclopedia
The Mysterious Island is an MGM film directed by Lucien Hubbard
, a film adaptation of Jules Verne
's novel L'Île mystérieuse
(The Mysterious Island), published in 1874. The film was released as an all-Technicolor
, feature film
with talking sequences, sound effects, and synchronized music.
and Benjamin Christensen
in 1927 was incorporated into the final 1929 version.
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.
. The complete film exists in a black-and-white copy apparently made in the 1950s for television
showings, though it remained uncut and intact as released in 1929.
Lucien Hubbard
Lucien Hubbard was a film producer and screenwriter. He is best known for producing Wings, for which he received the first Academy Award for Best Picture. Lucien produced and or wrote ninety-two films over the course of his career...
, a film adaptation of Jules Verne
Jules Verne
Jules Gabriel Verne was a French author who pioneered the science fiction genre. He is best known for his novels Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea , A Journey to the Center of the Earth , and Around the World in Eighty Days...
's novel L'Île mystérieuse
The Mysterious Island
The Mysterious Island is a novel by Jules Verne, published in 1874. The original edition, published by Hetzel, contains a number of illustrations by Jules Férat. The novel is a sequel to Verne's famous Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and In Search of the Castaways, though thematically it is...
(The Mysterious Island), published in 1874. The film was released as an all-Technicolor
Technicolor
Technicolor is a color motion picture process invented in 1916 and improved over several decades.It was the second major process, after Britain's Kinemacolor, and the most widely used color process in Hollywood from 1922 to 1952...
, feature film
Feature film
In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...
with talking sequences, sound effects, and synchronized music.
Production
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 TourneurMaurice Tourneur
Maurice Tourneur was an important international film director and screenwriter.-Life:Born Maurice Thomas in the Belleville district of Paris, France, his father was a jeweler. As a young man, Maurice Thomas first trained as a graphic designer and a magazine illustrator but was soon drawn to the...
and Benjamin Christensen
Benjamin Christensen
Benjamin Christensen was a Danish film director, screenwriter and an actor both in film and on the stage. As a director he is most well known for the 1922 film Häxan and as an actor, he is best known for his performance in the film Michael , in which he plays Claude Zoret, the jilted lover of the...
in 1927 was incorporated into the final 1929 version.
Adaptation
The film is loosely based on the back-story given for Captain NemoCaptain Nemo
Captain Nemo, also known as Prince Dakkar, is a fictional character featured in Jules Verne's novels Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and The Mysterious Island ....
in the novel The Mysterious Island
The Mysterious Island
The Mysterious Island is a novel by Jules Verne, published in 1874. The original edition, published by Hetzel, contains a number of illustrations by Jules Férat. The novel is a sequel to Verne's famous Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and In Search of the Castaways, though thematically it is...
, and might more properly be thought of as a prequel to Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea is a classic science fiction novel by French writer Jules Verne published in 1870. It tells the story of Captain Nemo and his submarine Nautilus as seen from the perspective of Professor Pierre Aronnax...
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.
Cast
- Lionel BarrymoreLionel BarrymoreLionel Barrymore was an American actor of stage, screen and radio. He won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in A Free Soul...
as Count Dakkar - Jacqueline GadsdenJacqueline GadsdenJacqueline Gadsden was an American film actress during the silent era. Born in Lompoc, California, she is probably best known to modern audiences at the wealthy, haughty other woman in the Clara Bow vehicle It . She made two films in 1929 under the name Jane Daly, and retired shortly after that...
as Sonia Dakkar (credited as Jane Daly) - Lloyd HughesLloyd HughesLloyd Hughes was an American silent film actor.-Life and career:Born in Bisbee, Arizona, Hughes received his education at the Los Angeles Polytechnic School. He sought a career as an actor early in life, and his clean-cut appearance and ability soon gained him recognition...
as Nikolai Roget - Montagu LoveMontagu LoveMontagu Love , also known as Montague Love, was an English screen, stage and vaudeville actor.Born Harry Montague Love in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England, and educated in Great Britain, Love began his career as an artist and military correspondent. His first important job was as a London newspaper...
as Falon - Harry GribbonHarry GribbonHarry Gribbon was an American film actor. He appeared in 144 films between 1915 and 1938.He was born in New York, New York, and died in Los Angeles, California. He was the brother of actor Eddie Gribbon....
as Mikhail - Snitz EdwardsSnitz EdwardsSnitz Edwards was a notable character actor of the early years of the silent film era into the 1930s.- Background and career on the stage :...
as Anton - Gibson GowlandGibson GowlandGibson Gowland was an English film actor.Early sources had his birth place place as Newcastle. He started work as a sailor and later became mate of a ship...
as Dmitry - Pauline StarkePauline StarkePauline Starke was an American silent-film actress born in Joplin, Missouri.She made her acting debut appearing as a dance extra in D.W. Griffith's film Intolerance...
- Karl DaneKarl DaneKarl Dane was a Danish comedian and actor known for his work in American films, mainly of the silent film era. He worked alongside Rudolph Valentino, John Gilbert, and King Vidor. In 1926, he teamed up with George K. Arthur to form the successful comedy duo Dane & Arthur...
- Robert McKimRobert McKim (actor)Robert McKim was an American actor of the silent era. He appeared in 99 films between 1915 and 1927. He is best remembered for playing the arch villain opposite Douglas Fairbanks's Zorro in The Mark of Zorro in 1920. McKim also starred with Lon Chaney in the 1923 silent version of All The Brothers...
(uncredited; appears in footage shot in 1927, the year that he died)
Preservation
No complete Technicolor prints survive. Only one reel with a color sequence survives, which is part of the UCLA Film and Television ArchiveUCLA Film and Television Archive
The UCLA Film and Television Archive is an internationally renowned visual arts organization focused on the preservation, study, and appreciation of film and television, based at the University of California, Los Angeles. It holds more than 220,000 film and television titles and 27 million feet of...
. The complete film exists in a black-and-white copy apparently made in the 1950s for television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
showings, though it remained uncut and intact as released in 1929.