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Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959)
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The Spike
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PostPosted: Tue Sep 23, 2014 9:31 pm    Post subject: Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959) Reply with quote

This thread comes with a music soundtrack — an All Sci-Fi exclusive Special Feature!

Click on the link below and let YouTube play the original motion picture soundtrack for Journey to the Center or the Earth while you read the comments on this thread.


Enjoy!
Very Happy
____________________________________________

Wonderful fantasy adventure.

Intrepid professor Sir Oliver S. Lindenbrook leads an expedition towards the center of the Earth via an extinct Icelandic volcano. The journey is sure to be fraught with danger and little do they know that their trip will take in many unchartered wonders . . . both good and bad!

As adventure films go, Journey To The Center Of The Earth has few peers, it's a wonderful film based around the Jules Verne story of the same name. There are no hidden agendas here, no wry social commentary or satirical edginess, it is pure fantastical entertainment that wants you to enjoy its science heart whilst you have a blast following this group into the wondrous unknown.

Lost cities, prehistoric lizards, underground oceans, crystal caves, sand mines, murder, sabotage, and on it goes for just over two hours of delightful movie making, it even has time for a bit of cheeky sexual tom foolery for the knowing adult.

I'm sure the likes of Spielberg & Lucas were nodding in approval back in the day.

The sets, the sound, and the special effects were all nominated for Academy Awards, and sure enough all may well seem tame by today's bloated standards, but this is 1959 and let your mind be back to that time and you surely will be taken in by this joyous experience.

I must also mention that location footage shot in the beautiful Carlsbad Caverns that adds to the dynamic feel of the picture. Lead acting duties fall to the irrepressible James Mason as Lindenbrook, perfectly cast as he nails all the traits of this dyed in the wood professor. Support comes from Pat Boone, Arlene Dahl (the colour photography perfectly showing her piercing eyes), Peter Ronson and star of the show Gertrude The Duck.

It was magical to me as a child, it's still as magical to me now I'm in my advancing years, wonderful indeed. 9/10

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Robert (Butch) Day
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PostPosted: Wed Sep 24, 2014 1:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The set of the stairs in Atlantis is recycled from The Story of Ruth. They were filmed roughly at the same time, so it was natural that they shared sets. Journey to the Center of the Earth was released on December 16, 1959 and The Story of Ruth was released June 17, 1960.
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Pow
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PostPosted: Sat Oct 04, 2014 8:32 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Clifton Webb was originally cast as Lindenbrook but health issues prevented him from doing the film.

Sure wish Ray Harryhausen did the dinosaurs effects.
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 18, 2015 3:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Behind-the-scenes shots, compliments of a CHFB member.







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Robert (Butch) Day
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 18, 2015 8:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Another behind the scenes pic; Diane Baker:



The Ruhmkorff lamps used in the movie are altered considerably from the 1863 miner's lamp that was the basis tha M. Verne used:





The Geissler tube was an early form of portable electric lamp. The lamp consisted of a Geissler tube that was excited by a battery-powered Ruhmkorff induction coil. Initially the lamp generated white light by using a Geissler tube filled with carbon dioxide. However, the carbon dioxide tended to break down. Hence in later lamps, the Geissler tube was filled with nitrogen (which generated red light), and the glass was replaced with glass containing uranium salts (which fluoresced with a green light).

Intended for use by miners, the lamp was actually developed both by Alphonse Dumas, an engineer at the iron mines of Saint-Priest and of Lac, near Privas, in the d??partment of Ard??che, France, and by Dr. Camille Beno??t, a medical doctor in Privas. In 1864, the French Academy of Sciences awarded Dumas and Beno??t a prize of 1,000 francs for their invention.

This lamp could be considered as a predecessor of modern fluorescent lanterns, because as in the "Ruhmkorff lamp," portable actual ones use an inverter (oscillator + step-up transformer) to convert low voltage DC current from dry cells or storage batteries to AC or even pulsating current at a voltage high enough as to ionize the fluorescent tube and power it at the required nominal power.



As for what the real Ruhmkorff lamps would have looked like, there is the recent movie Silent World —

http://www.stillewelt-film.de/Downloads_dt_files/SILENTWORLD_Press-Kit.pdf





The prop used in the movie:



They differed considerably from what the 20th Century-Fox (older name for the 20th Century Fox studios) made:



















The same picture before camera department correction:

[/URL]

In one abandoned sequence there was a planned confrontation between a mammoth and a mastodon. Here is the difference between the two for those that are interested:



The movie used matte paintings to great effect. The movie Snaefellsjokull and Scartaris:



The real Snaefellsjokull and Scartaris:



The movie Stromboli:




The real Stromboli:



The most effective matte painting was of 'Doves Kissing' rock in Carlsbad Caverns:



EVERYTHING except the actors was a painting! No one is allowed on 'Doves Kissing' because of the danger.

The Cast (from IMDb and my collection of memorabilia):

Pat Boone as Alexander 'Alec' McKuen
James Mason as Sir Oliver S. Lindenbrook, PhD
Arlene Dahl as Carla G??teborg
Diane Baker as Jenny Lindenbrook
Thayer David as Count Arn?? Saknussemm
Peter Ronson as Hans Bjelke, Congratulating Student
Robert Adler as Groom (Reykjavik Coachman)
Alan Napier as Dean of Edingurgh University
Mary Brady as Kirsty (Lindenbrook House Keeper)
Alan Caillou as Rector of Edinburgh University
John Epper as Count Saknussem's Groom
Edith Evanson as Innkeeper, Reykjavik
Alex Finlayson as Prof. Bayle, College of Science Chair, Edinburgh University
Molly Glessing as News Vendor
Frederick Halliday as Chancellor, Edinburgh University
Kendrick Huxham as Scots Newsman
Owen McGiveney as Shopkeeper
Molly Roden as Lindenbrook House Servant
Bert Stevens as the Geology Department Chair, Edinburgh University
Ivan Triesault as Prof. Peter G??teborg of Stockholm University
Red West as Bearded Man at Newspaper Stand / University Student
Peter Wight as Laird of Glendarick
Ben Wright as Mr. Paisley

and

Gertrude the Duck

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Krel
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 18, 2015 9:04 pm    Post subject: Re: Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959) Reply with quote

The Spike wrote:
I'm sure the likes of Spielberg & Lucas were nodding in approval back in the day.

They liked it well enough to ripoff, uh that is, pay homage in one scene at the beginning of "Raiders of the Lost Ark". Laughing

David.
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Robert (Butch) Day
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 24, 2016 11:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

A rare behind-the-scenes (BTS) picture. Pat Boone meets with an injured Fabian Forte. Fabian was injured near the set when fans who were touring the Fox lot spotted him in his Porsche, mobbed him, then broke his driver's side window.



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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Sun Aug 14, 2016 5:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

I'd forgotten how good this thread was, and it's certainly gotten me in the mood to watch it this Friday (8/19/16) during All Sci-Fi's Friday Live Chat.

IMDB has some interesting trivia items about the movie, like these for example.
____________________________________

* James Mason reportedly had very little patience with the "movie star" preening of Arlene Dahl, and the relationship between the two off the set was very much like what you see on screen.





* Pat Boone didn't want to make this film but was talked into it by his agent. Years later he stated he's glad he did it because of the regular residual checks it brings in and because it's the movie he'll probably be best remembered for.







* Fox gave the green light to this big-budget CinemaScope production partially on the basis of the success of the recent Jules Verne adaptations, Walt Disney's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954) and Michael Todd's Around the World in Eighty Days (1956). As with those earlier films, the heavy cost proved to be a good investment, resulting in a big hit at the box office.





* James Mason replaced an ailing Clifton Webb in the part of Professor Lindenbrook before filming began. Alexander Scourby started shooting at Carlsbad Caverns in the Count Saknussemm role, but the producers were unhappy with him and he was replaced with Thayer David.





* The "Dimetrodons" in the movie were played by a large type of lizard called a rhinoceros iguana. It is about 3-6 ft. long and is kept as a pet in many places. Dimetrodon in real life was a type of Synapsid reptile. It reached about 12 feet in size, and lived in Western North America.





* An additional song, "The Faithful Heart" by Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen sung by Pat Boone was cut from the final print.



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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
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Last edited by Bud Brewster on Tue Dec 12, 2017 3:43 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Krel
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PostPosted: Sun Aug 14, 2016 6:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Pat Boone said that he was almost killed in the salt cave scene. He was told to stay balled up when he sank in the salt, and he got buried and almost smothered before they could dig him out.

David.
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Gord Green
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PostPosted: Sun Aug 14, 2016 7:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I loved this movie when it first came out! It was released not long after 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and got me started reading Jules Verne for the first time. Recent attempts to remake have been woefully inadequate. The ones from the 50's and 60's just have a more antique "feel" to them!

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orzel-w
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PostPosted: Sun Aug 14, 2016 9:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

This has remained my favorite adaptation of JTTCOTE. My favorite set has always been the crystal caverns.
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Mon Aug 15, 2016 10:34 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Gord Green wrote:
IMDB says Clifton Webb was originally cast as Professor Lindenbrook, but his health was poor, so he was replaced by James Mason.

As much as love Clifton Webb, I really don't think he would have been quite as good as Mr. Mason is in the role. Mason perfectly blends the character's intelligence, enthusiasm, and charm. Clifton Webb might have leaned a little two far towards his signature "haughty sophistication", and this wouldn't have worked as well as Mason's portrayal.

I wonder what kind of Captain Nemo we'd have gotten if Clifton Webb had been given that role?




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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)


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Pow
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PostPosted: Tue Aug 16, 2016 8:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Always thought that one of my favs, Errol Flynn, would have made a fascinating Captain Nemo.
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 17, 2016 12:52 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

Errol as Captain Nemo. Hmmm . . . I can't quiet see it. Flynn excels at being brave and charming, flashing that smile at the heroine to seduce her or the villain to taunt him.

On the other hand, Tyrone Power was the proper age in 1954, and he had just the right sort of inner anger and calm intelligence to portray Nemo.

I made the picture at the bottom using these next two pictures to illustrate my point.








Here's the result. What do you think? Very Happy





Painting the beard onto Tyrone and putting the gray in his hair was fun.



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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)


Last edited by Bud Brewster on Tue Dec 12, 2017 3:49 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Pow
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 17, 2016 1:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have to respectfully disagree with you regarding Errol, Bud.

Flynn was mostly restricted to those swashbuckling roles by Jack Warner. After all, those films made major $$$ roll into Warner Brothers Studios.

Errol was capable of roles of far more depth when allowed.

Watch him in the Dianna Barrymore bio picture "Too Much, Too Soon" as Flynn portrays his real life buddy John Barrymore. Barrymore is a haunted, complex man struggling with inner demons as depicted in the movie. Just like Nemo.

However, I would agree that your pick of Ty Power is also a good one.
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