Journey to the Center of the Earth

Plot synopsis:
Scotland, 1880: Oliver Lindenbrook (James Mason), a distinguished professor at the University of Edinburgh, has just been granted knighthood for service to the Crown in the field of geology. When he arrives at his lecture hall on the day of the announcement, he is surprised by a gathering of staff and students. They present him with an elaborate decorative inkwell and the Dean declares a holiday in celebration of the occasion. As the others leave, one student, Alec McKuen (Pat Boone), remains behind. He offers Lindenbrook an extra token, a rock he acquired in a curiosity shop in Glasgow: a lump of lava, strangely heavy, although lava is usually very light. Pleased with the offering, Lindenbrook invites him to dinner at his home that evening. As Alec leaves, Lindenbrook turns his attention back to the unusual rock.Alec arrives at Lindenbrook's house that evening to find that the professor never came home, and his niece, Jenny (Diane Baker), is both angry and worried. Alec and Jenny go to his laboratory at the University, and find him and his assistant, Paisley (Ben Wright), feverishly experimenting on that same piece of lava. Lindenbrook shows Alec that he has chipped away a fragment of the lava and uncovered a manmade object inside, marked with three grooves or notches. He is about to melt off the rest of the lava to discover what it might be. Tired and distracted, Paisley pours in too much fuel at that moment, and the stove explodes. In the aftermath, Lindenbrook finds that the lava has been blasted free of the object, and it is revealed to be a surveyor's plumb bob with a few Nordic words painfully scratched on it. Lindenbrook and Alec recognize the signature with wonder: Arne Saknussem, a brilliant but eccentric Icelandic scientist, who had disappeared many years earlier while exploring the volcanoes of his homeland.Two weeks later, the Dean and the Rector of the University (Alan Napier and Alan Caillou) call at Lindenbrook's home to ask why he's neglecting his teaching duties. He tells them the story of the plumb bob, and shows it to them along with the translation he had made of its message: "I am dying but my life's work must not be lost. Whoever descends into the crater of Sneffels Yokul can reach the center of the earth. At sunrise on the last day of May, the Mountain Scartaris will point the path." Lindenbrook explains that Sneffels Yokul is an extinct volcano in Iceland, and Scartaris a nearby mountain peak. He has written a paper, and sent it to the eminent Professor Goteborg of Sweden for review, and plans to mount an expedition to Iceland as soon as Goteborg confirms its feasibility.But Goteborg's reply is overdue, although Lindenbrook has written twice. Instead, a letter arrives from the University of Sweden saying that Goteborg has vanished without a word of explanation. Lindenbrook immediately suspects that Goteborg intends to mount an expedition of his own, and claim credit for the discovery. He decides to leave for Iceland at once, and Alec decides to accompany him.In Iceland, a visit to Sneffels Yokul reveals that Goteborg has indeed been surveying there. Lindenbrook sends Alec back to town to acquire the equipment and supplies they will need while he makes his own observations of the crater. Goteborg (Ivan Triesault) has been watching their arrival, and, desperate to delay them, arranges for them to be abducted and imprisoned in a remote eider down storage shed. Fortunately, they are quickly discovered there by a tall, young Icelandic man, Hans Belker (Peter Ronson), and his pet duck, Gertrude. He releases them and escorts them back to Reykjavik.It turns out that they are staying at the same hotel as Goteborg. They ask for him at the desk, but the hotel proprietress (Edith Evanson) is uneasy and evasive, saying at first that he is not in, then saying he cannot be disturbed. Lindenbrook hands his business card to her, asking her to put it in Goteborg's mailbox, and they watch as she does so, learning his room number. They knock and shout at Goteborg's door, but he doesn't answer. Hans picks the lock, and they go inside to wait for his return. As they look enviously over the supplies and equipment he has stockpiled there, they also find his lifeless body, neatly laid out, covered by a blanket. And they discover evidence that his death was not a natural one...a few grains of potassium cyanide linger on his beard.Meanwhile, Goteborg's wife, Karla (Arlene Dahl), has arrived from Sweden. When she asks for her husband at the desk, the proprietress shows her into her office, and breaks the news to her of her husband's death. Lindenbrook, coming downstairs to talk to the proprietress, overhears the conversation, and steps in to inform them both that Professor Goteborg was murdered. The proprietress discloses that the last person to see Goteborg alive was Count Saknussem (Thayer David), a descendant of Arne Saknussem, and a well-known scientist in his own right. She goes off to inform the police.Lindenbrook asks Madame Goteborg to sell him the professor's equipment. She is too distraught to discuss the matter, and tries to put him off. A desperate Lindenbrook then demands that she sell him the equipment, blurting out that he has a right to it as her husband had been trying to cheat him of credit for his discovery. Outraged, she flatly refuses. But later, reading her husband's diary, she learns that Lindenbrook told the truth. She agrees to sell him the equipment on condition that he allows her to join the expedition. He is reluctant, but must consent: Goteborg had bought up all the equipment in town, no other is available. And since Hans, who speaks no English, is also going, and Madame Goteborg speaks Icelandic, she will be useful in helping them all to communicate.At the last moment, Hans decides on his own to bring along his duck, Gertrude.Dawn finds them on the rim of the volcanic crater, waiting for Saknussem's sign. A single ray of light from the rising sun peeks through the crags of Scartaris, marking their gateway. The Lindenbrook Expedition sets off...unaware that Count Saknussem (Thayer David) and his servant have been watching--and will follow.They soon discover that Arne Saknussem marked his pathway at regular intervals with his three-notches signature, and they need only look for these to keep on the right path. One night, the Count and his servant creep past them as they sleep. At the next set of notches, the Count chisels new marks in the rock that point a different direction, while his servant conceals the original marks. The Lindenbrook party is led astray by the false marks and Alec is nearly killed in a fall. Backtracking, they discover where and why they went wrong. Now they know they are in a race with a dangerous enemy.They are separated at one of their campsites, a spectacular crystalline rock formation and mineral spring. At one point, off by himself, Alec drops his lantern through a hole in the rock. He climbs in to retrieve it, and when he starts back he misses the correct corridor. Meanwhile, Lindenbrook chisels off a sample of the unique rock formation, and as he does so, the whole wall collapses, and the chamber floods with water. Lindenbrook, Madam Goteborg, and Hans must scramble to escape. They don't notice Alec is not with them until they are out of the flooded chamber.Alec and the rest of the party wander separately for days, looking for each other. Alec eventually stumbles upon Count Saknussem, whose servant has died of "too much heat, too much burden and too much fear," leaving the Count stranded. The Count tries to force Alec to pick up the servant's burden. Alec refuses, and begins to walk away. Count Saknussem shoots him in the arm with his revolver. The noise brings Lindenbrook, Hans and Madam Goteborg on the run, but the happy reunion is short-lived, with the Count holding a gun on them all. He tells the others to go back, leaving Hans behind to serve him. Lindenbrook pretends to agree, then tricks and disarms him. They debate on what to do with him: They all agree he is guilty of murder and mayhem, but they are all too civilized to do away with him or leave him behind to die. They reluctantly allow him to join their group.They continue on their journey for many weeks, growing ragged and weary, running short of supplies. One day Alec finds a forest of mushrooms. Some are as large as trees, but there are also smaller, edible mushrooms, and all are relieved and grateful for the dietary change. While the others rest, Count Saknussem goes exploring beyond the forest. He comes back long enough to order Hans to fell some of the giant mushrooms and build a raft, then leaves again. Lindenbrook follows him, and finds that Saknussem has discovered a vast underground ocean. To continue their journey, they must cross this sea--hence, the raft. When they try to launch it, however, they are attacked by giant fin-backed lizards. Hans manages to kill one of them with a spear. The others immediately turn on it to devour it, and while they are feeding, the party escapes onto the subterranean sea.After days on the water, they suddenly encounter a magnetic force so powerful it rips away everything made of metal...even Madam Goteborg's wedding ring and Hans's gold tooth! They have reached the center of the earth! But they're caught up in a maelstrom, and it wrecks their frail craft. They make it to the beach exhausted, no food or equipment, with only the rags on their backs, and collapse, exhausted. They decide to sleep before they try to plan their next move. Gertrude wriggles free of Hans's arms and strolls down the beach. The Count, also wakeful, sees her and begins to follow. When Hans wakes, he follows Gertrude's tracks, calling for her. He finds a lone white feather at the mouth of a cave...he finds more inside, stained with blood. Furious, he begins to climb toward the Count, who is using a rock to scratch something on a rock wall. He tries to strangle the Count, but Lindenbrook and Alec drag him away. Angry and frightened, the Count rages at them all, accusing them of being ungrateful fools. As he rants, he steps backward and stumbles into the wall on which he was pounding, earlier. It collapses on top of him, killing him.The others move up to the place where he fell, and see in the chamber beyond the ruins of an ancient city, which Lindenbrook speculates may have been part of the Lost City of Atlantis. Exploring, they find the skeleton of Arne Saknussem...with a broken leg to explain why he never returned. His only remaining possession is a knapsack full of gunpowder. Madam Goteborg notes that his hand seems to be pointing, and they turn to see the opening of a volcanic shaft, with a tremendous updraft, indicating it could be a direct path to the earth's surface. But it is blocked by a massive boulder. Lindenbrook suggests they use the gunpowder in Arne Saknussem's knapsack to dislodge it. They forage through the city, and find flint and iron with which to make fire, and a few crude tools. They set their charge and twist together a fuse. Lindenbrook lights it, and they take shelter in a bowl-shaped altar stone. The force of the blast does dislodge the boulder, but also triggers a volcanic eruption. The altar stone (fortunately made from an ancient form of asbestos) is borne up by the hot lava into the shaft, and propelled at a terrific speed to the surface. They are ejected from a dead volcano in the Lipari Islands, now activated by the blast, into the Mediterranean Sea, where all but Alec are rescued by fishermen. Alec, it develops, was thrown early from the altar stone, and is rescued (trouser-less!) from a tree by a group of nuns.Back in Edinburgh, the expedition is greeted enthusiastically by a crowd of students at the University. Lindenbrook thanks them, but says that all his notes and samples were lost and he would never embarrass the University by claiming credit for an accomplishment he can't prove.Alec is there, in a wheelchair with a cast on his leg, and Jenny by his side. It seems that he was in such a hurry to leave the church after their wedding that he fell and broke his leg. Nevertheless, they are clearly happy. Hans is also there, but leaving shortly for Iceland. Lindenbrook offers his heartfelt thanks, and Hans replies in a few laboriously-learned English words that if the professor ever decides to go down there again, Hans will go, too. They shake hands and say goodbye. Madam Goteborg tells Lindenbrook she is leaving, as well, to return to Sweden. Lindenbrook protests, saying she must stay and help him with his memoirs. As they argue about the terms on which she will stay, they both finally realize that they care for each other, and want to be together. They kiss, and the crowd cheers.

Tags: murder

Review:
Even though I've been watching it on TV since I was a kid in the sixties, I'd only seen pan&scan versions, and it wasn't until I got it letterboxed on laserdisc that I finally saw what a big-screen entertainment this movie was meant to be.
(The complete original recordings of the score are available on CD from Varese Sarabande.) This movie also has the great James Mason in it, so you know it's got to be good.
Sure it's long in the telling and takes a while to get you down that extinct volcano in Iceland, but it's fun all the way with great special effects work by L.B. Abbott and matte paintings by Emil Kosa Jr.
Based fairly faithfully on a classic sci-fi novel by Jules Verne, Journey To The Center Of The Earth is an inventive, splendidly-realised, smartly acted film.
Determined to venture down the same route, Lindenbrook puts together an ambitious expedition consisting of his nephew Alec (Pat Boone), widow Carla Goetaborg (Arlene Dahl), silent but loyal guide Hans (Peter Ronson), and a duck named Gertrude.
The unlikely cast of dramatic veteran James Mason, singer Pat Boone, beautiful Diane Baker, sexy Arlene Dahl and Iceland born jock Peter Ronson come together surprisingly well.
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.
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.
I suppose the best way to appreciate a widescreen Cinemascope film is to have seen it on a large movie theater screen in the first place.
Many years later Spielberg and Lucas would pay homage to that moment in their throwback serial film "Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark" but in the intervening years I have had recurring dreams about being chased by a boulder down a narrow passageway."A Journey to the Center of the Earth" is a movie I see over and over again.
As a 7 year old I would ponder the great inponderables, life, death, God, the meaning of existence and somehow this movie, cheesy special effects and all, has given me haunting sign posts that the only true travel is the voyage within.
In the scene where Pat Boone discovers the forest of mushrooms and they go hog-wild eating them, Arlene Dahl reminds them that they will soon find the taste of salt beef appealing, it occurred to me than an individual could carry rations for at most 1 week, and here it is the 256th day of the Expedition.The writers took liberties with Verne's story.
Having first seen this movie as a 10 year old the "battle of the sexes" went completely over my head (though 10 year old boys like to look at pretty ladies too)this time around I appreciated it, especially as her character and her portrayal are of a strong willed and assertive woman-they had plenty of those in the 19th Century.Before the screening there were some introductory remarks.
Journey To the Center of the Earth has been made several times since this 1959 release.A group of four explorers consisting of Professor Lindenbrook, his nephew, a woman and an Iclantic, Hans plus his pet duck Gertrude go on an expedition to the centre of the Earth via an extinct volcano in Iceland.They encounter all sorts of dangers and sights on the way including a large boulder that nearly crushes them, a forest of giant mushrooms, the lost city of Atlantis, an underground ocean and some prehistoric monsters including Dimetrodons and a giant red lizard, which attacks the party as they are making their escape.
The music score by Bernard Herrmann is excellent as it is in all his movies i've seen.The cast is excellent too and includes James Mason (20,000 Leagues Under the Sea), Pat Boone (who also sings), Arlene Dahl, Peter Ronson as Hans and Diane Baker.I have seen this movie several times and is an excellent way to spend a couple of hours one afternoon or evening.Rating: 5 stars out of 5..
40 some odd years later, I am still impressed by what they achieved in the way of plot, acting, and even the special effects still look not bad, but I still don't really see why they felt the need for adding a woman to the mix.<G>  But Arlene Dahl is good enough in the part that I no longer feel bothered by it.
The great James Mason is superb as a geology professor who heads a party of five (four people and one duck) on a perilous journey into the depths of the earth.
The organ music, in particular, lends a strikingly Gothic touch to the nether world look of the sunken city.Despite a too talky script, this 1959 film deserves to be watched multiple times by kids of all ages for its timeless adventure and sense of discovery..
And the story begins in Scotland with Geology Professor James Mason getting a piece of unusual lava rock from student Pat Boone, thereby setting in motion a chain of events that will take them to Iceland and a passage deep into the earth's bowels.James Mason heads a fine cast and does very well by the part of Professor Oliver Lindenbrook, geology professor and explorer.
The moments of humor and the personal interactions and typical personality clashes between the characters of James Mason and Arlene Dahl just added to the reality of conflict between strong men and strong women of that period (BTW, I was really happy for the way this film ended.) The visual affects of the scenes are breathtaking: the spectacular view atop the mountain, their descent into what looked like an abyss; their amazing escapes from several dangerous situations, the underground ocean, and those lip-smacking lizards.
I hadn't planned on making my daughter watch an old movie with me, but when she wandered through the living room, she plopped right down and we had a fun time.The pacing was fine, the actors read their lines well, the music was exciting, and the DVD is very clear - it could have been made last year, as far as the print is concerned.
I'm sure there are other scenes from this movie that were aped in more recent adventure films.One commenter really went off regarding the Freudian aspects of the film - I noticed too, but it didn't bother me - EVERY film is about sex if you let it be.The only special features were the original trailer - which actually expected audiences to read!
It was called "Twice as Tall" and you can hear the melody as they start on the expedition.) I was actually a bit disappointed by reading the book afterwards, as the strong female lead played by Arlene Dahl is not in the story, and "Jenny" (I think she's "Gretl" or something like that in the book) is pretty much of a cipher.
Mason gives just the right weight to lines like "We can't take a WOMAN along!", and Dahl, as the most charming, intelligent, and self-possessed of Victorian ladies, is thoroughly believable when she proclaims that "I may have been a disturbance to men, but never a burden."  One of the film's most amusing aspects is the way in which the characters maintain the Victorian proprieties even miles below the surface of the earth.
"Journey to the Center of the Earth" is a family film in the best sense: one that can create a sense of wonder and even exaltation in small children, setting the imagination on fire, and one in which adults can find new layers of entertainment as they become older and more discerning viewers.
But the movie was very enjoyable not only because of the ability of the cast but also because of the great scenery meant to be the center of the Earth.Now, I even enjoyed the little tune they start singing all of a sudden, I thought it was quite catchy.A certain scene I found especially interesting is when the Professor wants to take a sample of a mineral.
This is the classic adaptation (1959) by Henry Levin with great cast such as James Mason as Lindenbrook , Pat Boone , Diane Baker and Arlene Dahl as a wealthy widow .
An Edinburgh (in fact , many of the people in the crowd scenes were students of Edinburgh University) professor (James Mason who replaced an ailing Clifton Webb) and assorted colleagues as his pupil (Pat Boone) , a woman looking for her husband who disappeared various years earlier during a voyage follow an explorer's trail down an extinct Icelandic volcano to the earth's center .
Dealing with the known story about an anthropologist scientific named Linderbrook , James Mason , and his student , Pat Boone , and a woman , Arlene Dahl , undergo a hazardous voyage to find clues of her husband who disappeared some years earlier .
Furthermore , a cartoon movie : Journey to the Center of the Earth (1967) was based on this film version rather than the original novel by Jules Verne and features several characters that were created for the 1959 film .
Fully restored picture, excellent sound and a few extras included.James Mason and Pat Boone are at their best in this movie, based on Jules Verne's classic adventure tale.If you like adventure-fantasy movies, then this one is certainly for you.The special effects may be a bit outdated, but this movie won't disappoint you because of them.
Shot in Carlsbad cavern, New Mexico, the film follow the expedition of professor Lindenbrook ( James Mason )  to find the lost civilisation that once existed at the center of the earth.
Journey to the Center of the Earth is, in my opinion, one of the best Sci-Fi adventure classic films of the period, circa 1960.
Journey to the centre of the earth is one of whose films that is exciting and has a very good story, it has one of the best actors of all time in the lead role, James mason ranks up there with Cary grant, James Stewart as one of the best actors of all time.
I was amazed that in the same year James mason appeared in north by northwest and journey to the centre of the earth, and both did not get Oscars for the great films they were.
The 1959 adaption of Jules Verne's epic tale: Journey to the Center of the Earth remains to this day not only the best adaption of the 19th century novel, but one of the truly great movies of all time.
Professor Oliver Lindenbrook (James Mason) finds clues to suggest a famous explorer made his way to center of the Earth and decides to follow in his footsteps.
Yes, they did a rather good job of making a movie that did make you feel like the characters were underground and on a grand journey to the center of the Earth.
Pat Boone lends a homey touch to the film, and James Mason is great as the stuffy Professor who has to get to the Center of the Earth.
I never tire of seeing this film, and enjoying the special effects of the journey into the mountain, and into the caverns, it is just so exciting, and seeing the giant lizards fighting, it just reminds of us all of when we would read these stories from Jules Verne that really intrigued us and we found ourselves day dreaming of being a part of those exciting tales of adventure in a far away land.
As for the the film itself: it's dated fun in the best sense, featuring magnificent Carlsbad Cavern settings, and a performance by James Mason that's totally right, making the whole experience a sublime one.
(This was pre-VHS era, too, so you could only see this on a big screen, which was actually a good thing.) That's not to say you couldn't enjoy the movie today.Jules Verne stories were big-time in the 1950s and 60s, too, with "The Time Machine (1953) and 20,000 Leagues Under The sea (1954).
Watching this film, it's also hard to buy a professor of geology ("Sir Oliver Lindenbrook," played by Mason) and a singing student (Pat Boone, as "Alec McKuen") finding things they found in the center of the earth in this movie.
This was one of our family "staple movies" when I was growing up...James Mason (with whom I just so happen to share my last name ;0) leading a colorful cast on their way to the center of the earth.
i admit that it might be long in telling and look cheesy in places, like the lizards, the snake and the mushrooms, but overall i think it is a great movie, especially for the time it was made.
Based on the classic novel by Jules Verne, this adaptation stars James Mason as a Scottish professor who organizes an expedition into Iceland in order to locate the entrance to the center of the Earth, where a volcanic piece of rock he came into possession of originated from.
James Mason is perfectly cast as Edinburgh Professor Lindenbrook who embarks on his journey when he comes across a piece of strange Volcanic Rock.Along with one of his students, the widow of a rival explorer, athletic Icelander Hans and his duck they try to reach the centre of the earth.They come across subterranean oceans with giant mushrooms, whirlpools, giant lizards and lost civilisations.
Hans duck is in danger from a rival aristocratic explorer.The whole film is an adventurous ride with a lot of humour, some dastardly bad guys and a wonderful score.The special effects may now look aged but it is a film worth exploring..
Great memories of watching this movie on what turned out to be the last night of my carefree youth..."Journey to the Center of the Earth" is a well-produced family-friendly film with a good cast and gorgeous cinematography.
Much of Journey was filmed in giant caverns and caves however it is when our explorers reach the world within a world that you can really start to appreciate Journey in all it greatness,the then effects team that worked on the picture did a remarkable job here,the massive sets that were built,the fabulous encounter with prehistoric creatures from a bygone era,the lost city of Atlantis and the incredible final moments including the volcanic shaft through which our explorers finally return to the surface of the earth....Jorney is a truly wonderful motion picture from the grand days of Hollywood.
The cast in this one (featuring James Mason as Professor Lindenbrook, Pat Boone as as McKuen, Arlene Dahl as Carla Goteborg and Peter Ronson as Hans were, I thought, better than the '08 cast, and the story was tighter than that one.
At the same time I sensed no real chemistry between Mason and Dahl, which made the end of the movie feel a bit forced and unnecessary.The introduction to the story (as Lindenbrook begins to put together the expedition) for me went on too long and could have been quite shortened.
At the same time though, two other characters are on their way to find the same passage, in an attempt to gain instant fame.It's a movie based on a classic book by Jules Verne, which presents the fantastic journey to the center of the planet.
It looks decent for a film made about sixty years ago, but don't have high expectations from its visuals.Overall, I find it to be an enjoyable movie, with a deep retro felling which I like, which tells a classic story in its own unique way.
It's a good watch for everybody who wants to relive a classic story, especially through an old film like this one..
A Little Silly, But Good Fun. An Edinburgh professor and assorted colleagues follow an explorer's trail down an extinct Icelandic volcano to the earth's center.Bosley Crowther said that the film is "really not very striking make-believe, when all is said and done.
Bernard Herrmann's Score is Stunning and a Few Times the Film Actually Looks Like it Might be On to Something, but then, the Movie Falls Asleep with So Much Family Friendly Foolishness.
And I liked the acting, I was worried at Pat Boone being cast but he was actually pretty good, while everyone else ranged from good(Arlene Dahl) to very good(James Mason).Overall, this is very good, definitely worth watching.
Plot summary: James Mason leads an intrepid group of adventurers - a Scot, a babe, a Mr. Universe-type and a duck -- on an expedition to the center of the Earth.
'Journey to the Center of the Earth' is a pretty good adaption of Jules Verne's novel, though the major differences are in the character relationships and the introduction of a villain character.
A pleasant entertainment from my past (watching Creature Features Saturday afternoon on KHQ in Spokane), Journey to the Center of the Earth is, in retrospect, a bit slow in places, but still very engaging, with James Mason, Pat Boone, and Arlene Dahl sweating and squeezing (say, where are you going with this?) through subterranean passages (does this sound faintly homoerotic?) to find whatever it is they're looking for.It's good, clean fun and pretty suspenseful for kids of all ages.
This 1959 film, starring Pat Boone, is the earliest screen adaptation of Jules Verne's 19th century novel "A Journey to the Center of the Earth".
Professor Oliver Lindenbrook (James Mason) discovers a way down to the center of the Earth.
Despite the goofy science and some corny special effects, Journey to the Center of the Earth is still a fun family film.