journey to the center of the earth james mason cast

Journey to the Center of the Earth

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Brief Synopsis

Cast & crew, henry levin, james mason, arlene dahl, diane baker, thayer david, photos & videos, technical specs.

In Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1880, Professor Oliver Lindenbrook is knighted to the acclaim of his colleagues and students. When his prize pupil, Alec McEwen, presents him with a lava paperweight to commemorate the occasion, Oliver discovers that encased within the Italian lava is a rock from Iceland, halfway across the world from the volcano. After Oliver identifies some etchings on the rock as those of Saknussemm, an Icelandic scientist who years earlier descended into the interior of the earth, never to return, he sends a dispatch to his colleague, Prof. Goetaborg in Stockholm, asking him to confirm his findings. Upon learning that Goetaborg has vanished, Oliver realizes that the Swede has decided to conduct his own expedition. Now in a race to reach the center of the earth, Oliver and Alec leave immediately for Iceland and Alec bids farewell to his fiancée Jenny, Oliver's niece. Aware that they must begin their descent on the last day of May when the sunrise will pinpoint the opening into the Earth, Oliver hurries to assemble the equipment needed for his journey, but soon learns that it has all been purchased by Goetaborg. When he goes to confront Goetaborg about the situation, Oliver discovers the Swede lying lifeless in his hotel room, poisoned. Soon after, Goetaborg's wife Carla arrives to join her husband. Oliver breaks the news of her husband's death, but when he requests the use of the equipment, Carla agrees on the condition that she be allowed to join the expedition. With no other choice, Oliver reluctantly accepts, and the three are then joined by a husky Icelandic jack-of-all trades named Hans Belker and his pet duck Gertrude. As they slip inside the Earth on the last day of May, they are secretly followed by Count Saknussemm, a descendent of the original explorer. Their first trial occurs when a boulder, dislodged by an earthquake, tumbles threateningly toward them. After a narrow escape, they discern a series of notches left by Saknussemm, marking the path to the center of the Earth. Unknown to them, the count has sabotaged his ancestor's markings, sending Alec over the side of a precipice. After Hans rescues Alec, Carla uncovers the real markings, and they realize they have been tricked. Becoming separated from the rest when he follows a tunnel, Alec sinks through a bed of salt into a chamber, where he comes face to face with the count. When Alex refuses to carry the count's equipment, the count shoots at him, and the sound of gunfire alerts the others to their whereabouts. Following the echoing gunshots, the three soon find the wounded Alec and the count, who threatens them all at gunpoint. After Oliver tricks the count by throwing salt in his eyes, they accuse him of murdering Goetaborg and find him guilty in a mock trial. Although he is sentenced to die, the three find themselves unable to carry out the sentence. The Count then begrudgingly joins the expedition, and as their lamps begin to fail, he discovers a luminescent algae that renders artificial light unnecessary. Two hundred fifty six days later, Carla and Oliver are still bickering about the journey. When Alec discovers a massive mushroom forest, Carla prepares the mushrooms for dinner while the count orders Hans to chop the plants down to build a raft that will carry them across the ocean of the underworld. Just as they are about to set sail, an army of giant flesh-eating lizards appear, but they escape by fleeing into the water. Once at sea, they are encompassed by a magnetic force field which Oliver realizes is the center of the Earth, whose intense centrifugal force throws them onto shore, exhausted. As they sleep, Gertrude waddles off, and when Hans awakens, all he finds is a pile of bloody feathers. Realizing that the count has eaten Gertrude for dinner, Hans lunges at him, and when the count retreats, he is crushed by a falling pillar of rocks. The collapse reveals the sunken city of Atlantis, where they find the skeleton of Saknussemm, his finger pointing to a shaft that leads to the chimney of a volcano in Stromboli, Italy, the way out of the underground. Oliver sends Hans to inspect the shaft, and when Hans reports that it is obstructed by a giant block of stone, Oliver decides to dislodge the obstruction by using a cache of gunpowder found in Saknussemm's knapsack. The group takes refuge from the explosion in a giant asbestos chalice, but when the gunpowder fails to ignite, Oliver jumps down to relight it and is attacked by a giant scorpion. Escaping with Alec's help, Oliver climbs back into the chalice just as the gunpowder detonates, killing the serpent and destroying Atlantis. The chalice and its inhabitants are swept up though the tunnel and spewed out into the sea, where all but Alec, who lands in a tree, are rescued by Italian fishermen. The party then returns triumphant to Edinburgh, where Jenny and Alec are married. When Oliver asks Carla to stay and collaborate with him on his memoirs, she reacts with indignation at being relegated to the role of his secretary until he proposes and embraces her.

Peter Ronson

Robert adler.

Alan Napier

Alex finlayson, frederick halliday, alan caillou, ivan triesault, peter wright, molly roden, edith evanson, owen mcgivney, kendrik huxham, molly glessing, john barclay, peter fontaine, john ainsworth, myra nelson, thomas f. martin, l. b. abbott, franz bachelin, lincoln barnett, herman a. blumenthal, charles brackett, robert burns, charles [g.] clarke, warren b. delaplain, leonard doss, david ffolkes, bernard freericks, stuart gilmore, james b. gordon, bernard herrmann, jack w. holmes, joseph kish, emila kose jr., lionel newman, walter reisch, joseph m. schenck, bernard schwartz, walter m. scott, helen turpin, james van heusen, lyle r. wheeler, photo collections.

Award Nominations

Best art direction, best special effects.

I never sleep. I hate those little slices of death. - Count Saknussem

The screenwriter evidently thought that since English-speaking people can have surnames like London or York then Swedes can be named Goetaborg (Goteborg is the second largest city in Sweden) - which is most unlikely.

The film's title card reads "Jules Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth ." The film closes with the following written acknowledgment: "Carlsbad Caverns National Park served as the background for portions of the motion picture. Twentieth Century-Fox expresses its appreciation for the cooperation extended by the National Park Service of the U.S. Department of the Interior." According to studio publicity contained in the film's production files at the AMPAS Library, filming was allowed only at night because of daily public tours scheduled in the caverns. Location filming was also done in Edinburgh, Scotland; Amboy Crater, CA and Sequit Point, CA.        A number of studios and producers considered filming Verne's novel prior to Twentieth Century-Fox's production. According to December 1955 and February 1956 Los Angeles Times news items, producer Eugene Lourie planned to film a version in Italy with Gerard Philipe and Michele Morgan as the stars. According to September 1956 items in Hollywood Citizen-News and Daily Variety , producer Bryan Foy bought the rights to the novel for release through Columbia, but Columbia withdrew its plans upon learning that RKO had begun extensive pre-production work on the same subject.        In October 1958, a Los Angeles Examiner news item stated that Charles Brackett, in association with Twentieth Century-Fox, had bought the rights to the novel from the Korda estate and wanted Clifton Webb to play the role of "Oliver Lindenbrook." Although an April 1959 Hollywood Reporter news item added that Lincoln Barnett was to write the screenplay for Brackett, Barnett's contribution to the released film has not been determined. According to a March 1959 Hollywood Reporter news item, Cooga Mooga Film Productions was Pat Boone's production company. Under Boone'e deal with Twentieth Century-Fox, Boone was to produce and star in the film for a share in the profits, as well as a salary. Journey to tne Center of the Earth marked Boone's first production. In Verne's novel, the character of Lindenbrook was German. The characters "Carla" and "Saknussemm" were added for the film.        Journey to the Center of the Earth was nominated for the following Academy Awards: Best Art Direction, Best Set Decoration, Best Sound and Best Special Effects. Modern sources add that Anna Jane Sitton worked as Arlene Dahl's stand-in and that Alexander Scourby was orginally cast as Saknussemm. According to modern sources, Pat Boone wrote and recorded a theme song that was never used in the film.        Verne's novel has been filmed several other times. In 1976, Almena Films, a Spanish company, released Viaje al centro de la Tierra , starring Kenneth More and directed by Juan Piquer Simón, and in 1989, the Canon Group/Golan-Globus released a version directed by Rusty Lemorande and starring Erno Philips. From 1967-69, ABC television broadcast an animated series loosely based on Verne's novel. Although several new feature film versions of Verne's novel were announced in the early 2000s, none was in production as of spring 2005.

Miscellaneous Notes

Released in United States Winter December 1959

Released in United States on Video August 25, 1988

Released in United States 1998

Shown at Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) as part of program "Twentieth Century Fox and the Golden Age of CinemaScope" July 3 - August 15, 1998.

CinemaScope

Released in United States 1998 (Shown at Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) as part of program "Twentieth Century Fox and the Golden Age of CinemaScope" July 3 - August 15, 1998.)

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Journey to the Center of the Earth

1959, Sci-fi, 2h 12m

What to know

Critics Consensus

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. Read critic reviews

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Journey to the center of the earth   photos.

A geologist (James Mason) and his assistant (Pat Boone) set off on an expedition to the center of the earth. Following directions found in an inscription hidden in volcanic rock, the explorers travel to a volcano in Iceland to begin their journey. Along the way, a widow of a famous scientist (Arlene Dahl) and an Icelander (Peter Ronson) join their party. However, the treacherous terrain and prehistoric monsters are not their only concern when a rival scientist (Thayer David) is on their trail.

Genre: Sci-fi

Original Language: English

Director: Henry Levin

Producer: Charles Brackett

Writer: Walter Reisch , Charles Brackett

Release Date (Streaming): Mar 1, 2013

Runtime: 2h 12m

Production Co: Twentieth Century Fox, Joseph M. Schenck Productions

Cast & Crew

Alexander "Alec" McKuen

James Mason

Sir Oliver S. Lindenbrook

Arlene Dahl

Carla Göteborg

Diane Baker

Jenny Lindenbrook

Thayer David

Count Saknussem

Peter Ronson

Hans Belker

Robert Adler

Alan Napier

Alex Finlayson

Professor Bayle

Frederick Halliday

Alan Caillou

Henry Levin

Walter Reisch

Screenwriter

Charles Brackett

News & Interviews for Journey to the Center of the Earth

Fraser Journeying to the Center of the Earth

Is Westworld Remake Finally Coming?

New Line & Walden Team Up for an All-New "Earth" Expedition"

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Journey To The Center Of The Earth (1959)

As any fan of science fiction can tell you, Jules Verne wrote many exciting novels. These epic tales usually focused on a journey to an exotic, otherworldly locale and featured plenty of thrills and chills during the course of the story.

Verne’s classics gained new popularity when a 1954 film version of his  20,000 Leagues Under The Sea  became a major box-office hit. Its success led to adaptations of other Verne tales like  Around The World In 80 Days   (1956). One of the best Verne adaptations from this era was  Journey To The Center Of The Earth .

This film starred James Mason, who had memorably portrayed Captain Nemo in  20,000 Leagues Under The Sea . In  Journey , he plays a crusty but debonair Edinburgh professor of geology named Oliver Lindenbrook.

The epic story begins when Lindenbrook is given a volcanic rock by one of his students. It contains a message inside from a long-dead explorer that tells how one can reach the centre of the earth.

Lindenbrook organises a touring party – including his young assistant Alan McEwen ( Pat Boone ), his ward Jenny (Diane Baker) and Icelandic guide Hans Belker (Peter Ronson) – and sets out to find the location on the map, which they track to a dormant volcano in Iceland.

Once inside the volcano, Lindenbrook and his party witness sights that few men have ever seen. There are strange but gorgeous landscapes filled with luminescent algae and giant mushrooms. They even discover an ancient island that may hold the key to the beginnings of mankind.

However, there are also dangers to be dealt with. One big problem is a rival team of explorers – headed by the evil Count Saknussmen (Thayer David) –  who are willing to resort to sabotage and kidnapping to be the first ones to reach the earth’s centre. Both teams also have to contend with the fact that dinosaurs and other ancient creatures are still alive and well in this underground world.

The finished film was good old-fashioned fun on an epic scale. James Mason created a lead character who commanded the audience’s respect and Pat Boone provided plenty of teen-idol appeal for younger viewers. Arlene Dahl also contributed a memorably spunky performance as Carla Goeteberg.

The story delivered the goods in epic style, especially during the scenes with the dinosaurs, filmed using real iguanas made up to look like dinosaurs.

Journey To The Center Of The Earth also benefited from the grand style in which it was presented. The film was shot in the Cinemascope format, which gave it an impressive widescreen look that allowed it to capture the underground vistas of the story in high style. Much of the location shooting took place at the Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico, with the production filming at night so as not to disturb the tourists.

The real cave locations were combined with studio-built sets, enhanced with the use of matte paintings.

The film boasted a lush, exciting musical score by Bernard Herrmann, who also did the honours for other fantasy-film classics like The Day The Earth Stood Still   (1951) and  Jason and the Argonauts   (1963).

In short,  Journey To The Center Of The Earth  had something for the whole family. It did well at the box office and inspired filmmakers to keep making Jules Verne adaptations like  Mysterious Island .

Meanwhile,  Journey To The Center Of The Earth  continues to be popular today with fantasy film fans of all ages, still delivering the goods on an epic scale.

Professor Oliver Lindenbrook James Mason Alec McEwen Pat Boone Mrs Carla Goetaborg Arlene Dahl Jenny Diane Baker Count Saknussmen Thayer David Hans Belker Peter Ronson Groom Robert Adler Dean Alan Napier

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Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959)

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Journey to the center of the earth.

1959 Directed by Henry Levin

A fabulous world below the world

An Edinburgh professor and assorted colleagues follow an explorer's trail down an extinct Icelandic volcano to the earth's center.

Pat Boone James Mason Arlene Dahl Diane Baker Thayer David Peter Ronson Robert Adler Alan Napier Alex Finlayson Alan Caillou Edith Evanson Ivan Triesault Kendrick Huxham Owen McGiveney Peter Wight Ben Wright

Director Director

Henry Levin

Assistant Director Asst. Director

Producer producer.

Charles Brackett

Writers Writers

Charles Brackett Walter Reisch

Original Writer Original Writer

Jules Verne

Editors Editors

Stuart Gilmore Jack W. Holmes

Cinematography Cinematography

Art direction art direction.

Lyle R. Wheeler Franz Bachelin Herman A. Blumenthal

Set Decoration Set Decoration

Walter M. Scott Joseph Kish

Visual Effects Visual Effects

L.B. Abbott Emil Kosa Jr. Robert E. Kent

Composer Composer

Bernard Herrmann

Costume Design Costume Design

David Ffolkes

Makeup Makeup

Hairstyling hairstyling.

Helen Turpin

Cooga Mooga Joseph M. Schenck Enterprises 20th Century Fox

Primary Language

Spoken languages.

Russian English French Icelandic Italian

Releases by Date

15 dec 1959, 16 dec 1959, 29 jan 1960, 11 may 1960, 14 jan 2004, releases by country.

• Theatrical 10
• Theatrical U
• Theatrical 12
• Theatrical G

132 mins   More at IMDb TMDb Report this page

Popular reviews

Review by Deckk ★★★

100-word review: Two hours plus simply is too long for a film that's mostly people caving towards an underwhelming destination (especially given the imposing titular promise). But it's charming. By using live iguanas (with glued-on make-up appliances added to their backs) and a painted lizard (hopefully the animal cruelty was minimised) as the monster denizens of the deep, their movements are smoother and more natural than sci-fi contemporaries using stop-motion effects; it looks pretty okay when blended into the fore- or background. Cheesy and ridiculous as it is, Journey to the Center of the Earth breathes Jules Verne.

Review by 20oldboy03 ★★★★ 2

English Version below

Schnatter, Schantter, Schnatter. Ja, ja, ja. Schnipp schnapp schwuppdiwupp und des Regenwurms Kopf ist ab.

Hallo zusammen, ich bin die Ente Gêrtrût , Gêrtrût von den Gêrtrûden eine von vielen Enten Gêrtrûts die meinen wie Mutters Namen tragen. Enten wie meine Brüder Gêrt und meine Schwestern Gêrtrûde wie unsere Cousine und Cousinen Gêrtrût und Gêrt . Die sooo einige Abenteuer erlebt haben, ja, ja, ja. Hoch über den Wolken erlebten sie sie wie ganz tief unter dem Meer bei den achsooo leckeren Fischchen und den blöööden aber so feinschmeckenden Krebsen. Doch niemand sah ihre Abenteuer mit Jason und seinen Argonauten noch sitzend zu Sindbads Schultern und Odysseus auf seine Reise begleitend. Keine Entenseele sah ihre Abenteuer und konnte sein…

Review by Travis Lytle ★★★★★ 8

Directed by Henry Levin, 1959's "Journey to the Center of the Earth" is a grand, old science fiction film from a grand, old era of filmmaking. Based on Jules Verne's classic tale, the film is a dusty but sweeping adventure that paints family-friendly pulp on a large-scale canvas.

Starring James Mason as professor who leads a small band of followers under the Earth's surface, the narrative bears all the hallmark's of Verne's now-retro speculative fiction epics. There is peril, nostalgically modern technology, and a thirst for discovery. The adventure is slow developing but the journey is compelling.

Levin's film takes its time to establish just where it is headed, giving "Journey to the Center of the Earth" the luxury of…

Review by Thomas ★★★½

I just love these old-school adventure epics.

“Journey to the Center of the Earth” is ambitious, imaginative, entertaining, and the right amount of silly. The highlights have to be the fantastic sets and the high attention to detail. The plot is straightforward and lacks any depth, but it’s fun, engaging, and full of wonder. The sexist attitude of James Mason´s character is quite annoying, but at least Arlene Dahl´s character outshines him at every turn. I didn´t need them to become a couple at the end, though. Well, for better or worse, the film is a product of its time. “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” is the superior Jules Verne film, but “Journey to the Center of the Earth” has a similar charm. Despite some flaws, it´s an enjoyable escapist adventure.

Review by deMicha ★★★★★ 9

🙂 Review Nummer 2000 🙂

Die Reise zum Mittelpunkt der Erde

1880, Edinburgh Geologie-Professor Lindenbrook findet in einem Lava Brocken, hinweise von dem Forscher Saknussem. Dieser wollte vor 300 Jahren zum Mittelpunkt der Erde. Mit dem Studenten Alec fährt er nach Island, um den Spuren von Saknussem zu folgen.

Abenteuer-Fantasy Film, der auf einen Roman von Jules Verne beruht, aus dem Jahre 1959. Regie führte Henry Levin (u.a. Dschingis Khan, 1965). In den Hauptrollen: J.Mason, P.Bone, A.Dahl, P.Ronson und T.David. Dieser Film ist einer meiner absoluten Lieblingsfilme, den ich schon sehr oft gesehn habe. Zum ersten mal hab ich ihn irgendwann in meiner Kindheit gesehen. Schon damals gefiel er mir sehr gut, da mich das Thema "Reise zum M. ..."…

Review by 🎄 MattLovesMovies 🎄 ★★★½

Good lord movies used to be really sexist lol. Besides all that though, this was a lot of fun! Once they actually get inside the earth it’s a wonderful journey that captivated me entirely.

Review by Matt_Samahl ★★★½

This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

R.I.P. Gertrude

Review by threepenny ★★★★★ 9

When the scientist explorer (James Mason) and his student (Pat Boone) get trapped before their adventure even starts, Gertrude the Duck takes matters into her own hands and frees them, after some discussion of a way to mutually communicate. But Gertrude does communicate with her Icelandic friend Hans, and in turn the widow of Prof. Goteborg (Arlene Dahl) speaks Icelandic, so the party is set. And by twists and turns, Gertrude leads them on an epic adventure under the earth, through pits, lava, water, giant lizards, giant fire lizards, and the ruins of lost Atlantis - though occasionally they do not follow her, and so get off the correct route. If it wasn't for the duck they never would have…

Review by 🇵🇱 Steve G 🇵🇸 ★★★½

The June-ar Module

You know, for such a staunch man of god, Pat Boone gets up to some pretty nasty things in this film.

He must look back on this film, from his birther bunker, with a great amount of dismay. And not just for the Scottish accent that he attempts for all but five minutes before abandoning it - and quite rightly so. Let's just pretend Jacksonville was, at one time, annexed to Scotland.

In this film, he absolutely disgustingly locks lips with a woman outside of matrimony, hits on another woman while he is already engaged, gorges himself on some mysterious underground mushrooms, and bares the Boone beef bong to a group of innocent Italian nuns before covering…

Review by pd187 ★★★½

boring, drab, a lil too clever & pat boone is no arch hall but i like the lizards

spoilers) they do it

Review by Ian Kemper ★★★½

Misogynistic smarty pants Sir Lindenbrook ( James Mason ) is on an expedition to the center of the Earth and by his side is Mr . "When you get married the thought of kissing other women goes away" goody two-shoes Pat Boone as Alec , a giant gentle-man Icelander Hans Belker ( Peter Ronson ), his pet duck Gertrude (?), and stoic in the face of Lindenbrook 's womanizing bullshit Carla Goteborg ( Arlene Dah l ), the more than capable team member (until she's done dirty by '50's trope bs) and general voice of reason. Together they will travel through many a cavern, overcome blistering heat, get body chapped in vast salt fields, devastate a giant mushroom forest, sail the high, nay, low seas in a fungal raft,…

Review by Lebowskidoo 🇨🇦 🎬 🍿 ★★★★ 2

"Do you realize we know less about the earth we live on than about the stars and the galaxies of outer space? The greatest mystery is right here, right under our feet!"

Fun retro sci-fi, based on the book by Jules Verne. Features a young Pat Boone, before he went metal.

Fairly certain now that this is where Lucas/Spielberg got the idea for the rolling ball sequence in Raiders of the Lost Ark.

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Science on Screen

Journey to the Center of the Earth

Release date.

• Henry Levin
• James Mason
• Arlene Dahl

Film Synopsis

An Edinburgh professor and assorted colleagues follow an explorer's trail down an extinct Icelandic volcano to the Earth's center.

Based on the 1864 Jules Verne novel, Journey to the Center of the Earth tells the story of absent-minded professor Oliver Lindenbrook (James Mason), whose first step on a fantastic journey is prompted by a lump of lava brought to him by his student Alec McEwen (Pat Boone). Melting down the curiously composed lump, Lindenbrook discovers a hastily scrawled message from long-lost explorer Arne Saknussemm, with directions for reaching the earth’s core. Accompanied by Carla (Arlene Dahl), widow of a famed geologist, and Icelandic guide Hans (Peter Ronson), Lindenbrook and Alec head down, down below. They are closely followed by the villainous Count Saknussemm (Thayer David), descendant of the lost explorer who wrote the directions; the count hopes to use Lindenbrook’s discoveries for his own personal and political gain.

Past Programs

Athena Cinema, Athens, OH

Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959) | Blu-ray – The thrilling Jules Verne adventure gets a cracking 4k restoration

Jules Verne’s classic novel, Journey to the Center of the Earth , is brought to the screen in the thrilling 1959 adventure about a band of intrepid explorers descending to the hidden reaches of our world.

Professor Lindenbrook (James Mason) discovers a long hidden message that reveals the existence of a passage into the centre of the Earth. Leading a team of unlikely adventurers (including Pat Boone, Arlene Dahl and… a duck), the groups daring expedition will see them come up against exploding volcanoes, rockslides and even flesh-eating reptiles!

Scored by the legendary Bernard Hermann and filmed in stunning Cinemascope, Journey to the Center of the Earth is a much beloved classic, and a landmark in both science-fiction and adventure filmmaking. Eureka Classics is proud to present the film for the first time on Blu-ray in the UK, from a stunning 4K restoration.

SPECIAL FEATURES

• 1080p presentation from a definitive 4K restoration
• Optional stereo PCM soundtrack and 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio options
• Isolated music and effects track
• Optional English subtitles
• Audio commentary with actress Diane Baker and film historians Steven C Smith and Nick Redman
• Video interview with author Kim Newman
• A short clip featuring film’s restoration over the years
• Original theatrical trailer
• Booklet featuring Bosley Crowther’s 1959 New York Times review, archival images and poster gallery, and viewing notes.

Available to purchase here http://amzn.to/2tir1l6

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mytf_8pr4Aw&feature=youtu.be

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Journey to the center of the earth  (1959).

A mysterious message from a long-lost explorer leads a geologist and his motley team to embark on a scientific expedition deep into the depths of the earth, in this adaptation of Jules Verne’s classic science fiction novel.  A wondrous and perilous journey among giant lizards, underground oceans, and lost cities awaits the group in this intrepid subterranean adventure.

Cooga Mooga Film Productions, Inc., Joseph M. Schenck Enterprises, Inc.  Producer: Charles Brackett.  Director: Henry Levin.  Screenwriter: Walter Reisch, C. Brackett.  Based on the novel by Jules Verne.  Cinematographer: Leo Tover.  Editor: Stuart Gilmore, Jack W. Holmes.   With: James Mason, Pat Boone, Arlene Dahl, Thayer David, Peter Ronson.  DCP, color, 132 min.

Note:   recommended for ages 9+

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Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959)

James mason: sir oliver s. lindenbrook.

• Photos (53)
• Quotes (31)

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Quotes 

Sir Oliver Lindenbrook : Are we to be abducted every day in Iceland?

Carla Goetabaug : Poor Sir Oliver, stuck with a woman. If only you could see your face.

Sir Oliver Lindenbrook : That's my consolation, madam, I don't have to look at it. You do.

Carla Goetabaug : Someone is walking up there. I heard footsteps, human footsteps.

Sir Oliver Lindenbrook : Madam, since the beginning of time, all women have heard footsteps "up there."

Alec McKuen : [after discovering Professor Göteborg dead in his hotel room]  Why didn't they tell us at the desk?

Sir Oliver Lindenbrook : Hotels rarely advertise the fact that there are corpses lying around.

Carla Goetabaug : Sir Oliver, you're not going to listen to a murderer?

Sir Oliver Lindenbrook : Never interrupt a murderer, madam.

Count Saknussemm : I resent that bourgeois classification. I'll spare your lives. You have my word of honor.

Sir Oliver Lindenbrook : Give me your hand on that.

[Sir Oliver throws salt into Count Saknussemm's eyes] 

Sir Oliver Lindenbrook : A bourgeois trick. So sorry.

Sir Oliver Lindenbrook : We'll observe one minute of silence in memory of a great scientist, even if he was a blasted thief.

Alec McKuen : I wonder if Madam Goetabaug will change her mind at the last moment.

Sir Oliver Lindenbrook : You make my mouth water.

Alec McKuen : Hans is tying the rope on her.

Sir Oliver Lindenbrook : I'm a fool. I should have told him to tie her to one of the mules and send her back where she belongs.

Alec McKuen : In what language would you have told him that, Sir Oliver?

Sir Oliver Lindenbrook : All right, she may be of some use in that respect. Then there's always the blessed chance the rope may break.

Carla Goetabaug : Whom did you intend to take along besides this young man?

Sir Oliver Lindenbrook : The big Icelander.

Carla Goetabaug : Then I'll be very useful. He doesn't understand a word of English.

Sir Oliver Lindenbrook : Where are you eating tonight?

Alec McKuen : U-uh... this being Tuesday, I-I'm not eating.

Sir Oliver Lindenbrook : Oh?

Alec McKuen : I-I find it very healthy to... to eat only every other night.

Sir Oliver Lindenbrook : Your entire presence is a constant criticism of me. I'm tired of it, I've had enough!

Carla Goetabaug : You've had enough! Well, let me tell you, you... you dried up walnut of a man, if anyone's had enough, it's me!

Sir Oliver Lindenbrook : It's *I*.

Carla Goetabaug : You know, it's one thing to spend ones days and nights with a man under the earth, another under one roof in Scotland.

Sir Oliver Lindenbrook : Well, ehh... what do you propose?

Carla Goetabaug : Oh, that's not a word I'd bandy about, Professor.

Sir Oliver Lindenbrook : What did I say? Which word?

Carla Goetabaug : I THOUGHT it would catch in your throat.

Sir Oliver Lindenbrook : To burden myself with a female is sheer stupidity.

Carla Goetabaug : I resent that word. I may have been a disturbance to men-never a burden!

Laird of Glendarick : Sir Oliver, in the name of the whole student body, in gratitude for the knowledge you have imparted to us...

Sir Oliver Lindenbrook : That's enough obituary prose. An inkwell I presume. A very handsome thing. Hellish to dust.

Sir Oliver Lindenbrook : Come here, take a look.

[Alec cowers when he sees how high on the mountain they are] 

Sir Oliver Lindenbrook : Did you expect a flight of stairs with a red carpet?

Alec McKuen : I... I neglected to tell you, sir, I... I have a nervous fear of heights.

Sir Oliver Lindenbrook : Well, you'll get over that after the first million fathoms or so.

Dean : Oliver, you're seriously ill.

Sir Oliver Lindenbrook : I am seriously well!

Sir Oliver Lindenbrook : A dimetrodon!

Count Saknussemm : If I had my gun, we'd have fresh meat for dinner.

Sir Oliver Lindenbrook : That's what he's saying. He's a flesh eater.

Sir Oliver Lindenbrook : This I know: the spirit of Man can not be stopped.

Sir Oliver Lindenbrook : You won't find anything edible in there.

Alec McKuen : Why not? The Chinese eat eggs over 400 years old.

Sir Oliver Lindenbrook : Young man with the gold tooth, I'll give you more gold if you guide us to Reykjavik.

Hans Belker : [in Icelandic]  Ahh, yes, yes, yes, Reykjavik.

Sir Oliver Lindenbrook : You... take us... to Reykjavik.

Sir Oliver Lindenbrook : A field of force that snatches gold away! This is it, this is it! The junction of magnetic forces from the North Pole to the South Pole - the center of the earth!

Sir Oliver Lindenbrook : [after finding crumbling loaves of ancient bread]  Stale bread. We must speak to the baker.

Count Saknussemm : To save what we can, I insist that we leave these regions at once.

Sir Oliver Lindenbrook : You insist? As a matter of fact, he's bloody well right. Let's be off.

Sir Oliver Lindenbrook : We're scientists, aren't we? That's one society where frayed cuffs don't matter. We've ALL had 'em.

Carla Goetabaug : There's no need to lose that patient voice with me, Professor.

Sir Oliver Lindenbrook : Would you rather I use an impatient voice?

Carla Goetabaug : Professor Linderbrook, I am a member of this expedition, and as such I intend to report any observation I make.

Sir Oliver Lindenbrook : Alec, put it down in the record that a member of the expedition reports... rats in the attic. Lights out!

Sir Oliver Lindenbrook : Tired minds don't plan well. Sleep first, plan later.

Hans Belker : [in Icelandic]  O, madam, will you all come down here where the boy fell. It is so wonderfully beautiful down there.

Sir Oliver Lindenbrook : What's happened now? What's he saying?

Carla Goetabaug : He said we should go back to where Alec fell.

Sir Oliver Lindenbrook : Do you realize we know less about the earth we live on than about the stars and the galaxies of outer space? The greatest mystery is right here, right under our feet!

Alec McKuen : After all, we... we did hit the center of the earth.

Sir Oliver Lindenbrook : It hit us, laddie.

Carla Goetabaug : He says there's a tunnel on the other side, slanting downhill but walkable.

Sir Oliver Lindenbrook : Eureka!

Hans Belker : [in Icelandic]  The woman in room number 29, she said she wants to talk to you.

Sir Oliver Lindenbrook : Tell him to stop jabbering and go shopping.

Alec McKuen : Uhh, what about lamps?

Hans Belker : [in Icelandic]  The woman in room number 29, she said...

Alec McKuen : Ah, uh, lamps... lamps. What about... ah... picks?

Sir Oliver Lindenbrook : Thank you, Scartaris!

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Journey to the Center of the Earth

Where to Watch

James Mason (Sir Oliver S. Lindenbrook) Pat Boone (Alec McEwan) Arlene Dahl (Carla Göteborg) Diane Baker (Jenny Lindenbrook) Thayer David (Count Saknussemm) Peter Ronson (Hans Belker) Robert Adler (Groom) Alan Napier (Dean) Mary Brady (Kirsty) Alan Caillou (Rector) Gertrude the Duck (Gertrude) John Epper (Groom) Edith Evanson (Innkeeper) Alex Finlayson (Prof. Bayle) Molly Glessing (News Vendor) Frederick Halliday (Chancellor) Kendrick Huxham (Scots Newsman) Owen McGiveney (Shopkeeper)

Henry Levin

An Edinburgh professor and assorted colleagues follow an explorer's trail down an extinct Icelandic volcano to the earth's center.

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Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959) with James Mason

“I swear there’s something inside.”—— Professor Lindenbrook (the insides of a lump of lava that start the whole journey)

T wo other Jules Verne-based movies have been discussed at this site— 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and Mysterious Island . From 1959, and filmed between the two, Journey to the Center of the Earth has much to offer, aside from the shortcomings of some cardboard sets. It’s one of those “fun” movies, once called “general audience entertainment,” that they don’t make any more, a rip-roarin’ CinemaScope fantasy-adventure when widescreen was relatively new—and an intended gimmick to lure the growing viewers of Gunsmoke and Father Knows Best away from their TV sets.

[intlink id=”37″ type=”category”]James Mason[/intlink], who took second billing after the then current pop singer Pat Boone and just ahead of Arlene Dahl whose “movie star” treatment annoyed him, was then on the edge of the down slide of his career, having made North by Northwest that same year with Lolita to follow in 1962. Arlene Dahl, whose most significant film had been as long ago as The Bride Goes Wild in 1948 and always felt her talents lay in musical comedy, lent her best attribute, her beauty, but also rendered a respectable performance.

Not the least of the film’s pluses was one of Bernard Herrmann’s best fantasy film scores, with all the trademark “burps” and groans, signs of his love for building-block motifs. The music alone was perhaps the best reason to see—hear?—the movie.

To celebrate his new honor, his geology students greet him with a song and a present. Among the students is young Alec McKuen (Boone), who presents him with a gift of his own, a lump of lava he saw in a curiosity shop. “A scholar’s choice,” Lindenbrook says. Although McKuen is on an every-other-day diet owing to his poverty, the professor insists he be at his home that evening for dinner.

When Lindenbrook hasn’t arrived for dinner, the guests, including the university’s dean (Alan Napier), visit his laboratory and find him working over the lump of lava. His assistant Paisley (Ben Wright) pours too much aqua regia into the furnace where the professor is attempting to dissolve the lava from whatever heavier object he believes to be inside, and the furnace explodes. The explosion throws everybody to the floor but does separate the lava from what was inside, a plumb bob. On the metal sphere, written in some Nordic language—perhaps in blood—is an inscription and a name, Arne Saknussem, an Icelandic explorer of three hundred years earlier. (In Verne’s novel, the translation came from a runic manuscript.)

The men are released by a husky Icelander, Hans Belker (Peter Ronson), the owner of a duck, Gertrude by name, whose nibbling at food was the source of the tapping!

As Lindenbrook observes, the person, or persons, who has been against them was even more against Göteborg. From the hotel clerk, they learn that Count Saknussem (Thayer David), a descendant of Arne, had been working for sometime with Göteborg in his room.

In Oliver’s initial meeting with the widow Carla (Dahl) of the dead man, he is rebuffed in his request for the equipment, insisting that Göteborg stole his idea of the expedition. Later, in reading her husband’s diary, she learns that, indeed, Göteborg was afraid Lindenbrook would “claim his rights.” In a change of heart, she agrees to give Oliver the equipment, the only condition being that she goes along.

Lindenbrook reluctantly agrees, and the four adventurers, with Hans as the guide, and accompanied by Gertrude, descend into the crater of the volcano, but not before the sunrise over the mountain Scartaris points to the entrance. Unknowingly, the group is being followed by the Count and his groom. Oliver and his party soon discover that the notches on the plumb bob are replicated on the floor of the caverns, signposts left by Arne.

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea had its giant squid and Mysterious Island its assortment of overgrown creatures—a crab, a bird and a bee. So Journey to the Center of the Earth has its own beasts. Of course, the film is without the mind that devised the animatronic tentacles that made the squid so realistic or the expertise of Ray Harryhausen’s stop-motion animation in Mysterious Island . The giant dimetrodons Lindenbrook and party encounter are actually rhinoceros iguanas with glued-on nuckual crests, and the enormous chameleon toward the end of the film?—— A painted tegu lizard.

A few hundred miles down the “trail,” Alec falls into a salt cavern and becomes lost, stumbling upon Saknussem, who demands he take the place of his dead groom. The Count shoots him in the arm and, thanks to some nineteenth-century invention, the last echo of the gun shot gives Lindenbrook the direction. The explorers are reunited, only to be held hostage by the Saknussem. Lindenbrook soon overpowers him, throwing salt in his face.

Lindenbrook convenes a trial for Saknussem and the jurors render a guilty verdict for his murder of Göteborg, but everyone refuses to be the executioner. Even here the humor persists. Toward Carla’s refusal, the professor says, “For weeks you’ve denied your sex. Now you fall back on it.” So it’s agreed that the Count will accompany them on their journey.

Coming upon the lost Atlantis, they find the skeleton of Arne Saknussem, whose arm points toward a volcanic chimney, presumably the way to the surface. The four travelers climb into an ancient altar stone—made of asbestos, luckily. Using some gunpowder—still potent after three hundred years?!—conveniently found in the skeleton’s haversack, the explosion displaces a boulder blocking the shaft, but also awakens a giant chameleon. The released lava that kills the reptile also provides a molten cushion for the altar stone as it is forced up the shaft at what must have been supersonic speed.

If the reader has stayed this long, no reason to suspend belief, common sense or fall back on anything so ridiculous as scientific reality! . . .

The big ingredient remaining, now, is the music.

Bernard Herrmann was known to have taken life—and movies—too seriously. He called the train in Murder on the Orient Express (1974) “a train of death” and thought Richard Rodney Bennett’s signature waltz unacceptable, without seeing or sensing the tongue-in-cheek approach to parts of that film. So in Journey to the Center of the Earth he wished—his words—“to create an atmosphere with absolutely no human contact.” No human contact? “This film had no emotion, only terror.” Terror?

The only concession he makes to melody is the fleeting use of strings in the few allusions to Van Heusen’s melody for “My Love Is Like a Red, Red Rose” and the bits that recall Edinburgh for two, anyway, of the explorers.

Of course the makeup of Herrmann’s orchestra, without the warm and melodic strings, should indicate the sound he wanted, and support his realization of that “terror.” All writers who write about Journey to the Center of the Earth quote the composer’s liner notes for his London (Decca) Phase-4 LP release in 1974. And what could be clearer or more succinct?

“For the scene involving the dangerous serpent [the giant chameleon], I resurrected an obsolete medieval instrument called a serpent, which has been dropped from contemporary orchestras.” In the original score, Don Cristlieb, more accustomed to the tenor saxophone, plays the instrument, which fellow film composer David Raksin said sounds like “a donkey with emotional problems,” or some might hear a deep, resonant belch, quite convincing for a monster.

Not surprising, the best parts of the score are the excerpts Herrmann selected for this album, later transferred to CD. He conducts the National Philharmonic, hand-picked from four or five of London’s best orchestras. Here are a few of the highlights of the album:

The main title is nothing more—— “Nothing more”: it’s quite an accomplishment, yet so simple. It’s nothing more than a descent down the scale, a three-note motif in the orchestra alternating with two notes from the organ, with, in between, low pedal points, all sinking deeper and deeper in register. The main title opens and closes with cymbal crashes, the four at the end reflecting the volcanic eruptions on screen. During the music, the camera has moved gradually from outer space and a view of the earth’s sphere into the deepest bowels of the planet and, presumably, the fire of its core.

“The Mountain Top and Sunrise” begins with a forte trumpet motif, a call from on high, then the quiet strumming of harps against ascending woodwinds—louder and louder—which are joined by ascending brass. Added is the eruption of the organs, including the cathedral organ. Quiet returns with the strumming of the harps. Some listeners may hear in all this something of Richard Strauss’ tone poem An Alpine Symphony, which, coincidentally, begins with a sunrise.

“The Shaft and Finale” is a reversal of the opening main title where the sense had been of an enormous orchestral descent. Here the effect is of a tremendous ascent. For the longest time it seems, the registers of all the instruments rise through the scale, sustained by organ pedal points, themselves all the while ascending in blocks. The screen is alternating between full shots of obviously stiff, unmoving dummies in a little saucer and closeups of the actual actors rotating in their asbestos dish, while at the same time being forced upward through the shaft. The moment the travelers are spewed from the volcano becomes a palatable release of tension, both for the viewer and in Herrmann’s orchestra.

2 thoughts to “Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959) with James Mason”

Wow! What a fantastic write-up on a classic adventure film. “Journey to the Center of the Earth” has long been one of my favorite adventure movies, not only for its great “feel” ( the fabulous sets by Lyle Wheeler really transport you to the 1800s ) but because it traverses alot of territory and plot in a relatively short about of time. After watching this film I was anxious to read the original Verne novel…but was disappointed, there was no Arlene Dahl character, nor a concertina playing Pat Boone! Thank you for this great review.

Enjoyed your review. Considering the film is over 50 years old, the special effects are pretty spectacular,I think. Bernard Hermann’s brilliant score creates such a marvellous atmosphere for the story. I could have done without Pat Boone vainly trying to be Scottish!

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The Science Fiction Horror and Fantasy Film Review

Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959)

Rating: ★★½.

Director – Henry Levin, Screenplay – Charles Brackett & Walter Reisch, Based on the Novel by Jules Verne, Producer – Charles Brackett, Photography – Leo Tover, Music – Bernard Herrmann, Songs – Sammy Cahn & James Van Heusen, Special Effects – L.B. Abbott, James Gordon & Emil Kosa Jr, Production Design – Frank Bachelin, Herman A. Blumenthal & Lyle R. Wheeler. Production Company – 20th Century Fox.

James Mason (Professor Oliver Lindenbrook), Pat Boone (Alec McEwen), Arlene Dahl (Carla Guteborg), Thayer David (Count Saknussemn), Pater Ronson (Hans Belker), Diane Baker (Jenny Lindenbrook)

Edinburgh, 1860. When geology professor Oliver Lindenbrook is knighted, his students give him a rock paperweight as a gift to commemorate the occasion. Lindenbrook becomes fascinated with the rock and discovers it contains a plumb-bob that has inscriptions made by the famous explorer Arne Saknussemn showing the way to the center of the Earth. Lindenbrook mounts an expedition, having to brave sabotage and counter-expeditions led by a treacherous colleague. He leads a party down through the volcano Snaffels Yokul in Iceland into an amazing world of crystal splendour at the center of the Earth.

Disney had a big success with their lavish adaptation of Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954). This was followed by the David Niven-starring adaptation of Verne’s Around the World in 80 Days (1956) from United Artists, which won the Academy Award as Best Picture in its year. The success of both of these brought on a spate of Jules Verne adaptations in the late 1950s and early 1960s that included The Fabulous World of Jules Verne (1958), From the Earth to the Moon (1958), Master of the World (1961), Mysterious Island (1961), Valley of the Dragons (1961), Five Weeks in a Balloon (1962), In Search of the Castaways (1962) and The Light at the Edge of the World (1971). Alas, what Around the World in 80 Days ended up doing was setting the light, comic tone for the rest of the adaptations. These soon became a series of colourful knockabout period comic romps, something that was the antithesis of Verne’s books, which were intended as serious adventure stories. Indeed, Verne’s work rarely came with a sense of humour at all.

Any connection between this film version of Journey to the Center of the Earth and Jules Verne’s 1864 novel (his second published) must be considered purely coincidental. Verne wrote a dark, claustrophobic Age of Exploration fantasy; the film is a ridiculously opulent Cinemascope colour spectacle. While the book took place in a series of dank and lightless caves, the center of the Earth in the film is depicted as a colourful and well-lit world of studio-floor splendour and crystalline formations.

To the story has also been added optically enlarged lizards dressed up to appear as dinosaurs (one of the few times on film that such an effect has looked convincing). Along for the journey also is a duck; a singing Pat Boone, who takes his shirt off at frequent intervals for little discernible purpose and plays the accordion; and Arlene Dahl, who has the presence of mind to bring a nightdress and be able to retain her perfect makeup composure throughout even when her dress ends up being shredded.

The result is more akin to a 19th Century tea party than serious exploration. At the end, everyone is blown up to the surface through the borehole of a volcano by an eruption riding in an oversize bowl of rock (something that would in actuality incinerate every person) and Pat Boone ends up naked in the branches of a tree at a convent, picking up a goat to hide his lack of pants. There are some silly scenes involving shenanigans with the duck in a barn; and where the explorers encounter a giant mushroom and then decide to dance around the Maypole. Jules Verne’s opening location is switched to Scotland – although, despite the new locale, nobody has a Scots accent.

On the film’s own level of unserious silliness, the underground scenes have a good deal of colour. The spectacle – caves of salt, the crystalline formations, coloured springs, luminescent pools, rock bridges stretching across vast chasms, giant mushrooms, the ruins of Atlantis, roaming dinosaurs and underground oceans – looks undeniably visually impressive. Although there is a certain amount of stupid science supporting it all – where does all the light underground come from, for instance? – and in the talk about magnetic crosscurrents. It is a surprisingly long film (132 minutes) with the early parts being taken up by a long series of subplots involving rival expeditions and kidnappings. Mention should also be made of Bernard Herrmann’s wonderfully epic, sweeping score, which conjures an appropriately wondrous magic.

Other adaptations of the Jules Verne novel are:– Segundo de Chomon’s lost silent Journey to the Center of the Earth (1908); Juan Piquer Simon’s cheap The Fabulous Adventure at the Center of the Earth (1977); Cannon’s Journey to the Center of the Earth (1988), a disastrous modern updating with teenagers that was released only partly completed; Journey to the Center of the Earth (1993), an unsold tv pilot that had little to do with Verne but tried to create the underground venue as a realm for adventure in a Star Trek -like scenario; the Hallmark tv mini-series Journey to the Center of the Earth (1999) starring Treat Williams; the theatrically released Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D (2008) starring Brendan Fraser; a further Hallmark mini-series Journey to the Center of the Earth (2008) starring Rick Schroder and Peter Fonda; and The Asylum’s B-budget Journey to the Center of the Earth (2008) starring Greg Evigan, a DVD release made to capitalise on the promotion for the 3D film.

Trailer here

Journey to the Center of the Earth

Cast & crew.

Alexander "Alec" McKuen

James Mason

Sir Oliver S. Lindenbrook

Arlene Dahl

Carla Göteborg

Diane Baker

Thayer David

Count Saknussem

A fanciful sci-fi tale for the whole family.

• Average 6.9

Information

© 1959 Joseph M. Schenck Enterprises, Inc. and Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation Renewed 1987 Joseph M. Schenck Enterprises, Inc. and Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation.

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