all you'll ever be [Music] the 1950s was perhaps the biggest decade for science fiction cinema and behind all the space aliens and nuclear monsters that dominated the scene there were a slew of equally important sci-fi films that dealt with the natural world movies like destination moon the incredible shrinking man and creature from the black lagoon perhaps the most famous of these was twenty thousand leagues under the sea the expensive family-friendly epic that saved walt disney from financial
ruin i've always thought of h.g wells and jules verne as the two grandfathers of modern science fiction with wells setting the template for time travel and alien invasion and jules verne charting a course for scientific adventure and natural curiosity while wells probably has more famous movie adaptations to his name vern is partly responsible for the earliest science fiction film of all time a trip to the moon and in the 1950s the two greats would duke it out for cinematic supremacy [Music] the
newly knighted geology professor oliver lindenbrook has just made an astonishing discovery hidden in a dusty piece of volcanic rock from a curioshop lay a man-made artifact inscribed with a cryptic message from a scientist named ernest sachnelson from 300 years in the past stating that he had reached the center of the earth lyndon brooke and his future nephew alec then set out to retrace saknisam's path in a race against both a fellow scientist and a nefarious aristocrat who claims the path as
his birthright can they really reach the center of the earth and what wonders and terrors will they find along the way before we go any further if you could please hit that like button maybe we won't get eaten by giant subterranean lizards if you really do like this video please subscribe as well thank you in advance with that out of the way let's get back to the subject at hand after the success of 20 000 leagues under the sea in 1954 and around the world in 80 days in 1956 there were a few dif
ferent attempts to match their successes with another potential adaptation of a jules verne novel specifically journey to the center of the earth both rko and columbia pictures toyed with the idea but the man who finally bought the rights and got the ball rolling was the writer director charles brackett perhaps most famous for his work on the lost weekend sunset boulevard and the king and i with the help of 20th century fox and the retiring film icon joseph m shank brackett was able to sell the
film as a family-friendly adventure that could match the success of the decade's other vern adaptations he consulted with the author and life magazine editor lincoln barnette to lend the adaptation a bit more scientific credibility but ultimately bracket was most concerned with developing a fun adventure film that wouldn't be bogged down by dark psychology or socio-political themes all too common from other sci-fi works of the time to write the screenplay with him bracket turned to walter reich
a sci-fi writer and long time fan of jules verne who nearly wrote a biography of the man they both agreed to use the basic idea of the novel but to not be afraid to make radical changes to the story [Music] 20th century fox's first order of business was securing the singer and mega star pat boone to play the young male lead alec boone who wasn't particularly interested in science fiction was reluctant but fox offered him the chance to sing a few songs for the film a generous 15 percent of the pr
ofits and a role for his production company kugamuga film productions boone still wasn't enthusiastic about the project but he would later admit it was a good opportunity especially after the film became a big financial success alongside him in the role of professor lindenbrook was initially supposed to be the famed character actor clifton webb who was instrumental in crafting the character but due to declining health he had to drop out a mere two weeks before principal photography began in a ma
d scramble to replace him fox executives hired the proven star of 20 000 leagues under the sea james mason who was keen on the part and felt it a matter of duty to pick up where webb had left off mason's london brook is a much different character from captain nemo but no less driven by a reckless passion for scientific exploration though clearly less villainous than his submariner counterpart lindenbrook is still a flawed individual with his male chauvinism exaggerated even by the standards of t
he 1950s you can't come along you're a woman and what has my sex to do with it well we're not contemplating a stroll down piccadilly or the champs-elysees in a case of art imitating life though mason reportedly took issue with his female co-star the adventure movie veteran arlene dahl mason and doll's relationship behind the scenes wasn't too different from their character's relationship on screen with mason constantly expressing frustration and impatience with what he saw as an overpaid actress
who complained far too much one rather notorious incident on the set involved this scene with the pair on a spinning raft while water is dumped on them doll began shouting that it was more than she could bear and mason shouted back at her quote shut up woman unquote doll actually did pass out from the physical strain and couldn't be revived for a full 30 minutes despite her rocky relationship with mason though arlene dahl got along famously with one of the four feathered co-stars who played the
part of gertrude gertrude ii and the two were inseparable on set it's worth mentioning that all four gertrudes shared a patsy award an oscar-style prize given to animals that i can't help but remind you every chance i get was a real thing that happened for decades other notable actors include the icelandic olympian peter ronson as hans thayer david as the antagonistic count sachinism a role originally intended for alexander scourby who was fired after a few days of shooting and a then unknown d
iane baker as alex fiance jenny under the workhorse director henry levin filming took place in the late summer of 1959 with some location shooting done in carlsbad caverns in new mexico amboy crater and sequoia point in california and in edinburgh scotland the music was put together by the great bernard herrmann who wanted to craft an earthy feel by omitting strings and emphasizing low notes and percussion while still keeping things whimsical when the film demands it it's like an oak tree [Music
] as for the effects arranged by them's johnny borgese and the flies lb abbott they are mostly pretty good for the time period with the exception of the infamous dimetrodons that appear near the end of the film these were done pretty simply by attaching prosthetic fins to the backs of a few rhinoceros iguanas and then filming them with high speed cameras i admit the final result definitely looks cheesy and would have been far better had they tried stop-motion animation but at the same time it's
kinda hard not to love the absurdity [Music] journey to the center of the earth released in mid-december 1959 to mostly positive reviews from critics and a domestic box office return of roughly 10 million dollars against its 3.5 million dollar budget though it hasn't aged as well as 20 000 leagues under the sea it did manage to prove that there was still room for light-hearted adventure films in the declining years of the 1950s it also paved the way for fox to pursue more films in its style film
s like the lost world and voyage to the bottom of the sea additionally it served as a template for future adaptations of the same novel including a filmation cartoon that took more from the 1959 movie than it did from jules verne there have been several attempts to recapture its magic on the big screen with the only truly successful one being the 2008 version starring brendan fraser if you ask me though the 1959 one is still the best film adaptation of the book even though i recognize it only sh
ares a passing resemblance to jules verne's story sure pat boone's crooning isn't for everyone sure the effects are pretty silly and sure the science is laughably bad in places but the film has an inviting tone that encourages you to never take any of the goings on very seriously mason is terrific and the adventure manages to mix things up and keep them interesting for the entirety of the film's two hour plus run time i also deeply appreciate the message it ends on with professor lindenbrook sta
nding before a throng of science-minded students and telling them that he can't in good conscience claim to have proven anything that science doesn't exist without evidence and that exploration is merely one step on the road to allowing future generations to build on the foundations of great men who have themselves been raised up by other great men who died centuries before a scientist who cannot prove what he has accomplished has accomplished nothing i have no records i will never embarrass thi
s distinguished university by asking that it take my word that's some refreshing scientific philosophy in a film that is otherwise pretty dismissive of real world science and i can't help but love the film for it even if it doesn't capture the details of vern's storytelling it absolutely nails the spirit and that is why no one can argue that journey to the center of the earth is anything other than a sci-fi classic excuse me ladies and that's all for today my fellow earthlings which film adaptat
ions do you prefer those of hg wells or those of jules verne let me know in the comments and while you're there don't forget to like and subscribe if you haven't already if you'd like to support what i do even more consider joining my patreon to get access to bonus content vote on future topics and more also be sure to check out my podcasts the streaming heap and from here to paternity available wherever you get your podcasts and my debut novel paradox available through amazon you can find links
in the description and also on my website at emigil.com where you'll find written reviews of plenty more sci-fi classics in both film and literature until next time though when something wonderful is going to happen this is the unapologetic geek telling you to never be ashamed of what you love as long as you're not hurting anybody [Music] [Music] [Music] give me your hand on that pocket [Music] [Music] [Music] you
Comments