Journey to the Center of the Earth

I recently saw this again in the following circumstances:

1. I saw it on the Big Screen at Loew's in Jersey City

2. Arlene Dahl was at the pre-movie reception and later participated in a Q&A session with one of the hosts. If she isn't one of the most charming and gracious Hollywood types I've ever met then she's an even better actress than she's ever been given credit for.

This IS a Big Screen Movie, it must be seen on the Big Screen to be fully appreciated and enjoyed. Despite the fact that it has what I would call a small set quality-once they begin the descent there are only 5 actors with regular lines and they are usually in close proximity to one another, this is an Epic and deserves Epic viewing. Yes it has its share of Movie Mistakes-I noted that all the male actors remain clean shaven throughout and receive regular haircuts. 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. In a program note handed out at the theater it was pointed the heroes were changed from Germans to Scots, a Swede and an Icelander because 14 years after the end of WWII English speaking audiences would not accept German heroes. Arlene Dahl's character is a new addition, what Verne stories I've read have almost no female characters. But in addition to eye appeal she also is the translator for Big Hans. 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. The host said the story can be seen as both straight adventure in a physical sense and as a psychological adventure-penetrating deeper into the human psyche with Count Saknussem representing the Dark Side of humankind but not completely evil. He said note how Bernard Herrman's score uses lower registers as they go deeper into the Earth.

Some of Arlene Dahl's comments:

1. Gertrude the Duck had 4 stand ins, she had one.

2. She said the bats in some of the caves took a liking to Pat Boone, and he seemed to get along with them, so they called him "Bat" Boone. She said he was a much better actor than he is credited as being, said he was fairly easy to work with.

3. She said they all, and Pat Boone especially, worked on their accents. Pat Boone developed a very convincing Scottish burr. Then they got back to the US, Daryly Zabuck decided the dialog in accent s was to hard to follow, they had to re dub their dialog. Naturally the dubbers missed spots-you will hear them.

4. And when she saw it with us she hadn't seen it in 50 years.

After reading some of the comments on this film I feel I have to spring to it´s defense. You see I am born and bred in Iceland and as I write this I am in front of my computer in Iceland, so you can believe me when I tell you that ALL THE ICELANDIC IN THIS FILM IS REAL. I understood almost everything that the Icelandic character in the film said and I can assure you that it was particularly articulate and well pronounced. Why someone said that it was fake, I don´t know. I am guessing that he did not hear it well because the sound can be pretty bad in these golden oldies. While we are on the subject let me also add that some of the facts concerning Iceland were wrong. The horse carriage used to transport the group to the volcano is out of place. The interior design of the hotel and the maitre d´hotel´s costume was a bit off. But it´s described like that in Verne´s novel as well so it´s no big deal. And besides every ethnic group is portrayed in a very stereotypical manner; Scots, Italians, everybody. Such nitpicking is therefore dull and unnecessary and people should just enjoy the film for it´s imagination.

This movie is one of the best examples I can think of for how one can stun the audience just by making the right use of the essence of cinema: pictures. They vary between being threatening, funny, amazing, beautiful and bizarre but all are highly imaginative. In fact, this movie is one of the most imaginative ever made, imagination being a quality that has disappeared almost completely from Hollywood over the last 40 years. It drags you into the world of its superb settings just the way for example "King Kong" did in 1933. This is just the kind of movie cinema was meant for, up from the days of its beginning (see for example "Le Voyage Dans La Lune" by Georges Méliès, 1902). "Journey To The Center Of The Earth" is pure cinema at its best.

While this film suffers from some annoying "cuteness" and has lizards parading as dinosaurs, it is nonetheless the best film version of the novel because Verne's themes of exploration and discovery remain. Bernard Herrmann's score is indeed fantastic and this film has a wonderful pace. The cast here is also very talented and the film is so well made one can forgive it its minor flaws.

"Journey to the Center of the Earth" was produced at the height of studio dominance in the film business. 20th Century Fox would soon be nearly bankrupt from the red ink of "Cleopatra" (later saved by the success of "The Longest Day" and "The Sound of Music"). Consequently, every department contributed tons of production value and I would say the matching of studio sets with actual locations in Carlsbad Caverns was pretty flawless. Like a lot of fantasy adventure films of the 1950s and 1960s (ie. Jason and the Argonauts, The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad and The Wonders of Aladdin), "Journey to the Center of the Earth" focuses firmly on the characters and the special effects support the performances. Today, sadly, so much effort and time is spent in designing the special effects that the human characters suffer and become clichés (with the exception recently of Tobey Maguire's wonderful "Spiderman" and the recent "Superman"). Those of us who grew up in the 1950s, think of this film fondly as a perfect Saturday matinée entertainment. I can still remember sucking on my giant cherry lollipop, flipping popcorn boxes against the screen and enjoying that very ominous Bernard Herrmann musical score. For a singer, Pat Boone plays drama and adventure quite well and even looks good with his shirt off. Arlene Dahl is sexy in her tight bodice and Peter Ronson also performs well considering he had zero acting experience. James Mason's Professor Lindenbrook ties it all together nicely - it was probably his most physical role ever. And, of course there was Gertrude, who, unfortunately, probably ended up on someone's plate, rather than be retired to the Motion Picture Home for old ducks. Kai aye professor, indeed.