L'île mystérieuse

Original title: The Mysterious Island

1929
Passed
1h 35m

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

Kaiju Sea Adventure Adventure Romance Sci-Fi

On a volcanic island near the kingdom of Hetvia rules Count Dakkar, a benevolent leader and scientist who has eliminated class distinction among the island's inhabitants.On a volcanic island near the kingdom of Hetvia rules Count Dakkar, a benevolent leader and scientist who has eliminated class distinction among the island's inhabitants.On a volcanic island near the kingdom of Hetvia rules Count Dakkar, a benevolent leader and scientist who has eliminated class distinction among the island's inhabitants.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.1/10

882

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 1 win total

Top cast21

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Lionel Barrymore

Count Andre Dakkar

Jacqueline Gadsdon

Countess Sonia Dakkar
(as Jane Daly)

Lloyd Hughes

Nikolai Roget

Montagu Love

Baron Falon

Harry Gribbon

Mikhail

Snitz Edwards

Anton

Gibson Gowland

Dmitry

Dolores Brinkman

Teresa

Karl Dane

Crewman
(scenes deleted)

Edward Connelly

Radio Technician
(uncredited)

Robert Dudley

Workman
(uncredited)

Sydney Jarvis

Cossack
(uncredited)

Bob Kortman

Island Stronghold Guard
(uncredited)

Robert McKim

Captain of the Guard
(uncredited)

Angelo Rossitto

Underwater Creature
(uncredited)

Carl 'Major' Roup

Underwater Creature
(uncredited)

Sam Savitsky

Crewman
(uncredited)

Billy Schuler

Undetermined Secondary Role
(uncredited)

Directors
Writers
- Jules Verne
- Lucien Hubbard
All cast & crew
Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

User reviews28

Featured review

Good Version

Mysterious Island, The (1929)

*** (out of 4)

I seemed to enjoy this one a tad bit more than Mario. The film tells the simple story of a scientist (Lionel Barrymore) who creates a submarine so that he can go to the bottom of the ocean to look for life. My main problem with the film is probably its historic nature in the fact that it was started as a silent film but production got pushed back so much that MGM decided to shoot some sound scenes and include them. The start of the film is sound and none of it worked for me. Like most early sound films, the dialogue was badly recorded and it really was boring and make me want to doze off. When the silent section, pretty much the rest of the film, started, I thought the film took off like a rocket. There was plenty of action from start to finish and I also enjoyed the underwater scenes. Hundreds of midgets were hired to play the sea creatures and I thought they looked pretty good. The alligator turned dinosaur was silly but the huge squid was nice. Barrymore, in the sound portion of the film, is all over the place but I thought his silent scenes were a lot better. I've always felt he was better in silents and to see him act here silent and sound was interesting to say the least.

Trivia
Although the feature was promoted as "All Technicolor", in actuality, only 7234 of its original 8569 feet were filmed in color. Most of the underwater sequences were filmed in B&W and tinted green, in the usual fashion of the 1920s, and some shots of explosions were enlivened by using the Kelley Color/Handschiegl spot-coloring process.

Goofs
The initial views of the ship's nose during construction shows a blunt rounded appearance as with modern submarines, but the animation views of the ship underway show an almost cartoon-like shape with a swordfish-like pointy nose.

Quotes
Count Andre Dakkar: Who am I? I'm a scientist - who asks nothing, but to be left alone. Here on my island we don't think of kings or rank or power. Here the humblest workman in my shops, the peasant who tills my field, is my equal. We work with but one end: to study, to learn, to be free! To seek happiness, each in his own way.

Alternate versions
Complete Technicolor print of The Mysterious Island was discovered in Prague, December 2013 and premiered at the 33rd Pordenone Silent Film Festival in October 2014.