Journey to the Center of the Earth 1959 Review

James Mason is one of those fascinatingly charismatic actors who makes almost any film he is in worth watching.  I'll forever picture him as the sophisticated heavy Phillip Vandamm  in Hitchcock's NORTH BY NORTHWEST (also in 1959); as Norman Maine to Judy Garland's Vicki Lester in 1954's A STAR IS BORN, and as Captain Nemo in 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA (also 1954).   Any film that boasts a bravura performance from Mason and an incredible score from Bernard Herrman should be on any film buffs must-see list. 

Oh sure we're dealing with a pretty corny film that definitely wears its 1950's vintage right on its sleeve for all to see, but it's still decent popcorn munching fun.  You've got  Pat Boone, the squeaky clean pop balladeer (much safer than Elvis), who croons a few tunes during the proceedings, and you have what perhaps sounds like a reason to cross the street to avoid this flick-a pet duck-but that would be like avoiding Alien because it has a pet cat in it.   Actually both Boone and the duck are much better than you would ever imagine in JOURNEY.   I kid you not.  Boone's goody-two shoes naivety works well throughout the film.  I list as a negative only because .. well it's still Pat Boone...

The romantic elements are handled without too much syrup clogging up the system. Diane Baker plays the professor's daughter and Boone's love interest, Jenny.  The story is Jules Verne  cycled into what constituted a Hollywood special effects extravaganza in the late 1950s, complete with some repressed sexuality for those who want to look for deeper meanings to it all.   It was written by Charles Bracket and Robert Gunter.   This is a heck a lot more modest than our 200 million plus budget-busters of the last few years, but the modest effects were not made by computers but the old fashioned way, lights, mirror, backdrops, rear projection, sets, smoke, etc.  I was thoroughly entertained and somewhat impressed by this wonderful family film.  You probably will be too if you aren't missing those seamless, but often cartoonish CGI effects most fantasy films have had for the last decade.  I was also appreciative of the film's pacing, which did not operate on the, something exciting must happen every 5 to 7 minutes or the dumb audience won't like the movie, premise.  There's some nice attention to detail, the actors are allowed a little more time with their line readings and can give a better flavor of the late 19th century because of this.  Give me these primitive non-CGI effects and this kind of semi-literate script with an actor like Mason any day of the week, over the travesty that was last year's remake of TIME MACHINE.

JOURNEY is directed  by Henry Levin (THE RETURN OF MONTE CRISTO, WHERE THE BOYS ARE) and follows the basic plot of the Verne novel pretty faithfully.  Professor Oliver Lindenbrook (Mason) is working away in his Edinburgh Scotland University office circa 1880, when  Alec McEwen (Boone) one of his students gives him a present-- an odd rock that turns out to be a piece of lava.  It's a very special piece of lava which has a message inside of it from none other than that old Icelandic explorer, Arne Saknussemm.  Yes, the same Arne who went on an expedition into the crater of a volcano and was never heard from again.  But the note he left encased in the lava chunk indicates that he might have found the center of the earth.  This of course leads to the hurried organization of an expedition. 

   The Professor's assembled team consists of Alec McEwen (Boone); the wife of a deceased colleague, Mrs. Carla Goetaborg (Arlene Dahl); a very large Icelandic handyman who speaks almost no English, Hans Belker (Peter Ronson) and Hans' pet duck Gertrude. This group has to beat some dastardly rivals who are trying to steal the Professor's research and thunder.  They are led by Count Saknussemm (Thayer David) a descendent of the original Arne-but not a nice fellow at all.  In all the excitement Alec forgot to ask the Professor for his permission on his impending engagement to his daughter.

 Does the Professor and his team Journey to the Center of the Earth?  Do they discover the lost city of Atlantis complete with huge mushrooms and giant prehistoric dinosaurs (dressed up iguana lizards)?   Do they make it out alive?  Do they celebrate by having Roast Duck and forcing Pat Boone to sing a pre-Black Sabbath head-banger?   I am sworn to secrecy about the ending. Let's just say you'll have a lot of fun watching this charming old- fashioned fantasy film.

Several sequences were lensed in Carlsbad Caverns National Park, while other scenes obviously are shot in the studio.  If you are in the right mood you would want it no other way.  This is not really an exercise in camp, but instead a charming film that you might have seen many years ago on some rainy Sunday afternoon or perhaps when it was re-released to theaters in 1969.  It still works as intended if you aren't too cynical, jaded or overly demanding.

DVD QUALITY

The colors are very bright and the painstaking restoration work on the film is quite impressive.  The sound has also been upgraded and re-mixed, and you'll notice some shifting of dialogue as characters move about the screen that works very well on home theater audio systems.  The score sounds marvelous, which is a huge plus.  

DVD  EXTRAS

You don't get much in the way of extras; 9  trailers for other features, and a fascinating short that compares the newly restored film to how it looked before restoration on a split screen. This allows you to see before and after restoration at the same time in a few scenes from the movie (you'll gain some appreciation for the restoring team's work after you watch it).  You can listen to the film in English, French, or Spanish and you have either English or Spanish subtitles to choose from.

BOTTOM LINE

If you're a fan of this kind of old-fashioned adventure/fantasy film (or grew up watching it)  you should add this much better than average film to your DVD collection. It holds up quite well and since it's a period piece the dated qualities of the film add to its fun. Others may want to consider renting this when the appropriate mood strikes.