Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959) on Netflix
G19592h 12mAdventureFamilyFantasy
A plumb bob hidden in a volcanic rock names a passage to the Earth's center. Geologist Sir Oliver Lindenbrook and his student Alec set out for Iceland to follow the trail.
- Netflix3.9/5
- IMDb7.0/1021,594 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes84%
Trailer
Plot summary
In 1880 Edinburgh, Sir Oliver Lindenbrook, a university geologist, is given a volcanic rock by his student Alec, in love with Jenny, Lindenbrook's niece. Inside the unusually heavy rock, Lindenbrook finds a plumb bob bearing a cryptic inscription. He and Alec work out that it came from Arne Saknussemm, a scientist who had gone down into the Icelandic volcano Snæfellsjökull and found a route to the planet's core. Lindenbrook sets off at once with Alec. Professor Göteborg, told of the message, tries to reach the center first, so the two men chase him to Iceland. Carla brings the equipment and supplies that Göteborg had gathered, Ruhmkorff lamps among them, but only if she can come along to protect his reputation. Hans, a local man, and his duck Gertrud join the party.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Clifton Webb was set to play Professor Lindenbrook, but two or three weeks before shooting he went into hospital for a checkup and never came out; he had major surgery for a double hernia and told Zanuck himself he could not play such a physical part.
- Arlene Dahl became unconscious during the shoot and it took 30 minutes to revive her; the crew had already got the shot and planned to dub the dialogue later.
- Arlene Dahl screamed at director Henry Levin to get her off the whirlpool raft, yelling 'I'm going to pass out!'; James Mason had little patience, recalling she had complained of heat prostration in heavy parkas during July filming.
- Pat Boone was reluctant to make the film because it was science fiction, even after Fox promised songs; he agreed only when offered 15% of the profits, at his management's urging.
- The giant Dimetrodon in the center-of-the-Earth sequence were rhinoceros iguanas with large glued-on make-up appliances on their backs; the giant chameleon in the Atlantis ruins was a painted Tegu lizard or a monitor lizard.
- Pat Boone had three or four songs written into the film, but most were dropped once Zanuck saw their effect on the action, leaving only one or two.
- Screenwriter Walter Reisch said almost nothing of Verne's novel survived: he invented the Pat Boone part, Arlene Dahl's professor's wife, the villain, and the setting in Scotland.
