Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows FanStore News Showtimes

Mysterious Island

Play trailer Poster for Mysterious Island 1961 1h 41m Sci-Fi Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
82% Tomatometer 17 Reviews 64% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
After using a hot air balloon to escape from a Confederate prison camp, Capt. Harding (Michael Craig), Cpl. Neb Nugent (Dan Jackson) and Sgt. Pencroft (Percy Herbert) crash into the ocean and are later washed up on the beach of a strange island. The men soon run afoul of the local wildlife, which include giant crabs and prehistoric creatures. To make matters worse, the island's central volcano begins to erupt, threatening to take the whole island down with it.
Watch on Fandango at Home Buy Now

Where to Watch

Mysterious Island

Critics Reviews

View All (17) Critics Reviews
Eddie Harrison film-authority.com ..while the stop motion is great, the different film stocks, poorly matched studio and location shots, sub-par glass paintings and film-stock deterioration all take a toll, the technical limitations may leave modern audiencest cool to its many charms.. Rated: 3/5 Jul 21, 2024 Full Review Chris Hunneysett Daily Mirror (UK) {A} still very watchable film, one of the superior adaptations of Verne's book Rated: 4/5 Aug 30, 2021 Full Review Nicholas Bell IONCINEMA.com Director Cy Endfield takes the reigns on this big budget spectacle which tends to suffer from a bout of sequel-itis as regards the bombastic fervor of gigantic, menacing creatures taking precedence over characterization or narrative energy. Rated: 2.5/5 Oct 14, 2020 Full Review Mike Massie Gone With The Twins Amusingly, human pirates provide grimmer antagonists than the colossal flora and fauna, though a detracting element of the film is an overabundance of players. Rated: 6/10 Aug 27, 2020 Full Review Nathanael Hood The Retro Set ...a wonderful piece of sci-fi/fantasy with solid acting, a crackerjack script, and otherwise timeless Harryhausen wonder. Rated: 7/10 Dec 28, 2018 Full Review Matt Brunson Creative Loafing Allows Ray Harryhausen to showcase some superb stop-motion animation effects and the great Bernard Herrmann (Citizen Kane, Psycho, The 7th Voyage of Sinbad) to add another smashing score to his resume. Rated: 3/4 Jan 9, 2016 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (142) audience reviews
James B at age 12 this was a intriguing movie. special effects were spell binding. remember this wes 1964. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 07/07/24 Full Review j F The special effects were over the top. I just couldn't take the movie seriously, they were so baaaad! Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/01/24 Full Review Bill M Love this movie. I liked as a kid. It's nostalgic to me. I like the old shows. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/10/24 Full Review Blobbo X Gilligan's Island with monsters. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 11/30/23 Full Review Rick R very entertaining. The music was particularly interesting. good story. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 08/13/23 Full Review dave s After all of the low-budget monster movies released in the 50s, Mysterious Island is actually a pleasant surprise. Based on the Jules Verne novel, it tells the story of a group of Union soldiers who escape via balloon from a Confederate prisoner of war camp in 1865 Virginia. Before you know it, they've drifted across America and a good part of the Pacific before they land on…well…a mysterious island. Alongside a great score by the legendary Bernard Herrmann and fantastic special effects from the equally legendary Ray Harryhausen, our castaways find themselves battling giant crabs, chickens and honey bees in their struggle for survival. Despite the implausibility of the whole thing, a bunch of slow parts, and the presence of an echoey and annoying voiceover, it is surprisingly well-made and entertaining and most certainly superior to other films from the genre during the time period. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Mysterious Island

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Cast & Crew

View All Cast and Crew

More Like This

View All Best Movies to Stream at Home
Fortress 2: Re-Entry 0% 21% Fortress 2: Re-Entry Watchlist H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds 60% 40% H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds Watchlist From the Earth to the Moon 43% 39% From the Earth to the Moon Watchlist Frankenstein Unbound 53% 33% Frankenstein Unbound Watchlist A Sound of Thunder 6% 18% A Sound of Thunder Watchlist Discover more movies and TV shows. View More
View All Mysterious Island photos

Mysterious Island

Mysterious Island (1961) Mysterious Island (1961) Mysterious Island (1961) Mysterious Island (1961) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis After using a hot air balloon to escape from a Confederate prison camp, Capt. Harding (Michael Craig), Cpl. Neb Nugent (Dan Jackson) and Sgt. Pencroft (Percy Herbert) crash into the ocean and are later washed up on the beach of a strange island. The men soon run afoul of the local wildlife, which include giant crabs and prehistoric creatures. To make matters worse, the island's central volcano begins to erupt, threatening to take the whole island down with it.
Director
Charles De Latour
Producer
Charles H. Schneer
Screenwriter
John Prebble, Daniel Bruce, Crane Wilbur
Production Co
Columbia
Genre
Sci-Fi
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Apr 16, 2012
Runtime
1h 41m
Sound Mix
Stereo
Most Popular at Home Now