Journey to the Center of the Earth

"A fabulous world below the world"

1959 2h 12m EN

👍

6.9

SOLID

★6.9TMDB · 531

AdventureFantasyFamily

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

An Edinburgh professor and assorted colleagues follow an explorer's trail down an extinct Icelandic volcano to the earth's center.

“A fabulous world below the world”

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Cast

James Mason
Sir Oliver S. Lindenbrook
Arlene Dahl
Carla Göteborg
Pat Boone
Alexander 'Alec' McKuen
Peter Ronson
Hans Belker
Thayer David
Count Saknussem
Diane Baker
Jenny Lindenbrook
Alan Napier
Dean
Ben Wright
Paisley

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Henry Levin
Writers: Walter Reisch, Charles Brackett
Languages: Russian, English, French, Icelandic, Italian
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $3.4M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

67 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 5 languages: Russian, English, French, Icelandic, Italian.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Henry Levin, shot by Leo Tover. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Bernard Herrmann. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Jack W. Holmes shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

James Mason and Arlene Dahl and Pat Boone carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "A fabulous world below the world".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Henry Levin directs. Leo Tover behind the camera. Bernard Herrmann scores. Jack W. Holmes cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in Russian, English, French, Icelandic, Italian.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $3.4M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
267 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Dialogue crosses 5 languages: Russian, English, French, Icelandic, Italian.
4Directed by Henry Levin, shot by Leo Tover. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Bernard Herrmann. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Jack W. Holmes shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7James Mason and Arlene Dahl and Pat Boone carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "A fabulous world below the world".
9IMDB entry: tt0052948 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 13 themes, including "professor", "duck", "expedition", "edinburgh, scotland".

The technical file

Cinematography: Leo Tover
Original score: Bernard Herrmann
Editing: Jack W. Holmes
Costume design: David Ffolkes
Makeup / hair: Ben Nye
Runtime: 132 min · 2h 12m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $3,440,000
Box office: $10,000,000
Return: 291% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): G
IMDB: Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959)

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Henry Levin

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Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2014-09-06
★ 9/10
Wonderful fantasy adventure. Intrepid professor Sir Oliver S. Lindenbrook leads an expedition towards the center of the Earth via an extinct Icelandic volcano. The journey is sure to be fraught with danger and little do they know that their trip will take in many unchartered wonders...both good and bad! As adventure films go, Journey To The Center Of The Earth has few peers, it's a wonderful film based around the Jules Verne story of the same name. There are no hidden agendas here, no wry social commentary or satirical edginess, it is pure fantastical entertainment that wants you to enjoy its science heart whilst you have a blast following this group into the wondrous unknown. Lost cities, prehistoric lizards, underground oceans, crystal caves, sand mines, murder, sabotage, and on it goes for just over two hours of delightful movie making, it even has time for a bit of cheeky sexual tom foolery for the knowing adult. I'm sure the likes of Spielberg & Lucas were nodding in approval back in the day. The sets, the sound, and the special effects were all nominated for Academy Awards, and sure enough all may well seem tame by todays bloated standards, but this is 1959 and let your mind be back to that time and you surely will be taken in by this joyous experience. While I must also mention that location footage shot in the beautiful Carlsbad Caverns that adds to the dynamic feel of the picture. Lead acting duties fall to the irrepressible James Mason as Lindenbrook, perfectly cast as he nails all the traits of this dyed in the wood professor. Support comes from Pat Boone, Arlene Dahl (the colour photography perfectly showing her piercing eyes), Peter Ronson and star of the show Gertrude The Duck. It was magical to me as a child, it's still as magical to me now I'm in my advancing years, wonderful indeed. 9/10
Wuchak2019-08-31
★ 6/10
Into the bowels of the earth with James Mason, Pat Boone, Arlene Dahl and… Gertrude, the duck In 1880, a professor from Edinburgh (James Mason) leads a team to follow a renowned scientist's path down an extinct volcano in Iceland to explore the bowels of the earth. Pat Boone plays the professor’s favorite student, Arlene Dahl the Swedish wife of the professor’s rival, Peter Ronson a towering Icelandic ranch hand and Thayer David the morally dubious descendent of the original pioneer. Very loosely based on Jules Verne’s book, “Journey to the Center of the Earth” (1959) is an amusing and imaginative family-friendly adventure flick with a superlative cast. It’s not great like “Mysterious Island” (1961) and is a little less serious, but it’s cut from the same cloth and is worth checking out if you can appreciate the quaintness of movies from that time period. Redhead Dahl is stunning, a true whoa-man. And Gertrude the duck is entertaining, but what happens to her is unforgivable. The film runs 2 hours, 12 minutes, and was shot in Edinburgh, Scotland; Carlsbad, New Mexico; and Malibu & Lone Pine, California; along with lots of stuff done in the studio. GRADE: B-
CinemaSerf2024-06-14
★ 7/10
James Mason is super in this adaptation of the Jules Verne story about a Scottish scientist and his rather motley team who set off in search of a long-lost Icelandic vulcanologist deep in the bowels of the Earth. I've been watching this film for thirty odd years now, and it is still a good, entertaining version of a strong fantasy story. Thayer David is good as the evil "Count Saknussemm" and there is even a duck to keep things in proportion as they combat each other and all sorts of prehistoric beasties on their journey. It's a wonderfully colourful and gently comedic treasure hunt...