Re: MT VOID, 03/28/25 -- Vol. 43, No. 39, Whole Number 2373

On 3/30/25 8:02 AM, Evelyn C. Leeper wrote:

THE MYSTERIOUS ISLAND (1929) is the first film version of the
Jules Verne novel.  Well, sort of--Verne's novel did not have
dragons or duck people.  THE MYSTERIOUS ISLAND is a bizarre
adaptation of the Jules Verne.   No film adaptation is much like
the book, which would resemble ROBINSON  CRUSOE with just a touch
of science fiction.  In this version Lionel  Barrymore plays Count
Andre Dakkar (alias Captain Nemo) on an island where  he studies
deep seas.  On the ocean floor he finds a race of what TCM  calls
"fish men," but I would say they look more like they are wearing
duck suits.  It has early two-strip Technicolor and sound
sequences, but  it is really mostly a pre-sound film.  MGM was
slowly moving to sound.   The film may be more interesting as an
artifact than as a rip-snorting  science fiction film.

The 1916 _20,000 Leagues Under the Sea_ incorporates parts of _Mysterious Island_, including Nemo's back story, though it takes major liberties with both novels.
--
Gary McGath    http://www.mcgath.com