james mason journey to the center of the earth

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Journey to the Center of the Earth

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Rent Journey to the Center of the Earth on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV, or buy it on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV.

What to Know

A silly but fun movie with everything you'd want from a sci-fi blockbuster -- heroic characters, menacing villains, monsters, big sets and special effects.

Critics Reviews

Audience reviews, cast & crew.

Henry Levin

Alexander "Alec" McKuen

James Mason

Sir Oliver S. Lindenbrook

Arlene Dahl

Carla Göteborg

Diane Baker

Jenny Lindenbrook

Thayer David

Count Saknussem

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Journey to the Center of the Earth

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Film Details

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Brief Synopsis

Cast & crew, henry levin, james mason, arlene dahl, diane baker, thayer david, photos & videos, technical specs.

In Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1880, Professor Oliver Lindenbrook is knighted to the acclaim of his colleagues and students. When his prize pupil, Alec McEwen, presents him with a lava paperweight to commemorate the occasion, Oliver discovers that encased within the Italian lava is a rock from Iceland, halfway across the world from the volcano. After Oliver identifies some etchings on the rock as those of Saknussemm, an Icelandic scientist who years earlier descended into the interior of the earth, never to return, he sends a dispatch to his colleague, Prof. Goetaborg in Stockholm, asking him to confirm his findings. Upon learning that Goetaborg has vanished, Oliver realizes that the Swede has decided to conduct his own expedition. Now in a race to reach the center of the earth, Oliver and Alec leave immediately for Iceland and Alec bids farewell to his fiancée Jenny, Oliver's niece. Aware that they must begin their descent on the last day of May when the sunrise will pinpoint the opening into the Earth, Oliver hurries to assemble the equipment needed for his journey, but soon learns that it has all been purchased by Goetaborg. When he goes to confront Goetaborg about the situation, Oliver discovers the Swede lying lifeless in his hotel room, poisoned. Soon after, Goetaborg's wife Carla arrives to join her husband. Oliver breaks the news of her husband's death, but when he requests the use of the equipment, Carla agrees on the condition that she be allowed to join the expedition. With no other choice, Oliver reluctantly accepts, and the three are then joined by a husky Icelandic jack-of-all trades named Hans Belker and his pet duck Gertrude. As they slip inside the Earth on the last day of May, they are secretly followed by Count Saknussemm, a descendent of the original explorer. Their first trial occurs when a boulder, dislodged by an earthquake, tumbles threateningly toward them. After a narrow escape, they discern a series of notches left by Saknussemm, marking the path to the center of the Earth. Unknown to them, the count has sabotaged his ancestor's markings, sending Alec over the side of a precipice. After Hans rescues Alec, Carla uncovers the real markings, and they realize they have been tricked. Becoming separated from the rest when he follows a tunnel, Alec sinks through a bed of salt into a chamber, where he comes face to face with the count. When Alex refuses to carry the count's equipment, the count shoots at him, and the sound of gunfire alerts the others to their whereabouts. Following the echoing gunshots, the three soon find the wounded Alec and the count, who threatens them all at gunpoint. After Oliver tricks the count by throwing salt in his eyes, they accuse him of murdering Goetaborg and find him guilty in a mock trial. Although he is sentenced to die, the three find themselves unable to carry out the sentence. The Count then begrudgingly joins the expedition, and as their lamps begin to fail, he discovers a luminescent algae that renders artificial light unnecessary. Two hundred fifty six days later, Carla and Oliver are still bickering about the journey. When Alec discovers a massive mushroom forest, Carla prepares the mushrooms for dinner while the count orders Hans to chop the plants down to build a raft that will carry them across the ocean of the underworld. Just as they are about to set sail, an army of giant flesh-eating lizards appear, but they escape by fleeing into the water. Once at sea, they are encompassed by a magnetic force field which Oliver realizes is the center of the Earth, whose intense centrifugal force throws them onto shore, exhausted. As they sleep, Gertrude waddles off, and when Hans awakens, all he finds is a pile of bloody feathers. Realizing that the count has eaten Gertrude for dinner, Hans lunges at him, and when the count retreats, he is crushed by a falling pillar of rocks. The collapse reveals the sunken city of Atlantis, where they find the skeleton of Saknussemm, his finger pointing to a shaft that leads to the chimney of a volcano in Stromboli, Italy, the way out of the underground. Oliver sends Hans to inspect the shaft, and when Hans reports that it is obstructed by a giant block of stone, Oliver decides to dislodge the obstruction by using a cache of gunpowder found in Saknussemm's knapsack. The group takes refuge from the explosion in a giant asbestos chalice, but when the gunpowder fails to ignite, Oliver jumps down to relight it and is attacked by a giant scorpion. Escaping with Alec's help, Oliver climbs back into the chalice just as the gunpowder detonates, killing the serpent and destroying Atlantis. The chalice and its inhabitants are swept up though the tunnel and spewed out into the sea, where all but Alec, who lands in a tree, are rescued by Italian fishermen. The party then returns triumphant to Edinburgh, where Jenny and Alec are married. When Oliver asks Carla to stay and collaborate with him on his memoirs, she reacts with indignation at being relegated to the role of his secretary until he proposes and embraces her.

Peter Ronson

Robert adler.

Alan Napier

Alex finlayson, frederick halliday, alan caillou, ivan triesault, peter wright, molly roden, edith evanson, owen mcgivney, kendrik huxham, molly glessing, john barclay, peter fontaine, john ainsworth, myra nelson, thomas f. martin, l. b. abbott, franz bachelin, lincoln barnett, herman a. blumenthal, charles brackett, robert burns, charles [g.] clarke, warren b. delaplain, leonard doss, david ffolkes, bernard freericks, stuart gilmore, james b. gordon, bernard herrmann, jack w. holmes, joseph kish, emila kose jr., lionel newman, walter reisch, joseph m. schenck, bernard schwartz, walter m. scott, helen turpin, james van heusen, lyle r. wheeler, photo collections.

Award Nominations

Best art direction, best special effects.

I never sleep. I hate those little slices of death. - Count Saknussem

The screenwriter evidently thought that since English-speaking people can have surnames like London or York then Swedes can be named Goetaborg (Goteborg is the second largest city in Sweden) - which is most unlikely.

The film's title card reads "Jules Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth ." The film closes with the following written acknowledgment: "Carlsbad Caverns National Park served as the background for portions of the motion picture. Twentieth Century-Fox expresses its appreciation for the cooperation extended by the National Park Service of the U.S. Department of the Interior." According to studio publicity contained in the film's production files at the AMPAS Library, filming was allowed only at night because of daily public tours scheduled in the caverns. Location filming was also done in Edinburgh, Scotland; Amboy Crater, CA and Sequit Point, CA.        A number of studios and producers considered filming Verne's novel prior to Twentieth Century-Fox's production. According to December 1955 and February 1956 Los Angeles Times news items, producer Eugene Lourie planned to film a version in Italy with Gerard Philipe and Michele Morgan as the stars. According to September 1956 items in Hollywood Citizen-News and Daily Variety , producer Bryan Foy bought the rights to the novel for release through Columbia, but Columbia withdrew its plans upon learning that RKO had begun extensive pre-production work on the same subject.        In October 1958, a Los Angeles Examiner news item stated that Charles Brackett, in association with Twentieth Century-Fox, had bought the rights to the novel from the Korda estate and wanted Clifton Webb to play the role of "Oliver Lindenbrook." Although an April 1959 Hollywood Reporter news item added that Lincoln Barnett was to write the screenplay for Brackett, Barnett's contribution to the released film has not been determined. According to a March 1959 Hollywood Reporter news item, Cooga Mooga Film Productions was Pat Boone's production company. Under Boone'e deal with Twentieth Century-Fox, Boone was to produce and star in the film for a share in the profits, as well as a salary. Journey to tne Center of the Earth marked Boone's first production. In Verne's novel, the character of Lindenbrook was German. The characters "Carla" and "Saknussemm" were added for the film.        Journey to the Center of the Earth was nominated for the following Academy Awards: Best Art Direction, Best Set Decoration, Best Sound and Best Special Effects. Modern sources add that Anna Jane Sitton worked as Arlene Dahl's stand-in and that Alexander Scourby was orginally cast as Saknussemm. According to modern sources, Pat Boone wrote and recorded a theme song that was never used in the film.        Verne's novel has been filmed several other times. In 1976, Almena Films, a Spanish company, released Viaje al centro de la Tierra , starring Kenneth More and directed by Juan Piquer Simón, and in 1989, the Canon Group/Golan-Globus released a version directed by Rusty Lemorande and starring Erno Philips. From 1967-69, ABC television broadcast an animated series loosely based on Verne's novel. Although several new feature film versions of Verne's novel were announced in the early 2000s, none was in production as of spring 2005.

Miscellaneous Notes

Released in United States Winter December 1959

Released in United States on Video August 25, 1988

Released in United States 1998

Shown at Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) as part of program "Twentieth Century Fox and the Golden Age of CinemaScope" July 3 - August 15, 1998.

CinemaScope

Released in United States 1998 (Shown at Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) as part of program "Twentieth Century Fox and the Golden Age of CinemaScope" July 3 - August 15, 1998.)

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Journey to the center of the earth  (1959).

A mysterious message from a long-lost explorer leads a geologist and his motley team to embark on a scientific expedition deep into the depths of the earth, in this adaptation of Jules Verne’s classic science fiction novel.  A wondrous and perilous journey among giant lizards, underground oceans, and lost cities awaits the group in this intrepid subterranean adventure.

Cooga Mooga Film Productions, Inc., Joseph M. Schenck Enterprises, Inc.  Producer: Charles Brackett.  Director: Henry Levin.  Screenwriter: Walter Reisch, C. Brackett.  Based on the novel by Jules Verne.  Cinematographer: Leo Tover.  Editor: Stuart Gilmore, Jack W. Holmes.   With: James Mason, Pat Boone, Arlene Dahl, Thayer David, Peter Ronson.  DCP, color, 132 min.

Note:   recommended for ages 9+

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Journey To The Center Of The Earth (1959)

As any fan of science fiction can tell you, Jules Verne wrote many exciting novels. These epic tales usually focused on a journey to an exotic, otherworldly locale and featured plenty of thrills and chills during the course of the story.

Verne’s classics gained new popularity when a 1954 film version of his  20,000 Leagues Under The Sea  became a major box-office hit. Its success led to adaptations of other Verne tales like  Around The World In 80 Days   (1956). One of the best Verne adaptations from this era was  Journey To The Center Of The Earth .

This film starred James Mason, who had memorably portrayed Captain Nemo in  20,000 Leagues Under The Sea . In  Journey , he plays a crusty but debonair Edinburgh professor of geology named Oliver Lindenbrook.

The epic story begins when Lindenbrook is given a volcanic rock by one of his students. It contains a message inside from a long-dead explorer that tells how one can reach the centre of the earth.

Lindenbrook organises a touring party – including his young assistant Alan McEwen ( Pat Boone ), his ward Jenny (Diane Baker) and Icelandic guide Hans Belker (Peter Ronson) – and sets out to find the location on the map, which they track to a dormant volcano in Iceland.

Once inside the volcano, Lindenbrook and his party witness sights that few men have ever seen. There are strange but gorgeous landscapes filled with luminescent algae and giant mushrooms. They even discover an ancient island that may hold the key to the beginnings of mankind.

However, there are also dangers to be dealt with. One big problem is a rival team of explorers – headed by the evil Count Saknussmen (Thayer David) –  who are willing to resort to sabotage and kidnapping to be the first ones to reach the earth’s centre. Both teams also have to contend with the fact that dinosaurs and other ancient creatures are still alive and well in this underground world.

The finished film was good old-fashioned fun on an epic scale. James Mason created a lead character who commanded the audience’s respect and Pat Boone provided plenty of teen-idol appeal for younger viewers. Arlene Dahl also contributed a memorably spunky performance as Carla Goeteberg.

The story delivered the goods in epic style, especially during the scenes with the dinosaurs, filmed using real iguanas made up to look like dinosaurs.

Journey To The Center Of The Earth also benefited from the grand style in which it was presented. The film was shot in the Cinemascope format, which gave it an impressive widescreen look that allowed it to capture the underground vistas of the story in high style. Much of the location shooting took place at the Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico, with the production filming at night so as not to disturb the tourists.

The real cave locations were combined with studio-built sets, enhanced with the use of matte paintings.

The film boasted a lush, exciting musical score by Bernard Herrmann, who also did the honours for other fantasy-film classics like The Day The Earth Stood Still   (1951) and  Jason and the Argonauts   (1963).

In short,  Journey To The Center Of The Earth  had something for the whole family. It did well at the box office and inspired filmmakers to keep making Jules Verne adaptations like  Mysterious Island .

Meanwhile,  Journey To The Center Of The Earth  continues to be popular today with fantasy film fans of all ages, still delivering the goods on an epic scale.

Professor Oliver Lindenbrook James Mason Alec McEwen Pat Boone Mrs Carla Goetaborg Arlene Dahl Jenny Diane Baker Count Saknussmen Thayer David Hans Belker Peter Ronson Groom Robert Adler Dean Alan Napier

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Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959) with James Mason

“I swear there’s something inside.”—— Professor Lindenbrook (the insides of a lump of lava that start the whole journey)

T wo other Jules Verne-based movies have been discussed at this site— 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and Mysterious Island . From 1959, and filmed between the two, Journey to the Center of the Earth has much to offer, aside from the shortcomings of some cardboard sets. It’s one of those “fun” movies, once called “general audience entertainment,” that they don’t make any more, a rip-roarin’ CinemaScope fantasy-adventure when widescreen was relatively new—and an intended gimmick to lure the growing viewers of Gunsmoke and Father Knows Best away from their TV sets.

[intlink id=”37″ type=”category”]James Mason[/intlink], who took second billing after the then current pop singer Pat Boone and just ahead of Arlene Dahl whose “movie star” treatment annoyed him, was then on the edge of the down slide of his career, having made North by Northwest that same year with Lolita to follow in 1962. Arlene Dahl, whose most significant film had been as long ago as The Bride Goes Wild in 1948 and always felt her talents lay in musical comedy, lent her best attribute, her beauty, but also rendered a respectable performance.

Not the least of the film’s pluses was one of Bernard Herrmann’s best fantasy film scores, with all the trademark “burps” and groans, signs of his love for building-block motifs. The music alone was perhaps the best reason to see—hear?—the movie.

To celebrate his new honor, his geology students greet him with a song and a present. Among the students is young Alec McKuen (Boone), who presents him with a gift of his own, a lump of lava he saw in a curiosity shop. “A scholar’s choice,” Lindenbrook says. Although McKuen is on an every-other-day diet owing to his poverty, the professor insists he be at his home that evening for dinner.

When Lindenbrook hasn’t arrived for dinner, the guests, including the university’s dean (Alan Napier), visit his laboratory and find him working over the lump of lava. His assistant Paisley (Ben Wright) pours too much aqua regia into the furnace where the professor is attempting to dissolve the lava from whatever heavier object he believes to be inside, and the furnace explodes. The explosion throws everybody to the floor but does separate the lava from what was inside, a plumb bob. On the metal sphere, written in some Nordic language—perhaps in blood—is an inscription and a name, Arne Saknussem, an Icelandic explorer of three hundred years earlier. (In Verne’s novel, the translation came from a runic manuscript.)

The men are released by a husky Icelander, Hans Belker (Peter Ronson), the owner of a duck, Gertrude by name, whose nibbling at food was the source of the tapping!

As Lindenbrook observes, the person, or persons, who has been against them was even more against Göteborg. From the hotel clerk, they learn that Count Saknussem (Thayer David), a descendant of Arne, had been working for sometime with Göteborg in his room.

In Oliver’s initial meeting with the widow Carla (Dahl) of the dead man, he is rebuffed in his request for the equipment, insisting that Göteborg stole his idea of the expedition. Later, in reading her husband’s diary, she learns that, indeed, Göteborg was afraid Lindenbrook would “claim his rights.” In a change of heart, she agrees to give Oliver the equipment, the only condition being that she goes along.

Lindenbrook reluctantly agrees, and the four adventurers, with Hans as the guide, and accompanied by Gertrude, descend into the crater of the volcano, but not before the sunrise over the mountain Scartaris points to the entrance. Unknowingly, the group is being followed by the Count and his groom. Oliver and his party soon discover that the notches on the plumb bob are replicated on the floor of the caverns, signposts left by Arne.

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea had its giant squid and Mysterious Island its assortment of overgrown creatures—a crab, a bird and a bee. So Journey to the Center of the Earth has its own beasts. Of course, the film is without the mind that devised the animatronic tentacles that made the squid so realistic or the expertise of Ray Harryhausen’s stop-motion animation in Mysterious Island . The giant dimetrodons Lindenbrook and party encounter are actually rhinoceros iguanas with glued-on nuckual crests, and the enormous chameleon toward the end of the film?—— A painted tegu lizard.

A few hundred miles down the “trail,” Alec falls into a salt cavern and becomes lost, stumbling upon Saknussem, who demands he take the place of his dead groom. The Count shoots him in the arm and, thanks to some nineteenth-century invention, the last echo of the gun shot gives Lindenbrook the direction. The explorers are reunited, only to be held hostage by the Saknussem. Lindenbrook soon overpowers him, throwing salt in his face.

Lindenbrook convenes a trial for Saknussem and the jurors render a guilty verdict for his murder of Göteborg, but everyone refuses to be the executioner. Even here the humor persists. Toward Carla’s refusal, the professor says, “For weeks you’ve denied your sex. Now you fall back on it.” So it’s agreed that the Count will accompany them on their journey.

Coming upon the lost Atlantis, they find the skeleton of Arne Saknussem, whose arm points toward a volcanic chimney, presumably the way to the surface. The four travelers climb into an ancient altar stone—made of asbestos, luckily. Using some gunpowder—still potent after three hundred years?!—conveniently found in the skeleton’s haversack, the explosion displaces a boulder blocking the shaft, but also awakens a giant chameleon. The released lava that kills the reptile also provides a molten cushion for the altar stone as it is forced up the shaft at what must have been supersonic speed.

If the reader has stayed this long, no reason to suspend belief, common sense or fall back on anything so ridiculous as scientific reality! . . .

The big ingredient remaining, now, is the music.

Bernard Herrmann was known to have taken life—and movies—too seriously. He called the train in Murder on the Orient Express (1974) “a train of death” and thought Richard Rodney Bennett’s signature waltz unacceptable, without seeing or sensing the tongue-in-cheek approach to parts of that film. So in Journey to the Center of the Earth he wished—his words—“to create an atmosphere with absolutely no human contact.” No human contact? “This film had no emotion, only terror.” Terror?

The only concession he makes to melody is the fleeting use of strings in the few allusions to Van Heusen’s melody for “My Love Is Like a Red, Red Rose” and the bits that recall Edinburgh for two, anyway, of the explorers.

Of course the makeup of Herrmann’s orchestra, without the warm and melodic strings, should indicate the sound he wanted, and support his realization of that “terror.” All writers who write about Journey to the Center of the Earth quote the composer’s liner notes for his London (Decca) Phase-4 LP release in 1974. And what could be clearer or more succinct?

“For the scene involving the dangerous serpent [the giant chameleon], I resurrected an obsolete medieval instrument called a serpent, which has been dropped from contemporary orchestras.” In the original score, Don Cristlieb, more accustomed to the tenor saxophone, plays the instrument, which fellow film composer David Raksin said sounds like “a donkey with emotional problems,” or some might hear a deep, resonant belch, quite convincing for a monster.

Not surprising, the best parts of the score are the excerpts Herrmann selected for this album, later transferred to CD. He conducts the National Philharmonic, hand-picked from four or five of London’s best orchestras. Here are a few of the highlights of the album:

The main title is nothing more—— “Nothing more”: it’s quite an accomplishment, yet so simple. It’s nothing more than a descent down the scale, a three-note motif in the orchestra alternating with two notes from the organ, with, in between, low pedal points, all sinking deeper and deeper in register. The main title opens and closes with cymbal crashes, the four at the end reflecting the volcanic eruptions on screen. During the music, the camera has moved gradually from outer space and a view of the earth’s sphere into the deepest bowels of the planet and, presumably, the fire of its core.

“The Mountain Top and Sunrise” begins with a forte trumpet motif, a call from on high, then the quiet strumming of harps against ascending woodwinds—louder and louder—which are joined by ascending brass. Added is the eruption of the organs, including the cathedral organ. Quiet returns with the strumming of the harps. Some listeners may hear in all this something of Richard Strauss’ tone poem An Alpine Symphony, which, coincidentally, begins with a sunrise.

“The Shaft and Finale” is a reversal of the opening main title where the sense had been of an enormous orchestral descent. Here the effect is of a tremendous ascent. For the longest time it seems, the registers of all the instruments rise through the scale, sustained by organ pedal points, themselves all the while ascending in blocks. The screen is alternating between full shots of obviously stiff, unmoving dummies in a little saucer and closeups of the actual actors rotating in their asbestos dish, while at the same time being forced upward through the shaft. The moment the travelers are spewed from the volcano becomes a palatable release of tension, both for the viewer and in Herrmann’s orchestra.

2 thoughts to “Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959) with James Mason”

Wow! What a fantastic write-up on a classic adventure film. “Journey to the Center of the Earth” has long been one of my favorite adventure movies, not only for its great “feel” ( the fabulous sets by Lyle Wheeler really transport you to the 1800s ) but because it traverses alot of territory and plot in a relatively short about of time. After watching this film I was anxious to read the original Verne novel…but was disappointed, there was no Arlene Dahl character, nor a concertina playing Pat Boone! Thank you for this great review.

Enjoyed your review. Considering the film is over 50 years old, the special effects are pretty spectacular,I think. Bernard Hermann’s brilliant score creates such a marvellous atmosphere for the story. I could have done without Pat Boone vainly trying to be Scottish!

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Journey to the Center of the Earth

When I was a kid, the 1959 Journey to the Center of the Earth , with James Mason, Pat Boone, and a lot of slithery cool dinosaurs, was one of my favorite movies to catch on Saturday-afternoon TV. It had a certain odd gravitas, with its crew of explorers getting increasingly desperate in their attempt to survive. (The sight of an actor as refined as Mason running around in rags was a shock.) The new Journey to the Center of the Earth , whether or not you see it in 3-D, has about as much gravitas as a helium balloon. Brendan Fraser , as a floppy-haired academic looking for holes in the planet, takes his 13-year-old nephew and a pretty Scandinavian guide along with him, and the three never stop moving — rocketing around on diamond-mine carts; plunging through a muscovite floor and falling down, down, down; scurrying away from a T. rex (him again!) and other familiar terrors. Last year’s Beowulf employed 3-D with a certain fairy-tale savvy, but Journey is just the new version of a 1950s comin’-at-ya roller coaster, with a tape measure, trilobite antennae, and giant snapping piranha thrust at the audience. Yet wandering around the earth’s stalactite-dripped core exerts a primal appeal even in a dumb kiddie joyride like this one. In the best scene, Fraser’s nephew clings to floating magnetic rocks above the deepest abyss you’ve ever seen, a situation that could give even jaded videogame kids vertigo. B-

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1959. Journey to the Center of the Earth

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Journey to the Center of the Earth

Cast & crew.

Alexander "Alec" McKuen

James Mason

Sir Oliver S. Lindenbrook

Arlene Dahl

Carla Göteborg

Diane Baker

Thayer David

Count Saknussem

A fanciful sci-fi tale for the whole family.

• Average 6.9

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© 1959 Joseph M. Schenck Enterprises, Inc. and Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation Renewed 1987 Joseph M. Schenck Enterprises, Inc. and Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation.

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Journey to the Center of the Earth

The Charles Brackett production takes a tongue-in-cheek approach to the Jules Verne story, but there are times when it is difficult to determine whether the film-makers are kidding or playing it straight. The actors neither take themselves nor the picture seriously, which is all on the plus side.

By Variety Staff

Variety Staff

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The story concerns an expedition, led by James Mason , who plays a dedicated scientist, to the center of the earth. Among those who descend to the depths with Mason are Pat Boone , one of his students; Arlene Dahl, the widow of a Swedish geologist who steals Mason’s information and tries to beat him to the ‘underworld’; and Peter Ronson, an Icelandic guide and jack-of-all-trades.

The descent is a treacherous one, filled with all kinds of dangers – underground floods, unusual winds, excessive heat, devious paths. Before reaching their goal, the intrepid explorers confront prehistoric monsters, a forest of mushrooms, a cavern of quartz crystals, and a salt vortex.

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Boone is given an opportunity to throw in a couple of songs. Romance is not neglected. Waiting at home in Edinburgh for Boone is Diane Baker, Mason’s niece. And it’s obvious that Mason and the widow Dahl will end up in a clinch despite their constant bickering during the expedition.

1959: Nominations: Best Color Art Direction, Sound, Special Effects

• Production: 20th Century-Fox. Director Henry Levin; Producer Charles Brackett; Screenplay Walter Reisch, Charles Brackett; Camera Leo Tover; Editor Stuart Gilmore, Jack W. Holmes; Music Bernard Herrmann; Art Director Lyle R. Wheeler, Franz Bachelin, Herman A. Blumenthal
• Crew: (Color) Widescreen. Available on VHS, DVD. Extract of a review from 1959. Running time: 132 MIN.
• With: Pat Boone James Mason Arlene Dahl Diane Baker Thayer David Peter Ronson

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Journey to the center of the earth, filming locations.

(the center of the earth)

(underground ocean and cave)

(Little Lake and Fossil Falls as Iceland)

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Journey to the Center of the Earth by James Mason

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• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B01GWC0446

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