THE MYSTERIOUS ISLAND (1929)

In the kingdom of Hetvia, oppression has roused discord among the citizens, and a revolution might put Baron Falon on the throne. His friend Count Dakkar has retreated to his private island where residents live in peace and equality without political strife while working for him on his scientific research. Falon wants Dakkar to join him but Dakkar is not interested; he has built two submarines which he hopes can make it to the bottom of the ocean to test his theory, based on bone fragment discoveries, that humanoid beings might live down there—people of the abyss, as he calls them later. Dakkar's sister Sonia has the hots for chief engineer Nikolai, who is mostly too busy to reciprocate, though the increasingly sinister seeming Falon wants Sonia for himself. The first ship is launched, to the accompaniment of the workmen praying and singing, with Nikolai at the helm and Dakkar on land in communication with the ship. Falon and his men attack the island, wanting Dakkar's plans for the ships so he can use them for purposes of world conquest. There is torture, rescue, wicked trickery, and eventually the appearance of the underwater people (who, though they look like little cartoonish ducks, are dangerous) and a couple of mutant monsters, a lizard and an octopus. Ultimately the good guys win, though Dakkar, mortally wounded and disillusioned, has his shipyard destroyed and sets himself out in his ship to die alone.

Though supposedly based on the novel by Jules Verne (which introduced the character of Captain Nemo), this has almost nothing to do with the original story; the 1961 film is much more faithful. This has sci-fi elements but it's mostly an adventure melodrama. You can read about the production's complicated history online, but even knowing nothing about that, a viewer can tell there were problems. It went through three directors and a change from silent to semi-sound, which resulted in reshooting all the scenes involving Falon when the accented Warner Oland was replaced by Montagu Love. As it is, only the opening segment is in full sound. There are sound effects; some work but some are weirdly intrusive. A few scenes feature a clang or a footstep, but no dialogue when people open their mouths, and that just doesn't feel right. The sets (both on the island and in the ship) and the underwater action are effective, the acting a little less so. A relatively young looking Lionel Barrymore seems a bit (pardon the pun) at sea, especially in the sound section where he constantly fidgets and wipes at his face and hair as he delivers exposition. Montagu Love is appropriately villainous as Falon and Lloyd Hughes is handsomely heroic as Nikolai. In her early scenes, Jacqueline Gadsdon seems like a passive and flighty Sonia, but she soon becomes fully engaged in the action. The merpeople come off like Munchkins in Donald Duck outfits and never quite seem scary but their numbers are impressive. More an interesting novelty than a fully engrossing movie, but fun to watch. Pictured are Barrymore and Hughes. [YouTube]