Based on the 1874 Jules Verne novel, the film starts in a Confederate prison camp in 1865 Richmond. Four Union prisoners manage to escape via a Confederate weather balloon. They crash several days later on a seemingly deserted island and discover they have company - giant crabs. If only they had waited awhile longer Lee would have surrendered. I mean, the fact that Richmond was under siege by the Union had to be a good sign that they would soon be liberated. But I digress.
The acting isn't the main attraction, and the cast knows it. The script gives them stereotypes to play, and they don't overcome the script. Greenwood and Merrill are the two who fare best, Greenwood by satirizing her role as a Bored English lady, Merrill by getting laughs out of old jokes.
Harryhausen's special effects were the main box-office draw, and he comes through pretty well. The visuals vary from OK to spectacularly effective. The set painted backdrops are terribly obvious, especially when the island is first sighted. Wilkie Cooper did the mostly effective photography, and there is an excellent score by Bernard Herrmann.
This is not the best of Harryhausen, but it is far from his worst.
The acting isn't the main attraction, and the cast knows it. The script gives them stereotypes to play, and they don't overcome the script. Greenwood and Merrill are the two who fare best, Greenwood by satirizing her role as a Bored English lady, Merrill by getting laughs out of old jokes.
Harryhausen's special effects were the main box-office draw, and he comes through pretty well. The visuals vary from OK to spectacularly effective. The set painted backdrops are terribly obvious, especially when the island is first sighted. Wilkie Cooper did the mostly effective photography, and there is an excellent score by Bernard Herrmann.
This is not the best of Harryhausen, but it is far from his worst.