In Search of the Castaways (1962) User Reviews

Full-blown and exciting adventures based on Julio Verne novel

[ma-cortes · 6/10 · 7 February 2007]

A journey looking for captain Grant (Jack Gwillim) is realized by a teenage girl Hayley Mills (Pollyanna), her little boy brother along with two veterans (Wilfrid Hyde White and singer Maurice Chevalier) and a young man (Michael Anderson Jr.) . During the long travel they find natural disasters as earthquake in the Andes , fire and flood in the ocean and volcano in New Zealand and they attempt to overcome . Besides they encounter different tribes as Araucans (an Indian chief played by Antonio Cifariello ), Patagons (Argentina) and Maoris (New Zealand).

The picture contains adventures , humor , emotion , songs , stirring action and sensational outdoors . The film displays some scenes have you on the edge of your seat as the amusing images when the protagonists sledge over floe . Excellent , powerful cast with sympathetic Hayley Mills and Maurice Chevalier and with the cynic George Sanders . Colorful cinematography reflecting marvellous landscapes by Paul Beeson . Lively and evocative music by Willyam Alwyn . Abounds matte painting and special effects by the Disney specialist Peter Ellenshaw . It's a winning Disney effort made by its usual director Robert Stevenson (Herbie , gnome mobile , Mary Poppins) . It's a must for the Disney fans but is beautifully released , being recommendable for all family and especially for little boys public . Rating : Good and entertaining.

A thousand thrills...and Hayley Mills!

[moonspinner55 · 7/10 · 28 June 2001]

Wonderful Jules Verne fantasy via Walt Disney has jolly, ne'er-do-well Frenchman Maurice Chevalier helping two children convince a ship's captain that the kids' father, a captain lost at sea, is shipwrecked on an island near South America. The journey begins, and soon the whole gang faces every form of a raging Mother Nature trying to reach the castaway. Hayley Mills is near the peak of her ladylike charms here, never lovelier than when singing "Castaway" under the stars by guitar or cooking breakfast with Chevalier in a treetop. Maurice himself is a wily coot, and Wilfred Hyde-White is brusquely amusing. Well-produced yarn with fine effects does tail off in the second-half, but there are many requisite Disney-adventure pleasures to be had. Enjoy it! *** from ****

A 10,000 mile mistake

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 22 August 2009]

First of all let me say that any film with Maurice Chevalier will automatically get a look from me. Even though Hayley Mills was Walt Disney's number one star at the time, Chevalier's international status as a performer guaranteed him top billing. The younger cast members had a lot to do in keeping up with him.

Robert Gwillim who is a sea captain and father to Hayley Mills and Keith Hamshere has been lost at sea for many years now and who knows where in this wide world with 5/6 of it covered by ocean. But a swallowed bottle with a note that was found in the belly of a shark by scientist Maurice Chevalier sends the three of them in search of Gwillim's employer Wilfrid Hyde-White to finance an expedition to search. Said note leads them first to South America and then to Australia because Maurice misreads the clues. He did that a lot in this film, an occupational hazard with eccentric scientists.

This was the Magic Kingdom's second dealing with a Jules Verne story, the first being the classic 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea. Sad to say while In Search Of The Castaways has some interesting moments and in spots looks more like an Indiana Jones film, it does not make it above the juvenile level. Watching it today, I expected to see Harrison Ford ride in with bullwhip cracking to save the whole kit and kaboodle of them from villain George Sanders.

Maurice's first mistake took them 10,000 miles out of their way. It's not often one gets a second chance there.

20,000 Leagues OVER the sea.

[SanDiego · 20 October 2000]

Part of Jules Verne's trilogy that includes "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" with Captain Nemo as the antagonist, "Mysterious Island" with Captain Grant as the castaway protagonist going up against Nemo, and "The Children of Captain Grant...aka 'In Search of the Castaways'" with (as the titles suggests) the children of Captain Grant as the protagonists in search of their castaway father. Even if Walt Disney had made "Mysterious Island" (in 1961 another studio made a pretty nifty though obviously 60's style sci-fi movie from it) there still wouldn't be much to tie this film to Walt Disney's classic starring Kirk Douglas and James Mason. Without knowledge of the characters from "Mysterious Island" there is no clue that the Grant children live in the same world as the first film, let alone that of Captain Nemo. With that said, the film does work as a wild and fun Disney adventure (Disney films are a genre all their own). Starring familiar Disney faces such as Hayley Mills and Maurice Chevalier (hey it could have been Annette Funicello and Burl Ives) this is Walt Disney's film not Jules Verne's and a good time can be had by the whole family. Some of the special effects are inferior to Disney's standard but Mills and company are very watchable as are the endless stream of natural disasters that befall them. Recently remakes have been made of "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea." Too bad a mini-series involving the entire trilogy wasn't tackled. Just a thought.

Silly......but still a lot of fun.

[CabbageCustard · 7/10 · 11 July 2019]

Let's be honest here: this movie is ridiculous. The special effects are laughable, the actors outrageously overact, the songs, though few, are completely forgettable, and the plot takes dreadful liberties with the book it is based on; Jules Verne would be spinning in his grave. All that being said, this movie is a lot of fun, just as long as you don't take it too seriously. The actors certainly aren't. They're having a damn good time and that rubs off on the viewer. It's great to see familiar faces like Maurice Chevalier, Wilfred Hyde-White and George Sanders hamming it up and the younger actors are having fun too. Kids should love this and so too should nostalgic adults.

Old-Fashioned and Fun, But Near the End

[boblipton · 7/10 · 31 March 2018]

Jules Verne gets Disneyfied again by the reliable Robert Stevenson, with Hayley Mills, Wilfred Hyde-White, George Sanders and Maurice Chevalier, singing some songs by the Sherman brothers. Given a story that traveled around the world and got its characters involved in floods, volcanic eruptions, mutinies, and capture by cannibals, somehow, everyone remains pink-faced & scrubbed clean at all times, with every bow-tie perfectly tied.

It's a perfect movie at a moment when the strains of Hollywood's erosion and its retreat into what is today called a "tentpole movie" model was just about to collapse. While the Major studios like Fox were still relying on blockbusters like THE LONGEST DAY (which outgrossed this film), cheap producers like AIP were serving the Teen market. By the end of the decade, everyone would be going after them and movies like this would be seen as quaint. Well, I guess I'm old-fashioned. I love it.

Captain Grant and his kids.

[theowinthrop · 7/10 · 21 November 2004]

Captain Grant disappeared in the south seas. A bottle with some message suggests he is not dead, as most people in authority choose to believe, but alive and imprisoned. His three children determine to rescue him.

THE CHILDREN OF CAPTAIN GRANT was written in 1866-1868 (the year it was published). It followed Verne's first novel successes (FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON, A JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH, FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON, and - his first North Pole novel - THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN HATTARAS). Of these first six titles, five have been made into films. CAPTAIN HATTARAS can't be made into a film, because Verne was wrong about the state of the North Pole (he put a live volcano there that we know is not there). Pity because it is a good story, deserving a film treatment, with a chilling conclusion.

It has been suggested that the genesis of CAPTAIN GRANT is the determination of Lady Jane Franklin in sacrificing her fortune to find out the fate of her husband Sir John Franklin and his Northwest Passage Expedition of 1845-48. Possibly, however, it is something more current than the Franklin Mystery (already solved in 1859, and somewhat old-hat in 1868). The question of whether Thomas Castro was the actual Sir Roger Ticheborne, wealthy, missing baronet, was a growing issue in England in 1868 (it would not be legally settled - against Castro/Arthur Orton - in 1874). That may have been tied to what Verne had in mind. Also the long lost fate of the French explorer La Perouse in the South Seas (in 1788 - his fate is mentioned in TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA).

In any event, THE CHILDREN OF CAPTAIN GRANT was the first three volumes of seven (or eight - depending on one's counting of sections of TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES) volumes that were interlinked. Verne loved cross-connecting stories (in ROBUR THE CONQUEROR he suggests the appearance of an orbiting mystery at the start of the novel is actually an artificial satellite created by Professor Schultz in THE BEGUM'S FORTUNE). He never got this involved again (subsequently, however, he plays a private joke in AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS, when Princess Aouda is rescued from being burned alive at her husband's funeral: the husband is the usurper of the title of Prince Dakar who is Captain Nemo). CAPTAIN GRANT traces the world wide search for the Captain by his three determined children and their French tutor, which go through South America and the South Seas. The villain is one Ayrton, a sailor who imprisoned Grant for his own purposes on a small island near New Zealand. At the end of the novel, Aryton is punished for his treachery to Grant (and Grant's children) by Lord Glenelg, who promises to leave him there for only 10 years alone, roughly the time Grant was marooned. Then comes the story of Nemo and the Nautilus in TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES (published in 1870). Then comes THE MYSTERIOUS ISLAND (1873). A party of five men, led by Captain Cyrus Harding, from Libby Prison in Richmond escape in a balloon in a hurricane as the American Civil War is ending. They land on an uncharted island in the Pacific (called "Lincoln Island"), which they build up into a livable environment. They keep finding machinery and books to help them. Also they find a trail that leads them to the rescue of Aryton, nearly insane from loneliness, off a nearby island. Eventually they learn that the dying Nemo (on his submarine) is responsible for their safety and survival. Nemo dies, the island is destroyed in an eruption (the novel has been compared to a study of the growth and destruction of civilization), and Lord Glenelg's yacht comes to rescue the castaways and Aryton.

It is a long, complex series of stories. Movies have been made of CAPTAIN GRANT, TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES, and THE MYSTERIOUS ISLANDS. However, no miniseries (nine parts possibly) has been suggested for the whole three novels. Possibly because the adventures are so fantastic they stretch our imagination too far.

This Walt Disney production is satisfactory for CAPTAIN GRANT and good fun. Hailey Mills was given another of her early star turns in this film, and Maurice Chevalier was coasting on his starring turn in GIGI four years earlier (as well as his appearance as Panisse in FANNY). One can watch this film as an entertaining adventure flick, with Disney's typical good production values. It is actually quite easy to take.

Still great fun

[neil-476 · 7/10 · 25 March 2010]

I remember being very excited about going to see In Search Of The Castaways when it first came out, mainly because I was completely besotted. And she didn't disappoint me! Neither did the film, a fun romp about two kids, in the company of assorted adults, searching for their missing father. The large part of the search took place in South America and featured, as set pieces, a slide through ice caverns and taking refuge from a flood in a giant tree.

Throughout all this, Maurice Chevalier oozed avuncular gallic charm and occasionally warbled a cheery Disney ditty, occasionally accompanied by Miss Mills (whose singing, notwithstanding her hit record Let's get Together, was not her strongest point).

The South American search turned out to be largely unsuccessful, mainly because dad wasn't in South America, he was in New Zealand. So the final sequence involved escaping from a Maori tribe, led by singer and totem pole carver Inia Te Wiata.

The special effects aren't quite so special these days - like so many films of the time, miniatures were often the only way of achieving certain results, and miniatures are no longer convincing after more than a decade of digital simulation. Even so, the film is still full of charm and excitement, and is well worth watching.

Family Film

[mdkoi · 10/10 · 20 November 2001]

How wonderful to see a movie the entire family can watch. Fine acting and plenty of music and laughter along with suspense, drama and human kindness. Not to be scared if a child will curse or anything to upset the audience. Maurice Chaviar and entire cast is superb. What a wonderful movie to just sit and relax and know you will be entertained. I never get bored watching this movie. When I was stationed in the US Army at Russelsheim, Germany,I got to see this movie in the German language. Again, it is a pleasure to have another entertaining motion picture to view over and over with family and friends. Thank You Walt Disney and his staff.

Not even Mother Nature can stop these Disney adventurers.

[hitchcockthelegend · 7/10 · 24 January 2011]

In Search of the Castaways is a live action Disney feature film that stars Hayley Mills, Maurice Chevalier, Wilfrid Hyde-White, George Sanders, Keith Hamshere & Michael Anderson Jr. It's directed by Robert Stevenson and adapted for the screen by Lowell S. Hawley from Jules Verne's novel Captain Grant's Children. Plot sees Mills and Hamshere as the Grant siblings who along with Professor Paganel (Chevalier), Lord Glenarvan (White) & his son John (Anderson Jr), set off on a Worldwide search for their shipwrecked father.

Standard Disney live action formula that is as fun as it is simple. The adventure sees the intrepid group have to deal with a number of Mother Earth's creatures and natural disasters. The roll call contains a condor, jaguar, crocodiles, avalanche, earthquake, lightning, volcano and a giant waterspout! While peril of the human kind comes courtesy of a hungry tribe of Maori's and a band of braggarts led by debonair dastardly George Sanders. Hyde-White is just terrific, as too is Wilfrin Bramble who shows up late in proceedings as a loony old prisoner of the Maori's.

It's daft with a natural tongue in cheek vibe to it, but to expect anything less at the outset would be pure folly. 7/10

Thank heaven for little girls - well,thank heaven for one little girl,..........................

[ianlouisiana · 5/10 · 2 March 2010]

Young Miss Hayley Mills single - handedly rescues "In search of the castaways" from the state of stuporific banality where M. Chevalier,Mr Hyde White and Master Anderson had abandoned it.It is poorly directed,sloppily edited,studio - bound and mediocre in every department.Miss Mills,trouper that she is,grasps this pretty dreadful film and by sheer force of personality gives it what small merit it has. A plot as full of non - sequiturs as any Monty Python movie does not bear even the most cursory examination.The songs,surely merely a device to divert attention from the fact that M.Chevalier has little to do except curl his lips and roll his "r"s and look roguish every now and again. Mr Hyde White does his customary grumpy old posh geezer schtick and nods his head a lot. The FX are crude even by the standards of the day and I should think once the movie made 50 bucks at the box office it went into profit. I saw Miss Mills in "Wild at heart" on TV the other night and she is still in the alchemy business.Some people,eh?

Outstanding Adventure

[jre-5 · 8/10 · 13 October 2009]

In Search of The Castaway's is probably my favorite adventure film. It contains a lot of very unique items and fun. Some of the movie is not very realistic, ex. a huge wave of water suddenly floods a desert, making it into a big lake. Some things in it don't even exist in real life, ex. a giant flying bird, so big that it can carry a person. But elements like these really do add to it and help make it more exciting.

Many of the special effects in the movie are in my opinion, very impressive for their time, even though they sometimes seem a little inaccurate.

Another thing I like about the movie is that it gives a great sense of teamwork and fearlessness, people going out of their way and doing whatever it takes to try to save others. And though there are some disagreements and rudeness between the main characters, but unlike some adventure films like Swiss Family Robinson, there really aren't any major conflicts between them, which makes it a lot more pleasant.

In search of the castaways

[dancer56 · 7/10 · 8 March 2006]

I'll give Disney's "In Search Of The Castaways" a seven out of ten because of the possibilities, not for what it is! If you were to take all the noted bloopers from the original Star Wars series, you'd run out of fingers, instantly! Compared to other Disney live action films and some real turkeys, this film fared much better. Not everyone is into Maurice Chevalier and I am not one of them. But he did manage to play the bumbling fool of a professor very well. Sometimes you have to overlook the Disney staple of sticking to sugary family fare. We cant all have homeboys on top of a mountain, spraying graffiti. Quite frankly, the movie really suffers from simply becoming outdated. I wish the movie moguls would think to look at this movie one day-for a remake. If anything, I like the sudden idea of being caught and trapped on a slope, riding on a loosened mountain chunk down a ravine. The next in line biggest adventure, would be the tied to a rope, upside down, swinging wildly in the air! COOL. I give it a seven, for the possibilities. Robert.

good family entertainment but no classic by any means

[disdressed12 · 5/10 · 22 July 2010]

as far as family entertainment goes,you can't go wrong with this Disney offering.i wouldn't use the word classic to describe it though.it has some fun moments.it's fairly fast paced.but it does tend to get a bit silly at times and it's very predictable and repetitive and there is a bit too much singing involved for my taste.it's very dated,with effects that are definitely from the stone age.the acting is no great shakes either.in fact,it ranges from adequate too downright atrocious.still,it does pass the time,and there's nothing offensive so it's safe for all ages.if you can get around the silliness and the bad acting,you just might be able to kill 98 minutes.for me,In Search of the Castaways is a 5/10

This film demonstrates the meaning of 'action-packed'

[laura-126 · 26 May 2003]

We loved this film as kids, now we're older it retains its appeal but in a different way. It really is the funniest film ever.

The search party:

• encounter a earthquake and survive by riding on two mini icebergs through ice palaces which appear to be inside a mountain

• have one member of the party (Robert, the sweet little brother) carried off by a giant condor to feed her young

• get flooded and live in a huge ombu tree for weeks (alongside some kind of big cat which is also trapped there)

• go through a thunderstorm that causes above-mentioned tree to catch on fire, giving them the option of being burnt to death or eaten by crocodiles, which are now of course swarming around the tree - or get rescued

• get locked up in a tiny hut with a madman who's been there for apparently about fifty years, after being chucked off their own ship by villainous scoundrels and being washed up on an island inhabited by Maoris

• and finally, survive a volcano (but the Maoris don't)

There is also a love interest in the form of John, the smarmy captain's son who fancies Mary (Hayley Mills) and some funny songs, like the one Chevalier and Mills sing when living in ombu tree. Brilliant!!!

The Vidiot Reviews

[capone666 · 7/10 · 17 January 2014]

In Search of the Castaways

Having children on a rescue mission is smart because when they find the corpse their piercing shrieks will alert everyone.

Unfortunately, the rescue effort in this adventure also includes a useless senior.

Convinced that their shipwrecked father, Captain Grant (Jack Gwillim), is alive somewhere between South America and New Zealand, Robert (Keith Hamshere) and his sister Mary (Hayley Mills) recruit a Scottish lord (Wilfrid Hyde-White) to lead their expedition.

Along for the ride are an elderly professor (Maurice Chevalier) and the Lord's son (Michael Anderson, Jr.).

Together, the quintet faces an array of adversaries, from giant condors to Mother Nature's wrath, to a nefarious gunrunner (George Sanders).

While the harrowing adventure is elongated by a red herring wrong turn, when Captain Grant's whereabouts is finally revealed this Disney adaptation of a Jules Verne tale really gets rolling.

Mind you, once they find their father alive, there goes the insurance money. Green Light

vidiotreviews.blogspot.ca

I definitely didn't enjoy it but I can see how others might

[r96sk · 6/10 · 16 July 2020]

Maurice Chevalier and Wilfrid Hyde-White are very good, but 'In Search of the Castaways' didn't quite capture my imagination.

I mostly like the adventure elements, as they cross land and sea in search of castaways. Despite that, I never properly felt attached to the story as the aforementioned isn't stitched together well with the characters and their motives/feelings. It's also paced too slow, at least for me.

As noted, Chevalier (Paganel) and Hyde-White (Lord Glenarvan) are solid in their respective roles, if only due to their amusing moments both together and on their own with the younger cast members; who aren't all that memorable, Hayley Mills (Mary) is the standout if I had to pick one.

The film hasn't aged beautifully in regards to the effects, a load of the scenes look rather awful nowadays but I can always let that pass in these older films; it's still worth noting, that's all. Away from that you have a few musical numbers, the ones featuring Paganel are pretty good.

I feel giving it less than this rating would be harsh, I definitely didn't enjoy it but I can see how others might.

It's not on the same level as Disney's other Verne adaptation 20,000 Leagues, but it's a pleasant and light adventure.

[IonicBreezeMachine · 7/10 · 30 June 2022]

In 1858, Professor Paganel (Maurice Chevalier), a French geography professor, finds a bottle containing a note which seems to have been written by the missing Captain John Grant (Jack Gwillim). Paganel and Grant's two teenaged children, Mary (Hayley Mills) and Robert (Keith Hamshere), approach John Glenarvan (Michael Anderson, Jr.) and his father, the wealthy shipping magnate Lord Glenarvan (Wilfrid Hyde-White), the owner of Captain Grant's ship, and persuade them to finance a search expedition. Paganel determines the bottle's origins to have been in South America and the group set off on a voyage to find the missing captain Grant contending with many manmade and natural hazards along the way.

The third of six films Hayley Mills made for Walt Disney Pictures, In Search of the Castaways was inspired by the success of Disney's previous Jules Verne adaptation 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea prompting production of Castaways in the hopes of recapturing that film's success. The movie was one of two films based on the source novel with Disney and Irwin Allen Productions planning separate adaptations of the novel until Disney bought the international rights in other territories leading Allen to abandon his own version for Five Weeks in a Balloon. The movie was a box office success and critical reception was mostly positive, but it does pale in comparison to the groundbreaking 20,000 Leagues.

Like with most of her films, Hayley Mills is a likable screen presence and is effortlessly watchable in a role such as this. It's a slightly more rough performance for Mills as she's called on to do more action/adventure elements in comparison to prior films such as The Parent Trap and Pollyanna and it showcases her range as an actress. The movie also has a nicely built out ensemble such as Maurice Chevalier as the quirky and humorous Professor Paganel, Wilfrid Hyde-White as Lord Glenarvan who serves as an effective straight man to the proceedings, and a host of other supporting players including George Sanders who plays one of the many antagonists who our heroes come against.

The movie features everything you've come to expect from an adventure story: exotic locales, intriguing action sequences, etc. The effects used for scenes such as an earthquake, a condor bird, and a volcanic eruption aren't quite as revolutionary as the effects work seen in 20,000 Leagues, but they are used for some quite memorable if preposterous sequences. Of course like many adventure stories it's unquestionably a product of its time, and while it does try to balance out some of the more troublesome aspects of the adventure genre by trying to have a broad portrayal of indigenous peoples, we still fall into some of the traps of this genre that are unfortunately held in the DNA of the its foundations laid by Edgar Rice Burroughs (albeit not to THAT extent). At the time of this writing In Search of the Castaways is one of a number of Disney films not available on Disney+ and having seen some of the other films on the service I'm not quite sure why. Unlike something like One of Our Dinosaurs is Missing that played up certain antiquated gags and motifs for straight humor, Castaways isn't nearly in the same ballpark but it does straddle the line (such as an Italian in redface). The movie also has a much more lighthearted feel to it than Treasure Island or 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and feels like it was made in mind more for children than a broad family audience, not necessarily a slight against the movie, but noted nonetheless.

In Search of the Castaways is a solid live-action adventure from Disney. While it doesn't have the same polish and intensity seen in Treaure Island or 20,000 Leagues, it boasts a likable ensemble and some memorable set pieces for the adventure. It does feature some of the "othering" that's come t be expected from the adventure genre with natives portrayed as either more "civilized" or "cannibalistic savages" with not much subtlety, but it is a 60s Disney adventure film so it's hardly the worst offender out there.

Double-Plus Unfunny

[trescia-1 · 7/10 · 25 October 2021]

I think it can be agreed-upon that Walt Disney had no sense of humor. I mean, he thought that Donald Duck was funny. This may be why so much early Disney stuff is badly un-funny. Even things that should have been hilarious end up being slightly somber. But this is usually "camouflaged" by the fact that Disney's films (way back when) were so "different" that the lack of comic flair was just not noticed. The special effects, songs and acting talent tending to overwhelm the senses. The glare of Disney Magic made it difficult to see that what was missing here was a good laugh.

I saw this film as an eight-year-old and thought it was daft. As an old man, I can see what's wrong with it. It's as if the Disney studio simply had no one who could make a funny film-- and Disney's lack of a sense of humor probably contributed to that situation. It's sad, really, The cast of this film could have, and should have, been able to pull of some real hilarity-- but the guy who made this seems to have been unaware of the nature of comedy.

"In Search of the Castaways" is like a case-study on how NOT to do comedy. I mean, all the ingredients of a rollicking, ethnically targeted laugh-fest are there-- pompous Englishman? Check. Goofy Frenchman? Check. Naive little kids? Check. Silly young fellow with more courage than brains? WOOF! Now put that all together with a script that features unthinkable adventures, unimaginable stupidities, unholy stereotypes and unwavering optimism and you should have it all.

But it's as flat as a pancake. No juice. It may be funny now, to modern audiences, but that's for the wrong reasons. It should have been funny then, and it would have been if somebody with some comic talent had been in charge.

This movie should be studied in film school to demonstrate how comedy works by looking at the opposite. The timing is WAY off. The gags don't land because they are "way too soon" or "way too late." Serious-- even somber-- concepts are plunked down right before the laugh should appear. Way to blow it, Einstein!

No, this movie is a classic, but it's more of a cautionary tale than anything else. It could be a test to see if a director can do comedy. Show this, then ask how they would fix it. If they don't know-- you've got your answer.

More of a Curiosity and Anomaly Than a Good Film or a Classic. But Hey, Hayley Mills is Always Classic Disney.

[johnstonjames · 8/10 · 29 July 2012]

i never know what to say about 'Castaways'. the song 'Castaway' has always been one of my favourite Disney songs and i grew up listening to a recording of Hayley Mills singing the song from when i was very young. i think i was only about six or seven when i first saw this movie in reissue.

having grown up with this movie since i was a kid hasn't helped me to understand it or come to terms with it however. as i matured (supposedly), this film actually only seemed weirder and more confounding. i guess when i was a child i kind of took it for granted and was also used to Disney films being a little eccentric in terms of fantasy and humour. it wasn't until i was older that i started to question this film's logic. it is definitely a "action packed' adventure, but i'm never quite sure where it's coming from or what the heck they were thinking.

i think this movie gets unintentionally oddball and goofy because it is so obviously and blatantly commercial. it doesn't have the artistic integrity of '20,000 Leagues' and isn't even the good entertainment 'Island at the Top of the World' is. rather than being anywhere close to realism or logical action, this movie opts for a "Donald Duck" cartoonish approach that the filmmakers don't seem to be aware that they are applying to it. more than serious adventure, this film feels more like a "wacky" Disney comedy. it has more in common with 'The Shaggy Dog' than '20,000 Leagues'.

for viewers not accustomed to the Disney comedy formula, action sequences like the earthquake scene where the mountain ledge breaks off and the adventurers "toboggin" down a icy slope while Maurice Chevalier yodels out a song, seems more like a surreal break in logic then a implement of comedy.

as for Maurice Chevalier's constant singing, it only furthers the detachment from reality. Hayley Mill's 'Castaway' song is one of Disney's best musical moments and doesn't detract, we should always expect a song or two from Disney, but the songs Chevalier sings have got to be some of Disney's worst and most obnoxious tunes. not to mention that Maurice Chevalier's performance is so bad it's actually good in a we're-not-laughing-with-you-but-at-you way. i think his performance is even worse here than in the notorious 'Monkeys Go Home' movie. when Hayley mills is worried about the Patagonians fleeing from a flood of burning lava, Chevalier just throws his head back and chuckles, "oo-la la! their plight is funny zo enjooooy it!". rather than amusing the statement just seems sadistic. it should happen to him. when Chevalier's character realizes he accidentally lead them to the wrong side of the world and laments, "i am zoooooo stupid!", the viewer is inclined to agree. i've always felt that as a entertainer, Chevalier was "specially challenged". i never was fond of 'GiGi'.

does the movie offer up anything memorable or good? well, yes. as silly as it is, the film is pure Disney formula. it also has a knack for clever FX on a lower budget than '20,000 Leagues'. the film's FX range from obviously poor to excellent as in the Ombu tree and the trippy giant Condor scene. as for memorable, the film is so kooky that it's hard to forget (or forgive whichever the case).

the film also has Hayley Mills as a asset. she pretty much rectifies whatever Chevalier kills off. Hayley Mills was a charming performer with a cosy sort of charisma. she can be all sweetness and cute adorability, but she does it with a natural grace and is never pretentious or forced.

the film also benefits from good set design and a good understanding of history as well as good, sure handed direction from Disney stock director Robert Stevenson. Stevenson even manages to embellish the mostly pedestrian approach with some good cinematography as in a shot of the Indian's horses upsetting against a darkened sky before a flash flood.

despite the numerous FX photography and matte shots, this hardly qualifies as classic, good cinema, but it is good Disney. i mean who else made movies like this except for Disney.

i don't know what could have been done to make this a better movie. strangely enough i like it the way it is. it has a goofy charm to it and it is easily identifiable as a children's film. '20,000 Leagues' can often seem too adult.

however, even a small child might be inclined to question how this group of inept, knuckle-headed adventurers even manage to get anywhere. even Wilfred Hyde-White's ship's captain seems to know little about geography. the film might have benefited from a better and more logical screenplay. but actually i'm so glad they did it this way instead. the film is awkward but never dull. i'm also sort of fascinated by it's miscalculations, they succeed in the way that they make this one of Disney's, and Hollywood's, most unconsciously surreal and goof-ball concoctions.

Only Disney could tell this adventurous tale of Jules Verne, and I couldn't agree more! Another nostalgia in Disney's Pandora box.

[SAMTHEBESTEST · 7/10 · 29 July 2023]

In Search of the Castaways (1962) : Brief Review -

Only Disney could tell this adventurous tale of Jules Verne, and I couldn't agree more! Another nostalgia in Disney's Pandora box. Jules Verne's novels have been adopted many times on the big screen, and many of them have been great movies. Disney's early days were incredible, as they established many genres and themes through their imaginative world. Right from Animation in the 30s to delivering adventurers, that became nostalgia for children, who watched all those films with their parents at that time and then forwarded the nostalgia to their children. Being a 90s kid, I can tell how much those 90s classic animation movies mean to me, and I'll forward them to the next generation. The same thing happened with the 30s generation and then the next generation. In Search of the Castaways was a decade late, I believe, but it's a compelling feature film. Of course, Disney didn't have a budget as high as "The Ten Commandments" or "Ben Hur" at that time, but they still managed to pull off a decent visual spectacle in the early 1960s. The flood scene reminded me of Moses parting out the sea, the animals, the voyage, and all of it took me back to Disney's own "Swiss Family Robinson," and so on.. there are many references to point out. Nevertheless, In Search of the Castaways is a joyride, and that's all that matters. It's funny, it has good musicals, it has a variety of adventures, it has lovable characters, and at last, it's a reliable human story. A few scenes run out of fictional proportion, but it's not a big deal. Maurice Chevalier is charming as ever; Hayley Mills ruled the 60s with her roles, and others are very fine. Robert Stevenson's collaborations with Disney will always be remembered. What Tim Burton is trying today, Stevenson did way ago and much better. Overall, a complete family movie for all three generations.

RATING - 7/10*

By - #samthebestest.

Confused and convoluted - something of the dismal recaptured with more than an ounce of the spectacular!

[movieman-200 · 4/10 · 15 June 2005]

Based upon Jule's Vernes 'Captain Grant's Children', In Search of Those Castaways (1962) is an incoherent yarn about Mary Grant (Haley Mills), the determined daughter of a missing sea captain (Jack Gwillim) who sets about traveling to exotic ports and hidden mysterious locales in search of dear IL' daddy. On this trip she takes family friend and confident, Jacque Paganell (the marvelous Maurice Chevalier) and meets up with the unscrupulous and hardened, Thomas Ayerton (George Sanders).

The cast also includes Wilfred Hyde-White as the stuffy Lord Glenaravan and Michael Anderson Jr. as his son John. But Robert Stevenson's direction on this occasion seems to fall apart on a series of vignettes that have no coherent or driving narrative. Verne's works usually present this sort of problem for screenwriters, in that Verne himself often wrote episodic stories that later became loosely strung together as fantasy novels of their day; visionary – then; stagnant and wholly unappealing by 1960s standards; completely out of touch by today's expectations. Peter Ellenshaw's matte paintings extend the world of fantasy that Mary and company traverse to good effect. There's some great trick photography taking place during the flood sequence. There's also Chevalier warbling a very family friendly little ditty, 'Enjoy it.'

In the end, it seems hard to take up Chevalier on that musical request. The end of the story is a forgone conclusion by reel two. We know Mary's going to find her father; it's a Disney film. There seems to be some discrepancy as to the proper aspect ratio for this film; 1:33:1 or 1:75:1. The theatrical prints appear to have been printed in the latter format since title credit sequences on this DVD occasionally run off the top and bottom of the screen. However, an usual practice occurred in the late 1960s and early 70s in American cinema, whereby certain films were shot in full frame for the sake of economy and then artificially cropped to 1:75:1 for theatrical presentation. Having explained this; the print for In Search of Those Castaways might very well have been one such film, with title sequences specifically formatted for the 1:75:1 theatrical engagement.

Hence, when Disney remastered the DVD they forgot to format the titles for 1:33:1 to avoid confusion. At the very least, these credits have not been framed properly. At worst, Disney has given us another full frame only version of a widescreen movie. Yet, for the rest of the presentation, everything looks pretty much as it should. There is no apparent cropping to speak of and scenes appear quite natural in 1:33:1. As for the rest of the image quality: colors are quite solid, pure and rich. Blacks are deep. Whites are generally clean. Film grain is present during the matte shots but absent elsewhere for a picture that will surely not disappoint. The audio is engaging, if dated.

Theowinthrop's comments re Capt. Hattaras

[202800 · 8/10 · 28 December 2004]

Theowinthrop should check the Disney Catalogue very thoroughly for the Captain Hattaras tale. We have that very movie available on DVD here in Australia. Or at least something with a similar storyline written by the same author. I'm not sure whether it is live action or cartoon though. Quite apart from the above though "In Search Of The Castaways" was in my opinion a very enjoyable movie. Hayley Mills as always is precocious in a serious way. Maybe it's me but I do not think that she was ever a good singer as I consider her voice too thin for singing. I also do not think that she really matured until after her Disney contract expired - compare her later movies to the earlier ones. From the land down under.

In Search of the Castaways (1962)

[splitp-50714 · 5/10 · 23 December 2016]

Previous experience with this film: I went into this one blind. I like some of the old classic Disney films and had a crush on Hayley Mills when I was a kid, so my expectations were a bit higher than they should have been.

General Notes: In Search of the Castaways is not a great film. It is not a particularly good film, but if you are looking for basic, safe, family fare, this is your film. Mary Grant (Hayley Mills) and her younger brother Robert (Keith Hamshere) are two siblings in search of their missing sea captain father. With the help of French professor Jacques Paganel (Maurice Chevalier) and a stained note from in a bottle found inside the stomach of a shark; they scam their way onto the ship "Persevero" during a bon voyage party. That is when things start to get a bit unbelievable. Throughout the movie, the explorers endure many trials including an earthquake, an encounter with a giant condor, a flashflood and a tribe of cannibals. The storyline is over the top and the special effects are quite dated. The movie is based on a book by Jules Verne, Les Enfants du capitaine Grant or The Children of Captain Grant, published in 1873. Verne uses the travels of the expedition to describe plants, animals and geography of exotic places to his intended 19th century audience. Unfortunately, it does not translate very well to film.

Positives: About the only bright spot in this movie is Maurice Chevalier's portrayal of Professor Paganel. He is a very likable character and when he breaks out into song, (did I forget to mention that this movie has a couple of musical numbers), it doesn't appear forced; it seems as if it is something that his character would naturally do.

Negatives: This is a typical 1960s Disney family film so I am not going to hammer on it too hard. Yes, the plot is overdone. Yes, the special effects are laughable. My biggest gripe with the movie is that Hayley Mills is not given a lot to work with. She almost disappears in this film and that is a shame. One of the original taglines for this movie was "A Thousand Thrills and Hayley Mills". It really did not deliver.

Overall: This is a 1962 Disney family film. It is exactly what you would expect. There are no surprises in this one. I would recommend this movie to someone nostalgic for Disney. Maybe to seven to nine-year old's that might like some of the fantastic adventure elements of the film. I give it a tepid score of 5.

Wonderful Movie with a good solid cast that was Interesting

[richard.fuller1 · 14 July 2002]

A young boy and girl look for their father with the aid of a disbelieving old English captain and his young son, brought together by a Frenchman who found a note in a bottle. Seeing this movie as a youngster, I found them all delightful (altho I haven't seen alot of his work, I must agree about Chevalier being tedious listening to him explain things. Only Hyde-White's attention and irritation at Maurice diluted any that disdain this viewer may have felt). But the earthquake, the snowslide, the giant condor, the flood, the burning tree, and expecially the suddenly unexpected leopard all made for a good, entertaining film to hold my attention. The slip? Oh, we went the wrong way. Have to backtrack. Definite loss of attention as to what is going on. Pity that George Sander's speech merged with Hyde-White and Chevalier dialects couldn't have helped. Perhaps had he played the father of Mills and her brother instead of the uninteresting actor who did play the part (another downer in the film), things would have been better. Mills and her two male counterparts were delightful to see when I was young so I still enjoy them now. Old Bill Gaye was a definite pick-me-up the film needed. A shame the regular cast couldn't have held on to the film to the end. In watching this movie now, I can't help but check out the characterization of the natives performing their 'ceremony' while the prisoners are escaping. Especially check out the expressions of the 'chieftain'. Hilarious.