Mysterious Island Expanded CD Soundtrack Bernard Herrmann

William Stromberg conducts the Moscow Symphony Orchestra. Score restoration by John Morgan, Anna Bonn and William Stromberg. Deluxe 32 page booklet.


Mysterious Island (UK: Jules Verne's Mysterious Island) was released in 1961 by Morningside Productions. Based upon the book The Mysterious Island (L'Île mystérieuse) by Jules Verne, it was produced by Charles Schneer and Ray Harryhausen. Directed by Cy Endfield, the film was released through Columbia Pictures. It was filmed in Shepperton Studios, Shepperton, England using SuperDynamation, which was a showcase for Harryhausen's animation effects. Like several of Harryhausen's classic productions, the soundtrack was provided by Bernard Herrmann.


The film centers around escaping Union soldiers from a Confederate prison camp during the American Civil War in a hot air balloon. They end up crashing in the ocean, only to find themselves washed up on an unknown island where gigantic animals abound. It would later be revealed that the animals were experiments of the presumed-dead Captain Nemo, who is an unknown benefactor to the castaways as they struggle to survive on the island. After a skirmish with pirates, the stranded group manages to escape from the island on the pirate's ship.


The highlights of the film were Ray Harryhausen's animation sequences. The different animated "monsters" that the castaways encountered were: a giant crab, a giant flightless bird (a prehistoric bird called a Phorusrhacos) which most viewers thought was a chicken, giant bees and a giant cephalopod called a Chambered Nautiloid.


1. Prelude 1:34
2. The Battle 1:21*
3. The Gates 0:38
4. The Stairs 0:24
5. The Tower 0:31
6. The Escape 0:38
7. The Balloon 1 1:18
8. Introductions 0:29
9. The Clouds A 1:06
10. The Clouds B 0:55
11. The Clouds C 0:47
12. The Clouds D 0:41
13. The Clouds E 1:03
14. The Balloon 2 2:09
15. The Island 0:39
16. The Rocks 0:36
17. Exploration 2:27
18. The Giant Crab 3:02
19. The Volcano 1:18*
20. The Crater 0:31
21. The Beach 1:46
22. The Stream 0:46
23. The Cliff 1:34
24. The Cave 2:30
25. Narration 1:38
26. R. C. [Robinson Crusoe] 0:15
27. Elena 0:34
28. The Shadow 0:40
29. The Bird 2:43
30. Duo 1:52
31. Honeycomb 1:02
32. The Giant Bee 1 1:59
33. The Sail 0:29
34. The Giant Bee 2 0:51
35. The Flag 0:52
36. The Fire 0:38
37. The Nautilus 1:38*
38. The Bridge 1:14
39. The Pirates 1:32
40. Gunsmoke 0:42
41. Attack 0:53++
42. The Sinking Ship 1:05
43. Captain Nemo 0:41
44. The Bottle 0:31
45. The Pipeline 1:18
46. Underwater 1:28
47. The Smoke 1:39
48. Danger A 0:20
49. Danger B 0:23
50. Lava Flow 1:16
51. The Octopus 1:31*
52. The Raft 0:26
53. The Rock 0:39
54. The Sub Deck 0:35
55. The Tentacles 0:31
56. The Fight 2:50
57. The Divers 1:17
58. The Air Hose 0:51
59. The Ship Rising 1:19*
60. The Earthquake 1:04
61. Finale 1:26*


62. Surprise Bonus Track 2:10
*includes music cut from the film
++ entire cue cut from film
TOTAL TIME 71:27