The famous pre-war adaptation of the novel by Jules Verne from the trilogy about Captain Nemo came out almost before the Great Patriotic War - in May 1941. Thanks to the good play of popular Soviet actors, Mysterious Island has long been considered one of the best adventure films in the country.
History of creation
In the 30s and 40s, many scripts and plays were written in the Soviet Union based on the novels of Jules Verne. Including the trilogy about Captain Nemo, including the films "Children of Captain Grant", "Mysterious Island", "20,000 Leagues." The society had a huge interest in the novels of the famous science fiction writer. In the pre-war period, two novels were filmed, and the third “20,000 leagues” was released in the late Soviet era. It is possible that the war that started prevented the removal of the last part earlier. In 1936, the premiere of the famous film about the search for Captain Grant with the best Paganel performed by Nikolai Cherkasov took place. In 1941, they shot "Mysterious Island", the actors in which, according to many viewers, were a little weaker.
The director of the picture was Penzlin Eduard Adolfovich, who was repressed shortly after the outbreak of war. The script was written by Boris Mikhailovich Shelontsev, who had previously specialized in documentaries. Specially for the film was written "Song of the Conquerors of Nature" by the popular Soviet composer Nikita Bogoslovsky.
Plot plot
The action of the Soviet film takes place almost exactly in accordance with the plot of the same name Robinsonade Jules Verne. During the civil war of the North and South in the United States in May 1865, southerners are going to send a balloon from the besieged Richmond. The flight is delayed due to the hurricane, and a group of prisoners, led by engineer Cyrus Smith, played by Alexei Krasnopolsky, manages to escape on it. Other main roles and actors of Mysterious Island: reporter Gideon Spilet (Pavel Kiyansky), sailor Bonavetur Pencrof (Andrei Andrienko-Zemskov) and youth Herbert Brown (Jura Grammatikati).
However, a balloon takes them far into the ocean, and they land near an uninhabited island. Soon the fugitives realize that they were far from civilization, but do not lose heart and decide to colonize the island. Thanks to the knowledge of the engineer and his associates, they make tools and equip the home.
Captain Nemo
Gradually, the colony grows, they take in the care of an orangutan, nicknamed Uncle Jupe, who played in the "Mysterious Island" actor Andrei Sova. Soon they find in the sand a box with tools, appliances and other useful things. It turned out that they share the island not only with wild animals, but also captain Nemo (Nikolai Komissarov).
There are several deviations from the novel in the film: after a warning about the awakening of the volcano, the heroes escape on a self-built sailing boat, and not on the Duncan ship. Northerners find sailor Ayrton (played in "Mysterious Island" by actor Igor Kozlov) on their island, and not during a trip to the neighboring islet Tabor.
The main negro of the country
Among the actors in the film "Mysterious Island" in 1941, there was even a black man. Robert Ross, as they wrote then, is one of two black Americans who lived at that time in the Soviet capital. He got the role of a sharp-witted servant of Nebuchadnezzar (if in a simple way, then Nab), who seemed the only Negro in the company of white masters. True, in the Soviet film adaptation of Jules Verne’s novel, he naturally became a full member of the team.
According to the memoirs of contemporaries, Ross was a rather influential person. He served as a propagandist, traveled around the country with lectures on the oppression of the black population in America, although Ross was not in the United States after 1928. In total, there are 13 paintings in the filmography of the actor. The last work was the short and colorful role of Squire Trelawney's servant in 1972's Treasure Island.