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In Search of the Castaways Reviews
A Safety Patrol Treat
When I was in Sixth grade and on the Safety Patrol, they took us to see this movie as a treat. A treat it was then in 1962, and even now. In this day when the "Family" movies are few and far between, it is good to see that Disney has the sense to release their old classics on DVD. As mentioned by others let's hope it is a clean copy. My copy of "The Journey of Natty Gann" was anything but a good copy.
Disney needs to monitor the quality control on these old classics carefully, it will we well worth it to them to make sure they are clean and have several extras. This particular movie may seem tame by todays special effects, action powerhouses, but it makes up for it in story and acting. I will be truly surprised if children and adults don't find this fun to watch.
Fun Family Adventure
In the early 1960s Hayley Mills starred in six Disney movies, "Pollyanna" in 1960, "The Parent Trap" in 1961, this movie in 1962, "Summer Magic" in 1963, "The Moon-Spinners" in 1964, and "That Darn Cat" in 1965. While all six of the movies are enjoyable family fare, this movie has a depth and complexity approached only in "Summer Magic." All six of the movies are enjoyable family fare, but the two action-adventure movies, "In Search of the Castaways" and "The Moon-Spinners," are a bit campy and suffer from dated special effects. Also, the recent DVD release appears to be in 1.33:1 or full screen format, maintaining the clipped appearance of the VHS movie. Unfortunate, because there are portions of the movie where wide screen would enhance the adventure.
The movie opens with Mary Grant, played by Hayley Mills when she was about sixteen years old, and her brother Robert, played by Keith Hamshire, trying to meet with Lord Glenarvon, played by veteran actor Wilfred Hyde-White. Jacques Paganel, played by Maurice Chevalier, accompanies the children. Jacques found a bottle with a message in it, apparently from the children's father Captain Grant (Jack Gwillim), who was supposedly lost at sea. After some funny shenanigans to get aboard Lord Glenarvon's ship, and apparently being taken back to their home in Portsmouth, the children are aided by Lord Glenarvon's son John in convincing the Lord that the note is genuine and that they should seek Captain Grant. Michael Anderson Jr., who was in "The Sundowners" with Robert Mitchum and Deborah Kerr, and in "The Sons of Katie Elder" with John Wayne and Dean Martin, as well as numerous other movies, plays John Glenarvon.
The rescuers are off to South America and the Andes, where they encounter an earthquake that sends them on a wonderfully campy and humorous ride down the side of the mountains. They then travel across the Pampas, where they encounter a tremendous flash flood and a jaguar. The rescuers discover that Captain Grant was not in South America, but may be in Australia, which turns out to be another wild goose chase.
In Australia the rescuers encounter Thomas Ayerton, played by another veteran actor, George Sanders. The children all recognize Ayerton as being somewhat unsavory, though Lord Glenarvon seems to think he will be helpful as he promises he knows exactly where Captain Grant's ship went down. It turns out that Ayerton does know where Captain Grant's ship went down, but the reason why is chilling. Unfortunately for the children and Lord Glenarvon, the realization that Ayerton has malice in his heart comes too late, and Ayerton turns the rescuers over Maori's in New Zealand.
In New Zealand the captured rescuers find Bill Gaye (Wilfrid Brambell, who later made an appearance in another Disney movie, "The Three Lives of Thomasina), a mate from Captain Grant's ship who is now somewhat crazy. The rescuers are able to use Robert Grant's size as an aid to escape from a precarious prison, and then use a taboo volcano to clinch their escape. The movie climaxes as we see whether the children will find their father and whether they will escape from New Zealand.
This movie was loosely based on a Jules Verne adventure. As with other Disney adventures of the 50s and 60s, there are a lot of tongue-in-cheek and larger-than-life scenes. As implausible as the movie is, it is still a lot of fun and one of my favorite Disney movies, along with other movies in the same style, such as "Swiss Family Robinson."
There are a few scenes in the movie that even in the 1960s were weak, such as when the lava chases the Maoris. The images of the Maoris running in place against a screen projection look fake. Another of the beyond incredible scenes is when the rescuers take a ride down the side of a mountain in the Andes on a huge rock bowl. As unrealistic as the scene is, it is cute and clever and one of my favorite scenes from the movie.
I call this type of movie a family popcorn muncher, because it is suitable for nearly all members of the family, and even many teenagers jaded by excessive special effects and video games find this movie to be fun. At least everyone will get chance to laugh at the campy special effects and the unbelievable scenes. Even with its flaws this movie is wonderful to own and to watch again and again (I'll admit to having seen it several times). I look forward to a DVD release in wide screen, when I will likely replace my VHS version.
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