The island of the lost

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Movie
German title The island of the lost
Original title Swiss Family Robinson
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1940
length 93 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
Rod
Director Edward Ludwig
script Walter Ferris
production Gene Towne
Graham Baker
RKO Radio Pictures
music Anthony Collins
Franz Schubert
camera Nicholas Musuraca
cut George Crone
occupation

The Island of the Lost (original title Swiss Family Robinson ) is a 1940 adventure film directed by Edward Ludwig. The Robinsons are stranded as castaways on an uninhabited island and realize that solidarity is more important than anything else. Thomas Mitchell , Edna Best , Freddie Bartholomew , Terry Kilburn and Tim Holt play the Robinsons.

The film is based on the story Der Schweizerische Robinson , written by Johann Rudolf Wyss from 1794 to 1798 for his four children .

action

The year is 1813 and the Napoleonic Wars are raging in Europe . The Swiss watchmaker William Robinson lives with his family in London , where waste is the order of the day. Robinson fears that such a life will not do his four sons any good. In his opinion, three of his sons have already developed negatively: son Jack is a dandy and snob , Ernest is a learned bookworm and Fritz is a soldier who adores Napoleon . During the Christmas break, William informs his family that he has decided that the family will emigrate to Australia . He ignores the protests that he has received from his wife Elisabeth and his sons.

After the family had been on a ship for a few weeks, a bad storm lashed the sea, washed the family overboard and destroyed the ship in pieces that hit a reef off the coast of an island. Using drifting barrels, which serve as rafts for the family members and on which the animals that were on board can also find space, they also land on the island off the coast. There they realize that their chances of being sighted are rather slim because the island is not located on a trade route . Since the Robinsons were also able to save part of their luggage, the family tries, having no other choice, to build a new life on the island. With the wooden parts of the ship washed ashore, William and his sons build a house in a large tree. The Robinson sons, which also applies to the baby Francis, are gradually getting along well in their new surroundings. Mother Elisabeth, however, asks her husband to build a boat that will take her back to civilization. Although William is not very fond of this, he is aware that Elisabeth cannot be happy on the island. So he starts building boats with the help of his sons. However, a terrible thunderstorm destroys the almost finished boat and her house. William announces to his family that it is God's will that they have to stay on the island. Another incident occurs when Ernest chases butterflies and is stung by a poisonous spider . With united forces, the family manages to save his life. A few days later, Jack and Fritz collect mussels on the beach and spot a ship not far from the island. They paddle their canoe near it and ask for help. From the British crew of the ship they learn that Napoleon has been defeated and that peace will reign in Europe.

William explains to his sons that he wants to stay on the island and Elisabeth joins her husband. Jack and Fritz also want to stay, but William is of the opinion that they have now matured into men and must now marry and start their own families. The two eldest sons say goodbye to their parents and to their brothers Ernest and Francis. The Robinsons are certain that once the island has been discovered, new settlers will soon populate the island .

Production and Background

Filming began in late September and lasted until early December 1939. The film premiered on February 8, 1940 in New York and was shown nationwide in US cinemas on February 16, 1940. In the Federal Republic of Germany was The Island of Lost for the first time on 24 August 1950 cinema with a length of 86 minutes.

An article in the New York Times reported that producers and former screenwriters Gene Towne and Graham Baker had originally offered the role of Elisabeth Robinson to Lillian Gish .

For Orson Welles, who acted as speaker, it was his first film work. The producers needed a "radio voice," whereupon Welles offered to do the narration for a fee of $ 25. He then donated this fee to charity. This then resulted in another successful collaboration.

Further films

Another film adaptation of the book by Johann David Wyss took place in 1960 under the title Jungle of 1000 Dangers by the Walt Disney Company under the direction of Ken Annakin with the actors John Mills and Dorothy McGuire . In 1975 there was another television adaptation, The Swiss Family Robinson , directed by Harry Harris and starring Martin Milner , Pat Delany and Helen Hunt .

criticism

Frank S. Nugent of the New York Times concluded that the story as a whole was a bit far-fetched and not very likely . The three storm sequences that were really noisy and soaked in a spectacular way were praised. The adventures on the island are also presented in a humorous and often exciting way. That makes the film together with the performances of the actors a moderately entertaining experience, even if the pace is rather sleepy. In addition to Mr. Mitchell and Miss Best, of whom Mr. Mitchell is better here, the actors of the sons were also mentioned with benevolent words.

The Lexicon of International Films spoke of "harmless, old-fashioned, adventure entertainment with the intent of having an educational side effect."

Awards

At the 1941 Academy Awards , Vernon L. Walker and John Aalberg were nominated for "Best Visual Effects" . However, the Oscar went to Lawrence W. Butler and Jack Whitney for their work in the film The Thief of Baghdad .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Swiss Family Robinson (1940) Screenplay Info at TCM - Turner Classic Movies (English).
  2. ^ Swiss Family Robinson (1940) Overview at TCM - Turner Classic Movies (English).
  3. ↑ Swiss Family Robinson (1940) Original Print Information from TCM - Turner Classic Movies (English).
  4. ↑ a b The island of the lost at zweiausendeins.de. Retrieved January 6, 2014.
  5. ↑ a b c Swiss Family Robinson (1940) Notes at TCM - Turner Classic Movies (English). Retrieved January 6, 2014.
  6. ^ Swiss Family Robinson , 144 titles at IMDb. Retrieved January 6, 2014.
  7. ^ Frank S. Nugent: Swiss Family Robinson (1940) In: The New York Times, February 9, 1940 (English). Retrieved January 6, 2014.