In Search of the Castaways Movie Review (1962)

Get ready to set sail as this next movie travels from Glasgow, Scotland to the Argentine mountains and all the way to New Zealand. For this project, I’m focusing on the story itself, including dialogue, character development, any subplots, how a story presents itself, the speed at which it moves, if it slows down unnecessarily, etc.

A Brief Summary

(Taken from D23)

With good reason to believe that Captain Grant, skipper of the S.S. Brittania, is still alive, Lord Glenarvan, owner of the Steam Navigation Company, sets out to rescue him. Aboard his ship are Grant’s daughter and son as well as their companion, a Frenchman named Jacques Paganel. A series of hair-raising incidents as they travel the 37^th parallel, including surviving an earthquake, flood, and attack by a giant condor, adds up to exciting adventure. In Australia, they team up with a former member of Grant’s crew, Thomas Ayerton, who turns out to be a gunrunner who had set Grant adrift. Eventually, in New Zealand, the children manage to outwit him and rescue Grant.

What works

• Maurice Chevalier’s Jacques Paganel makes this movie. Whenever he sang, just anything he did, all fabulous.
• I like that no one questions Mary and Robert are the captain’s kids, yet they all question the validity of the note in the bottle
• Lord Glenarvan & Paganel have a great banter throughout the movie (future best friends alert)
• The plot itself isn’t bad. It actually progresses rather smoothly
• Hayley’s Mary bugs me but as she doesn’t hinder the story much, I’ll accept her.
• Bill Gaye is such a weird character, but he was great.

What may or may not work

• The castaway song (sung by Hayley) is meh
• The romance between john/mary fits plotwise (sort of) but feels awkward nonetheless
  • “And when we’re old enough…” (hint hint marriage)
    • “John!
    • Mary!
    • There’s the log you needed for your raft. (Cue awkward moment for John)
• They saved themselves on the island by pushing a giant freakin’ boulder? Seriously? (It moves a bit, or a lot, too easily)
• Mary & John’s sentimental recap at the end was eh (for me, for the plot it was fine)

Honorable Mentions

• so I just realized that the party at the beginning of the movie was a bon voyage party
• I love how the kids provide the distraction and Paganel just strolls right in
• Hayley wearing the hat/winter garb is about the best she looks all movie
• “No. shoot through heart. bird go lip, drop small boy. but shoot back of head, bird go stiff, wings go up, he circle down, land, boy safe.” – Thalcave
  • “You mean you purposely induced motor paralysis through damage on the medulla” – Paganel
  • “Not understand” – Thalcave
  • “Neither do I” – Lord Glenarvan

Side Questions

• If it was a mutiny, did Ayerton change the name of the first ship, the S.S. Brittania?
• Wait, so with the mother dead and the father captured by the Maoris, who’s been taking care of Mary and Robert?
  • They just took an around-the-world adventure and no one questions it
  • Also, Maurice plays a professor. Is he on leave? Sabbatical?

Would I watch this movie again?

• It was fine. It wasn’t terrible, but it was crazy seeing the special effects and how dated they are (1962 v. 2020). I probably wouldn’t watch this on my own again, but I wouldn’t say no if I was with friends and they wanted to watch it.

If you’ve seen In Search of the Castaways, what are some of your thoughts? Share in the comments below!

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