Swiss Family Robinson (1940 film)
- Thomas Mitchell: William Robinson
- Edna Best: Elizabeth Robinson
- Freddie Bartholomew: Jack Robinson
- Terry Kilburn: Ernest Robinson
- Tim Holt: Fritz Robinson
- Baby Bobby Quillan: Francis Robinson
- Christian Rub: Thoren
- John Wray: Ramsey
- Herbert Rawlinson: Captain
- Jack Stoney: Sailor
- Orson Welles: narrator
The Isle of the Lost (AKA Swiss Family Robinson) is an adventure film from 1940, directed by Edward Ludwig. The Robinsons stranded as castaways on an uninhabited island and realize that cohesion is more important than anything else. Thomas Mitchell, Edna Best, Freddie Bartholomew, Terry Kilburn and Tim Holt embody the Robinsons.
The film is based on the Johann Rudolf Wyss from 1794 to 1798, written for his four children's story The Swiss Robinson.
Action
The year is 1813 and the Napoleonic wars raging in Europe. The Swiss watchmaker William Robinson lives with his family in London, where waste on the agenda. Robinson also fears that such a life is not good for his four sons. Three of his sons have already developed negatively in his opinion: son Jack is a dandy and a snob, a learned Bookworm Ernest and Fritz a soldier who idolized Napoleon. During the Christmas holidays, William tells his family that he had decided that the family will emigrate to Australia. The protest, which the beating of him both by his wife Elizabeth and his sons, he ignored.
After the family with a ship 's been several weeks on the road, whipped a bad storm over the lake, the family flooded overboard and destroyed the ship in the items that zutriften on a reef off the coast of an island. By means of driving drums, which serve the family members as rafts and find where the animals that were on board, space, they land on the island of the coast also upstream. There, they realize that their chances of being spotted, are rather small, because the island is not located on a trade route. Since the Robinsons also able to save a portion of their baggage, the family tried, as it has no choice but to build a new life on the island. With the alluvial wooden parts of the ship William builds together with his sons a house into a big tree. The Sons Robinson, this is also true for the baby Francis, come to their new environment gradually well clear. Mother, Elizabeth, but asks her husband to build a boat that carries them back to civilization. Although William is not impressed by it, but is aware that Elisabeth on the island can not be happy. He begins with the help of his sons with the boat building. However, a terrible storm destroyed the almost finished boat and her house. William announced to his family that it was probably God's will that they should stay on the island. At a further incident occurs, when Ernest is chasing butterflies and thereby stung by a poisonous spider. By joining forces, it is possible for families to save his life. A few days later Jack and Fritz collecting shells on the beach and not far from the island sift a ship. You paddle your canoe in its vicinity and ask for help. From the British crew of the ship they find out that Napoleon was defeated and re- conquer peace in Europe.
William explained to his sons that he wanted to stay on the island and Elizabeth joins her husband. Even Jack and Fritz want to stay, but William is of the opinion that they were now matured into men and now getting married and would start their own families. Thus, the two oldest sons goodbye to her parents and by her brothers Ernest and Francis. The Robinsons are sure now that the island is once discovered, soon new settlers will inhabit the island.
Production and background
Filming began in late September and lasted until the beginning of December 1939. Had the film on February 8, 1940 in New York Premiere and expired on February 16, 1940 nationwide in the cinemas of the United States. In the Federal Republic of Germany, the Isle of the Lost ran for the first time on August 24, 1950 movie theater with a length of 86 minutes.
In an article in the New York Times has reported that the former producer and screenwriters Gene Towne and Graham Baker originally Lillian Gish had offered the role of Elizabeth Robinson.
For Orson Welles, who acted as spokesman, it was his first film work. The producers have a " radio voice " is used, after Welles had offered them to take the part of the narrator for a fee of $ 25. He then donated to charity This fee. This then resulted in another successful collaboration.
More films
A new film adaptation of the book by Johann David Wyss took place in 1960 under the title of the 1000 jungle hazards with the Walt Disney Company, directed by Ken Annakin with the actors John Mills and Dorothy McGuire. 1975, there was another film adaptation for television The Swiss Family Robinson, directed by Harry Harris with Martin Milner, Pat Delany and Helen Hunt.
Criticism
Frank S. Nugent of the New York Times came to the conclusion that the story overall but far-fetched a little and was not very likely. Blessed were the three storm sequences spectacularly therefore would really noisy and saturated. The adventure on the island would be represented humorous and often exciting. That makes the film together with the benefits of the performer at a moderately entertaining experience, even if the pace is rather soporific. In addition to Mr. Mitchell and Miss Best, of which Mr. Mitchell was better here, even the performer of the sons were mentioned with benevolent words.
The lexicon of the International film spoke of a "harmless [n ], old-fashioned [n ] Adventure Entertainment with the intent to educational side effect. "
Awards
At the Academy Awards in 1941 Vernon L. Walker and John Aalberg were nominated for the " Best Visual Effects". However, the Oscar went to Lawrence W. Butler and Jack Whitney for her work in the film The Thief of Baghdad.