Journey to the Centre of the Earth

Journey to the Centre of the Earth was based on a novel by the prolific "Father of Science Fiction" Jules Verne. Disney had had a hit with 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (after White Christmas it was the highest grossing film of 1954), and Twentieth Century Fox hoped to replicate the success with an adaptation of Verne's subterranean adventure. James Mason, who had played Captain Nemo in the Disney picture, was cast as Professor Oliver Lindenbrook, and was given cheery support by Pat Boone and Arlene Dahl. Together with the tight-lipped Hans (played by Icelandic born Olympic athlete Pétur Rögnvaldsson) and his duck Gertrude, they journey to the centre of the earth (the clue is in the title) where they find giant lizards and the lost city of Atlantis.


Although there was some location shooting at the Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico, most of the film was made on sound stages, and to a modern audience the rock does look a bit too much like cardboard at times. The film was a hit with the audience of its day and in the Sixties was a staple of TV schedules, thrilling a generation of children long before the advent of CGI.


In the liner notes to his 1974 album The Fantasy Film World of Bernard Herrmann, the composer elaborated on his approach. "I decided to evoke the mood and feeling of inner Earth by using only instruments played in low registers. Eliminating all strings, I utilized an orchestra of woodwinds and brass, with a large percussion section and many harps. But the truly unique feature of this score is the inclusion of five organs, one large cathedral and four electronic. These organs were used in many adroit ways to suggest ascent and descent, as well as the mystery of Atlantis." Herrmann omits to say that he also included the serpent - the instrument he had used in White Witch Doctor - to portray the attack of a giant chameleon.


Just as Beneath the Twelve Mile Reef can be seen as a tone poem to the sea, so Journey is a hymn to the underworld. Malevolent and brooding ("Explosions/The Message"), epic and inspiring ("Mountain Top/Sunrise"), violent and terrifying ("The Dimetroden's Attack"), ethereal and moving ("The Lost City/Atlantis") - Herrmann's score is all these things. There are even moments of light relief provided by Pat Boone, whose contract no doubt included a clause about his singing a couple of songs, which he does ("Twice as Tall" "The Faithful Heart"). These were written by songwriting duo James Van Heusen and Sammy Cahn and were filmed and recorded, but edited out of the final cut of the film.


Herrmann arranged a suite of the music for his 1974 album, but if you really want to immerse yourself in the depths of the score you need to listen to the original soundtrack on Varese Sarabande (VSD-5849). It has just come to a crashing end on my stereo.