''In Search of the Castaways'' is a 1962 American

adventure film An adventure film is a form of adventure fiction, and is a genre of film. Subgenres of adventure films include swashbuckler films, pirate films, and survival films. Adventure films may also be combined with other film genres such as action, a ...

starring

Maurice Chevalier Maurice Auguste Chevalier (; 12 September 1888 – 1 January 1972) was a French singer, actor and entertainer. He is perhaps best known for his signature songs, including " Livin' In The Sunlight", "Valentine", " Louise", "Mimi", and "Thank Heav ...

and

Hayley Mills Hayley Catherine Rose Vivien Mills (born 18 April 1946) is an English actress. The daughter of Sir John Mills and Mary Hayley Bell, and younger sister of actress Juliet Mills, she began her acting career as a child and was hailed as a promisi ...

in a tale about a worldwide search for a shipwrecked sea captain. The film was directed by

Robert Stevenson Robert Stevenson may refer to: * Robert Stevenson (actor and politician) (1915–1975), American actor and politician * Robert Stevenson (civil engineer) (1772–1850), Scottish lighthouse engineer * Robert Stevenson (director) (1905–1986), Engli ...

from a screenplay by Lowell S. Hawley freely based upon

Jules Verne Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet, and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the ''Voyages extraord ...

's 1868 adventure novel '' Captain Grant's Children''. ''In Search of the Castaways'' was the third of six films Hayley Mills made at Disney Studios.

Plot

In Britain in 1858, Professor Paganel (

), a scientifically-thinking French geography professor, finds a bottle containing a note which he believes to have been written by the missing Captain John Grant (

Jack Gwillim Jack William Frederick Gwillim (15 December 1909 – 2 July 2001) was an English character actor. Career Born in Canterbury, Kent, England, he joined the Royal Navy at 17 and served for over twenty years, becoming one of the youngest men ever to ...

). Paganel and Grant's two teenaged children, Mary (

) and Robert (Keith Hamshere), approach John Glenarvan ( Michael Anderson, Jr.) and his father, the wealthy shipping magnate Lord Glenarvan ( Wilfrid Hyde-White), the owner of Captain Grant's ship, and persuade them to finance a search expedition. The expedition sets sail and ventures halfway around the world to South America. In the Andes, an earthquake sends them down a mountain on a glacier. A giant

condor Condor is the common name for two species of New World vultures, each in a monotypic genus. The name derives from the Quechua ''kuntur''. They are the largest flying land birds in the Western Hemisphere. They are: * The Andean condor (''V ...

snatches up Robert but Thalcave (

Antonio Cifariello Antonio Cifariello (19 May 1930 – 12 December 1968) was an Italian actor and documentarist. Life and career Born in Naples, son of the sculptor Filippo Cifariello, Antonio started his career in 1950 as the main actor, credited as Fabio ...

), an Indian chief, rescues him. He later claims to know the whereabouts of Captain Grant. After surviving a tidal wave and a lightning storm, the group discovers that the well-meaning Thalcave was mistaken. Meanwhile, a budding romance develops between young Mary Grant and Lord Glenarvan's son John. They then depart for Australia, where Paganel feels sure they will find Captain Grant. In Melbourne they meet a treacherous gunrunner, Thomas Ayerton ( George Sanders), who produces evidence that Captain Grant is in New Zealand. Unaware that Ayerton is the third mate who caused a mutiny on Grant's ship, the search party once more sets sail. Ayerton causes another mutiny and sets the group adrift. They are captured by Maori cannibals, and are imprisoned along with Captain Grant’s shipmate, Bill Gaye ( Wilfrid Brambell), who helps them escape to a volcano. They evade their pursuers by starting an avalanche which triggers an eruption. They finally find Captain Grant, overcome Ayerton and his mutineers, and sail for home. As they all sit around talking, the note that Professor Paganel initially found (and that was supposedly in Captain Grant’s handwriting) is brought up. Captain Grant states that he never wrote any note, to which Bill says: "The voice be the voice of a God-fearing man. But the hands are the hands of a forger", implying that he imitated Captain Grant’s handwriting and wrote the note himself. In the final scene, the Professor points out John and Mary stargazing out at the railing, clearly falling for one another.

Cast and characters

as Jacques Paganel *

as Mary Grant * George Sanders as Thomas Ayerton * Wilfrid Hyde-White as Lord Glenarvan * Michael Anderson as John Glenarvan * Keith Hamshere as Robert Grant *

as Thalcave, the Indian Chief * Wilfrid Brambell as Bill Gaye *

as Captain Grant * Inia Te Wiata as Maori Chief * Ronald Fraser as Guard at Dockyard Gate * Norman Bird as Senior Yacht Guard * George Murcell as Ayerton's Assistant * Mark Dignam as Rich Man at Yacht Party * Michael Wynne as Crooked Sailor * David Spenser as South American Guide * Milo Sperber as Crooked Sailor * Roger Delgado as Patagonian Prisoner * Barry Keegan as Irish Claimant * Maxwell Shaw as Sailor * Andreas Malandrinos as Crooked Sailor

Production

The film was originally called ''The Castaways''. It was devised by Disney specifically as a vehicle for Hayley Mills, who was under contract to the studio to make a film a year for five years. Disney wanted to age her gradually on screen and she would have her first case of "puppy love" in the film. Disney wanted Mills' brother Jonathan to play her brother on screen but his school teachers turned it down. In April 1961, Disney announced they would make the film with Mills and

Charles Laughton Charles Laughton (1 July 1899 – 15 December 1962) was a British actor. He was trained in London at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and first appeared professionally on the stage in 1926. In 1927, he was cast in a play with his future ...

with Hugh Attool to produce and Robert Stevenson to direct.

then came on board with production to begin in June. The role of Mills' brother went to Keith Hamshere, who played the lead in ''

Oliver! ''Oliver!'' is a coming-of-age stage musical, with book, music and lyrics by Lionel Bart. The musical is based upon the 1838 novel '' Oliver Twist'' by Charles Dickens. It premiered at the Wimbledon Theatre, southwest London in 1960 before ...

'' on stage. Laughton ended up dropping out of the film. In January 1962, he was diagnosed with the cancer which caused his death in December. Principal photography was at

Pinewood Studios Pinewood Studios is a British film and television studio located in the village of Iver Heath, England. It is approximately west of central London. The studio has been the base for many productions over the years from large-scale films to ...

in England. Disney said this was done because Mills' contract "calls for alternating her pictures here and there each year".

Musical numbers

Songs composed by the

Sherman Brothers The Sherman Brothers were an American songwriting duo that specialized in musical films, made up of Robert B. Sherman (December 19, 1925 – March 6, 2012) and Richard M. Sherman (born June 12, 1928). Together they received various accolades inc ...

include "Castaway", "Merci Beaucoup", "Let's Climb (Grimpons)", and "Enjoy It", with an orchestral arrangement of "Castaway" serving as the film's overture.

later sang the

' theme song 'The Aristocats' from Disney's 1970 animated film ''

The Aristocats ''The Aristocats'' is a 1970 American animated romantic musical comedy film produced by Walt Disney Productions and directed by Wolfgang Reitherman. The 20th Disney animated feature film, the film is based on a story by Tom McGowan and Tom R ...

''.

Reception

Box office

''In Search of the Castaways'' was a commercial success. Upon its initial release, it earned $4.9 million in North American theatrical rentals. It was one of the 12 most popular movies at the British box office in 1963.

Critical

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' declared: "It is, as we say, a whopping fable, more gimmicky than imaginative, but it doesn't lack for lively melodrama that is more innocent and wholesome than much of the stuff the children see these days on television". A review in '' Variety'' said: "Walt Disney has come up with another splendid piece of spectacular hokum, lavishly-coloured and packed with incident and special effects. It can hardly fail to appeal to all types of audience, though apparently aimed mainly at the moppets". ''

The Monthly Film Bulletin ''The Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 to April 1991, when it merged with ''Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those with a ...

'' wrote: "Well-timed for Christmas, this film is designed to keep the family wide awake after the plum-pudding, when the critical faculties are not too sharp. Attention is discreetly drawn away from the rather cardboard characters, and the

Fauntleroy ''Little Lord Fauntleroy'' is a novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett. It was published as a serial in ''St. Nicholas Magazine'' from November 1885 to October 1886, then as a book by Scribner's (the publisher of ''St. Nicholas'') in 1886. The ill ...

smile of Michael Anderson, by a kaleidoscope of colour and movement".

References

External links

* * * * {{Robert Stevenson 1962 films 1962 adventure films 1960s children's films 1960s children's adventure films American children's films Walt Disney Pictures films 1960s musical films Films about castaways 1960s English-language films Films based on French novels Films based on fantasy novels Films based on children's books Films based on works by Jules Verne Films directed by Robert Stevenson Films set in Scotland Films set in South America Films set in New Zealand Films set in Australia Films set in the 1850s Films set in 1858 Films shot at Pinewood Studios Seafaring films Films adapted into comics Films produced by Walt Disney 1960s American films