The balloon carries them west over the Pacific Ocean, where a storm forces them to crash land on an unknown island of tropical jungles, harsh plains, and active volcanoes.

Spillet tells Lady Fairchild of the Nautilus, its creator Captain Nemo, and its supposed destruction off Mexico eight years earlier.

There, they find the giant creatures are results of Nemo's genetic experiments to enlarge the world's food resources, eliminating hunger.

Nemo teaches them to breathe underwater using his "shell" air tanks, and they raise the ship despite interference from a giant Ammonite.

But as the castaways set sail, the island's central volcano erupts, killing Nemo and destroying the Nautilus.

The rest begin the journey home, vowing to continue Nemo's dream of achieving lasting peace throughout the world.

The films would include Battle of the Coral Sea, Gulliver's Travels, The Werner Von Braun Story, Mystery Island, Gentleman of China, and Air Force Academy.

[5] Mysterious Island would be the sixth collaboration between Schneer and Ray Harryhausen, beginning with It Came From Beneath the Sea, and the third in color, following The 7th Voyage of Sinbad and The 3 Worlds of Gulliver.

[8] The beach scenes in Mysterious Island were shot on location at Sa Conca Bay, Castell-Platja d'Aro in Catalonia, Spain.

[citation needed] Michael Craig called Endfield "a dismal arsehole of an ex-pat American" and Schneer "a real Hollywood suit... the epitome of 'the son in law also rises".

[9] The film's music was composed by Bernard Herrmann who had already scored two previous Harryhausen and Schneer productions (The 7th Voyage of Sinbad and The 3 Worlds of Gulliver).

[10] In their review, The New York Times noted "the impressive white-haired person of Herbert Lom," "Cy Endfield's spirited direction," and that Joan Greenwood "gurgles and croaks in a pleasantly distracting style";[11] and in 1978, their TV critic called the film a "Dandy fantasy-adventure, done with skill and imagination, keyed by fine Bernard Herrmann score.