A big hit in its day but, oddly enough, it doesn't seem that well remembered as other early Hayley Mills films like Parent Trap or Written Down the Wind. It's a vehicle for Mills, clearly with Swiss Family Robinson in mind, though she shares the heroism around with Maurice Chevalier, Michael Anderson, Wilfred Hyde White and whoever plays her brother.
The script is flawed - sections of the adventure are motivated by mistakes from Maurice Chevalier and/or other characters being silly. (You could cut the whole south American sequence and it wouldn't matter, for instance. Why not use it - say have the Indian go along with them?) I forgot at times they were looking for the father. Villain George Sanders was introduced too late in the piece (he's great fun - they should have used him more - had him chasing after Mills, say).
The puppy love romance between Mills and Michael Anderson is sweet. There's a strong cast - Chevalier, Wilfred Hyde White. It could have done with a bit more character differentiation - a grown up romance (say if Chevalier had been made a female and with White or vice versa). That's what Journey to the Centre of the Earth
It'll be of interest to Aussies and Kiwis. The group visit Melbourne (though it just looks like studio set London) and "New Zealand" - there are a bunch of Maoris who are important to the plot.
There's good special effects - a tidal wave, a volcano. It looks impressive. I enjoyed the song interludes - it's like a musical they genuinely sing. The piece has charm. I just wish they'd tightened the script.
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