Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959) Movie Script
Congratulations.
Thank you.
It's a wonderful article
in the paper about you.
Good morning,
Sir Oliver.
Long article about you
on page two.
Is there?
They made a mistake
about your age.
Paper!
Paper!
Paper!
Paper!
It's such an honor
for Edinburgh.
I cannot take
your money.
Thank you.
Paper! Paper!
Congratulations,
Professor.
- Ha ha!
- Ha ha!
I'm sorry.
Since you've been
created a knight,
I've given your
students a holiday...
a day for a knight,
so to speak.
First, there's to
be a presentation.
Will the lad
of Glen Darrick step forward?
In gratitude
for the knowledge
you have
imparted to us...
That's enough
obituary prose.
An inkwell, I presume.
A very handsome thing.
Hellish to dust.
I thank you all from
the bottom of my heart,
and now, off to the playing
fields, all of you!
- Yay!
- Yay!
Ah.
It cost 4.17.
I was on the committee
that made the collection.
I thank you,
McEwen.
5 was subscribed.
That left
three shillings.
You won't give me
the change?
I expended it on this,
a little extra token
I thought you might fancy.
I saw it in
a curiosity shop in Glasgow.
It whispered, " Buy me
for Professor Lindenbrook."
What did you reply?
I said, "Only if you can
be bought for three shillings."
I argued with the owner.
It's lava,
of course.
But exceptionally
heavy.
It could serve
as a paperweight.
Do you like it,
Professor?
It's a scholar's choice.
Where are you
eating tonight?
Oh, this being Tuesday,
I'm not eating.
Oh?
It's healthy to eat
every other night.
Be at my house at 8:00.
I'm entertaining
some faculty.
I don't think I could.
What's the matter,
McEwen?
You used to visit
my house regularly.
Do those frayed cuffs
worry you?
My other shirt
is at the wash.
We're scientists.
That's one society where
frayed cuffs don't matter.
We've all had them.
Yes, Sir Oliver.
Lava?
I swear there's
something inside.
There's Uncle now,
Kirsty.
And high time,
too!
Ohh!
I thought it was
Uncle Oliver.
Nothing I'm wearing
belongs to me.
Good evening,
Miss Jenny.
Good evening,
Alec McEwen.
I'm early.
I didn't know
you were coming.
Your uncle
ordered me to come.
Where is he?
He's never been late
like this.
To return to the subject
of my clothes,
they belong to the lad
of Glen Darrick.
"Don't go to dinner
dressed like that," he said.
I went
to take my bath.
When I returned,
my clothes were gone
and these substituted.
I have no claim to
the Glen Darrick tartan.
You've explained
your magnificence.
Kirsty, there will be
one more guest.
Ill seat you between
the dean and the rector.
Couldn't I sit
next to you?
Certainly not.
I notice
a certain harshness
in your attitude
toward me.
What do you expect when it takes
a command to bring you here?
Miss Jenny, why should
I torture myself?
Two years more I have to study
for my master's degree,
then four more as
a laboratory assistant.
Then there's the money
I must repay my relatives.
You are very logical,
Mr. McEwen.
It's the logic
of an empty purse.
How like a Scotsman!
I am a Scotsman.
I know one who didn't even
have a purse.
His name was
Robert Burns.
Do you know
what he said?
Miss Jenny, the time
of poetry is over.
If this is true,
Alec McEwen,
what are you doing with
your hand on my knee?
Miss Jenny...
Just wait in there.
Kirsty, I'll set
the extra place.
Is there something
you want?
A key is stuck.
But that's impossible.
It was just tuned
last month.
Which one?
This one.
Can't you see?
No, I can't.
You can see
I'm unhappy.
You know
how I've felt
ever since that first day
I saw you.
You looked
like spring.
Miss Jenny, set the table.
Mr. McEwen is fixing
a stuck key.
Shh.
Miss Jenny,
you're crying.
I bent over the goose...
the fumes.
Good evening,
Miss Jenny.
Good evening, gentlemen.
We were just worrying about
Professor Lindenbrook.
We were.
Isn't he with you?
Isn't he here?
No.
Careful it doesn't
go too high, Paisley.
It's just about
the limit now.
I gave no permission
for visitors!
Oh, it's you, McEwen.
Uncle Oliver,
your guests are waiting.
If you don't come,
the goose will spoil...
Oh, goose,
goose, goose.
Tell him, Alec.
This lava
is 1 in 10 million.
I've been at it
all day.
No pause
for lunch or tea.
You've had three semesters
of petrology.
From which volcano could
this lava have emerged?
Fujiyama?
No.
Mt. Etna?
Very close.
The Mediterranean.
The Lipari Islands
near Italy.
But their lava
is light.
That's what
stumped me
because inside
must be something
the weight of the heaviest rock
in existence.
That would be
Icelandic peridotite.
Precisely.
There's a piece
chipped off.
By me.
What's
the rock inside?
Icelandic peridotite,
naturally.
When I saw this,
I stopped chipping.
There's some marks
on the surface.
It looks like a letter
or notches.
Three notches made
by the hand of man.
But how could
a rock from Iceland
possibly pop out of
a volcano across the world?
What's your conclusion?
Science does not
jump to conclusions.
Science is not
a guessing game.
We'll melt off
the crust of lava.
Mr. Paisley.
Add 10 cc of aqua regia.
Not too fast now.
I shall write to Professor
Goetaborg of Stockholm on this.
He's the world's leading
authority on volcanoes.
How long
will this take?
A typically
female question.
Melting lava takes
maybe two hours,
maybe four hours.
Two hours?
Four hours?
Maybe
the whole night.
Who cares?
Jenny.
Are you all right?
That was entirely
my fault.
I don't know how it
could have happened.
Mr. Paisley, by your slip
you've rendered
an inestimable service
to science.
Alec!
See this?
What would
you call it?
As you said,
it's a manmade object.
It looks like a top,
a surveyor's instrument,
a plumb bob.
It is
a plumb bob.
There are letters
on it.
It's an inscription,
a message, perhaps.
Can you make out
what it says, Professor?
It's in some
Nordic tongue.
The hand that
wrote this trembled.
Perhaps it was
a dying hand.
Was it written
in paint? Ink?
Perhaps blood.
Possibly.
Look at this side, sir!
A signature!
Arne Saknussemm.
Arne Saknussemm!
Will you take me
home now, Uncle Oliver,
or do I have to
go alone?
Alone.
Alone!
It's unthinkable,
but it must be true.
A man took tools
and went where no human being
has ever set foot...
alone into the interior
of the earth. Alone.
Who? What is he
talking about?
Arne Saknussemm,
the Icelandic scientist.
The greatest
of his day.
He was laughed at
when he claimed
there was a world
down below.
The laughter stopped
when he disappeared,
never to be
heard from...
until tonight.
Get out of here,
woman!
I don't want any tea!
I only want my post.
Don't shout at me!
I can shout
just as loud as you!
For two weeks,
you haven't eaten or slept.
Out, woman!
Here's your post,
Uncle Oliver.
Another day,
and still nothing!
Can you believe that?
No answer.
And where is Alec McEwen?
At the university.
How long does it take
to get a letter from
Stockholm to England?
Answer the bell.
We have to speak
to Sir Oliver.
Don't tell us
he's busy.
Callers? That's
all I need.
Oliver, we all know your
reputation for rudeness.
You're also
a conscientious man.
But you've skipped
every lecture for two weeks.
I'm involved in
something important.
More important
than our university?
Something any university
would envy us.
Ah, yes!
Ha ha!
You laugh!
What does the name
Arne Saknussemm mean to you?
Saknussemm, Saknussemm.
Didn't he write about
the lost city of Atlantis?
That was
his early career.
He's famous for
his study of volcanoes.
Out of a volcano
came this message from him.
It lay unnoticed
for 100 years
until picked up
by some peasant,
gathered dust in a curiosity shop
until it came to me.
Here is a translation
of the words.
"I'm dying, but my life's work
must not be lost.
"Whoever descends into the crater
of Sneffels Yocul
"can reach the center
of the earth.
I did it.
Arne Saknussemm."
Center of the earth?
Sneffels
Yocul?
That's an extinct volcano
in Iceland.
According to this, it
must lead to an unknown region.
But this is
sheer fantasy.
You haven't heard
all of it.
There's a postscriptum.
"At sunrise on
the last day of May,
the mountain Scartaris
will point the path."
What do you say now?
I'm more mystified
than ever.
Scartaris?
Scartaris is a mountain
peak near the volcano.
This is
a student's hoax.
Wait a second,
rector.
Let's not take
that tone.
Let's assume
it's authentic.
Isn't the correct
procedure
to submit a paper
to the university officially?
You must consult
other experts.
This needs
verification.
Here is my paper.
I've written to
the foremost authority in Europe.
The Royal
Geological Society?
More eminent still.
Professor Goetaborg
of Stockholm.
Oh? And what
does he say?
I haven't
received his reply.
I've written
to him twice!
Well, then, I suggest
we relax on the matter
until your famous correspondent
sees fit to answer you.
Meanwhile, we could do
with some tea.
I know you two
think I'm daft.
Think whatever
you want.
Jenny, tea!
When did you
get here?
Just this moment,
Sir Oliver.
Look.
It's
from Stockholm.
He's got his letter
from Stockholm.
Did you see the shine
in his eyes?
There'll never
be a better moment.
Ill tell him about
our feelings for each other.
He'll say yes
almost inadvertently.
What if he says no
advertently?
You'll see how firm
my voice can be
when I speak
of you.
Blast
and damnation!
That devil!
Blast it!
What is it?
Don't keep us
in the dark.
Bad news,
sir?
I am stricken.
The University of Stockholm
informs me
that Professor Goetaborg
has vanished from Sweden.
His disappearance
follows closely the date
when my communication
must have reached him...
with all my material.
He evidently didn't think it
important enough to answer.
Or too important.
McEwen, find out when
the next ship leaves for Iceland.
I will not be beaten
to my goal.
What is your goal?
You heard
Saknussemm's message.
Oliver, you're
seriously ill.
I am
seriously well.
Don't wait.
I said hurry.
I must
start packing.
To go where?
To Iceland,
to begin with.
And then?
Where Arne Saknussemm went.
Oliver!
I can't wait while
that scoundrel named Goetaborg
exploits what I
foolishly gave him.
Don't you see
what's at stake?
The ultimate aim
of all science...
to penetrate
the unknown.
We know less
about our earth
than about the stars
and outer space.
The greatest mystery
is right here under our feet.
And now, if you'll
excuse me, gentlemen.
I must speak
with you.
I have no time
for words.
You must
take time, sir.
This is urgent.
Not for me.
I have to
go to Iceland.
I'm going with you.
Where?
To the center
of the earth.
Oh!
All Iceland
must be aware
that the Scots
have arrived.
I wish Jenny
could hear me.
Homesick already?
It's painful
to leave your fiance
on the first day
of your engagement.
But to come back
as a world famous scientist,
that's not
to be sneezed at.
Did you expect
a fight of stairs
with a red carpet?
I neglected
to tell you
I have a nervous fear
of heights.
You'll get over that
after the first
million fathoms or so.
Million fathoms.
Alec!
He's been here!
He's been
surveying here.
This is
fresh-cut wood.
Your revered colleague
from Stockholm.
He isn't wasting
any time.
Do you think he's
already gone down?
No. Saknussemm stipulated
the last day of May.
Go back to Reykjavik.
Buy every foot of rope
that's available.
Stock up on hardtack, bread,
chocolate, and medical supplies.
But more than anything,
inquire whether they
have Ruhmkorf lamps.
Have another carriage
waiting
at the foot of
the slope at sunset.
Can we prepare it
that quickly?
We must.
We're in a race.
What's that
you're taking?
Jenny's
farewell gift.
Ill keep it
with me always.
Scartaris!
Back to my hotel.
Ja, Professor Goetaborg.
Ah, my good man.
I assume my assistant
sent you.
No, thank you.
Nobody carries
the soldier's weapons.
And take your time.
These instruments
are delicate.
Easy, coachman!
Easy!
This isn't the same road
we came by this morning!
I said, slow down, man!
You're out
of your senses!
Stop your horses,
man!
This is a command!
Can't you hear me?
Slow down!
Stop, you fool!
Whoa!
If you've ruined
my instruments,
I'll horsewhip you,
so help me.
And where are we?
This certainly
is not my hotel.
Professor!
Alec!
Ah-choo!
Where are we?
Apparently in
an eider feather storehouse.
How did
you get here?
I don't know
what happened.
It went so fast.
I was clubbed
and overpowered.
Did you see
who did it?
No. I was
just walking.
Professor Goetaborg
is a criminal!
Probably he's always
dreamed of fame.
Your letter
opened the door.
Did you hear that?
Some tapping.
Don't get your hopes up,
Professor.
There's
nobody around.
Everybody's in
the market square.
Tomorrow the fishing feet
goes out.
The shops
are closed?
No. They are open,
but everything
we need
was sold already.
To Professor Goetaborg!
He stayed in the inn
where we're staying.
This time,
I heard it, too.
A fellow prisoner,
do you suppose?
He's giving us
signals.
It's a code.
Morse?
I can't
make it out.
Jot this down.
Dash, dash, dot,
dot, dot, dot, long dash.
It doesn't make
sense.
Perhaps it's
in Icelandic.
I don't think so.
We've established
contact.
I still can't
make it out.
My esteemed friend,
whoever you are,
let me introduce
myself,
Professor
Oliver Lindenbrook,
University
of Edinburgh.
May I ask you
to interrupt your tapping
and listen?
In what language
would you like me to speak?
Apparently, he doesn't
understand English.
Ill try French.
Mon cher ami,
vous et nous
sommes dans
une situation
abominable!
It's no good, sir.
It sounds
more Russian.
Kak tvoe imia?
My c toboi tovarishchi
polushashche?
Gertrude!
Gertrude!
Gertrude!
It's a female prisoner.
And her lover.
Professor,
they're kissing.
I'm sorry,
but for once
we must dispense
with tact.
I regret
to disturb you.
Can you get us
out of here?
Oh, Gertrude...
It's a duck!
And I was just about
to try Latin.
You with
the gold tooth,
I'll give you
more gold
if you'll guide us
to Reykjavik.
Ja, Reykjavik.
You take us
to Reykjavik.
I understand
that Professor Goetaborg
from Stockholm
is stopping here,
a friend...
A friend of yours,
Professor Goetaborg?
Let's say a colleague.
May I help?
He is at home,
isn't he?
Yes. L...
He isn't at home.
He can't
be disturbed.
He's asleep with
all this going on?
You cannot see him.
I'm sorry.
Here are your coins.
Here is my card.
Put it in his box
so he'll know
I'm around.
Thank you so much.
Goetaborg,
I know you're
in there.
This is
Lindenbrook.
Goetaborg.
Do you see
what this is, laddie?
The very last word
in equipment.
Ruhmkorf lamps!
Oh!
Self-generating lamps.
How long will they burn,
Professor?
My guess is indefinitely.
As long as
they're wound up,
the induction coil
will give off current.
Breathing devices,
like those used
in coal mines in Wales.
All the instruments needed
for exploring
the world below,
whatever it may be!
I shall wait here
till Goetaborg returns.
You...
wait, too.
Goetaborg may be
a strong man.
More treasure, sir.
Climbing boots,
alpenstocks,
blankets.
Food for months.
A chart with a...
P- P-Professor!
What?
Well, Goetaborg,
it seems there's
such a thing
as justice,
after all.
So you wanted to
push in ahead of us?
Fate took care
of him.
Why didn't they
tell us?
Hotels rarely advertise
that they have corpses.
The Icelander
teaches us a lesson.
We'll observe one
minute of silence
in memory of
a great scientist,
even if he was
a blasted thief.
Alec,
you mentioned fate.
Slight correction...
Fate plus a few grains
of potassium cyanide.
He was against us.
Someone was even more
against him.
Who?
I'm the wife of
Professor Goetaborg.
Oh, my dear.
What is it?
My husband didn't
meet me at the pier.
Is something wrong?
Please sit a minute
before you go up.
Please, my dear.
He seemed so well.
Early in the morning,
he went to the mountain.
He came back and received
a luncheon guest in the lobby.
I saw him myself.
They went up to his room
and ate.
What are you trying
to tell me?
That my husband is...
His guest left
about 4:00.
When the maid went
to make the bed...
Oh, dear God.
I can't remember anyone
ever dying in my inn.
We called a doctor,
but it was too late.
We left him up there
because you were coming.
Just 10 days ago,
he was joking on the pier
in Stockholm.
The moment
he arrived here,
he sent me a message
just with one word...
"Come."
Madam,
my deep sympathy.
My name is
Oliver Lindenbrook
of Edinburgh University.
I take it you're familiar
with that name?
Professor Lindenbrook.
I see you are.
I must ask a question.
I would like
Madam Goetaborg to stay.
This will be difficult
for you, madam.
Who was the last person
to see him alive?
His luncheon guest.
Who?
Count Saknussemm.
Count Saknussemm?
I didn't realize
the Saknussemm family
still existed.
They are the land's
oldest family.
A descendant of
Arne Saknussemm.
And a scientist, too,
in his own right.
He lunched
with Goetaborg?
They saw each other
every day.
They worked together
in his room
with all those charts
and instruments.
I suggest you request
an autopsy immediately.
Is there
something suspicious
about
my husband's death?
Your husband
came to Iceland
for the same reasons
that brought me.
Neither of us
could possibly suspect
a third party would stop
at nothing to forestall us.
He was killed?
Poisoned.
Oh.
This is now
a police matter.
Send for them.
To your room first,
madam.
Uh... just one second,
if you please.
Thank you.
I'm deeply distressed by
your husband's death.
I fully understand
your feelings.
However, I must ask you
one question.
How do you plan to dispose
of your husband's equipment?
What does it matter?
Ill take it
off your hands.
We can
discuss it later.
Time is
running out.
My expedition must start
within 24 hours.
Your expedition?
Exactly.
I only know of
the Goetaborg Expedition.
Husbands don't always
tell wives everything.
I don't wish to blacken
your husband's memory.
However, I demand
that equipment.
I have a right
to it.
A right to take over
another's life work?
He died for that idea!
He stole that idea
from me.
That is a lie.
Madam.
An unforgivable lie.
I would rather destroy
every pound
of that equipment
than let you have it.
"Incredible encounter!
"A Saknussemm descendant
turns up,
"acts as if he were
king of volcanoes,
"tries to force me to surrender
his ancestor's secret.
"Saknussemm called again.
"New complication!
"My real adversary arrives,
Lindenbrook,
"undoubtedly to claim his rights.
Must fight him somehow."
Oh, uh, young man,
would you come here
a moment, please?
Who are those for?
Professor Lindenbrook.
Ah-ha.
Ja, madam.
Oh, at least
we have some rope.
That's a beginning.
Tell him to stop jabbering
and go shopping.
What about lamps?
Ah, lamps... lamps.
What about...
ah... picks?
Oh, and provisions,
food.
What are you doing?
Big ox.
Put me down.
Somebody please
explain this outrage.
Are we to be abducted
every day in Iceland?
Ja, madam.
She speaks
Icelandic.
I do,
but I wish to apologize
to you in plain English.
I went through
my husband's diary.
I believe I have
done you an injustice.
Don't give it
another thought.
I'm Sir Oliver's assistant,
Alec McEwen.
This expedition began
thanks to this lad.
Began... that's all
it has done.
If you still want
the equipment,
it's yours.
Will you
say that again?
I won't stand in the way
of the Lindenbrook
Expedition.
Madam.
My husband had
boots made specially.
I hope they fit.
Mine will be
ready without delay.
Your man's ordering
some for me.
Good, good.
What was that?
Why would you need
boots like this?
I can't go in these.
Go where, madam?
Don't say it.
Naturally,
I'm coming along.
That's why I'm giving you
all of this.
That's a condition.
You didn't mention
any condition.
Then I do now.
Whom were you taking
besides this young man?
The big Icelander.
Then I'll be very useful.
He doesn't
understand English.
You can't come.
You're a woman!
What has my sex
to do with it?
We're not contemplating
a stroll down Piccadilly.
Professor Lindenbrook,
I've just lost my husband.
I have nothing else
to live for up here.
Down there, I can
represent his name.
The decision
is not yours.
The police need you
for the investigation.
I have already given
my testimony.
But madam, quite apart
from the appalling danger,
think of
the inconvenience.
The lack
of privacy!
In short,
you don't want this?
I may be mad
about this journey,
but to burden myself with
a female is sheer stupidity.
I may have been
a disturbance to men,
never a burden.
This is
an absolute holdup.
I assure you
you will not receive
one iota of extra
consideration.
You'll sleep
where we sleep,
you'll eat
what we eat.
Then you accept
my proposition?
Oh!
Professor, look!
There's our gateway.
Thank you, Scartaris.
Never was there
a brighter sunrise.
Now, we descend
into oblivion,
or we enter
the great book of history.
Roll call.
Carla Goetaborg.
Alexander McEwen.
Hans und
Gertrude Belka.
Oliver S. Lindenbrook.
What did he say?
Hans and who?
And Gertrude.
Professor!
Professor!
All right,
you've arrived.
Rather an alarming
descent.
I found it
exhilarating.
I wonder
if Madam Goetaborg
will change her mind.
You make
my mouth water.
Hans is tying the rope
on her.
I'm a fool.
I should have told him
to tie her to a mule
and send her home.
What language
would you have used?
She may be of some use
in that respect,
then there's always the blessed
chance the rope may break.
Are you all right,
ma'am?
Oh, quite.
Hans insisted
on a double rope.
Did he indeed?
How solicitous.
But that was for Gertrude.
Poor Sir Oliver,
stuck with a woman.
If only you
could see your face.
That's my consolation,
madam.
I don't have to
look at it. You do.
There's not enough rope
in all Europe!
Perhaps this is
the wrong entrance.
The sign was
unmistakable.
But there's no
other way to continue.
Gertrude!
Gertrude!
Oh, madam!
Madam!
He says there's a tunnel
on the other side.
Slanting downhill,
but walkable.
Eureka!
Oh, thank you.
Now then,
a general summary...
A... We must never use
more than two Ruhmkorf lamps
at a time.
B... We won't need our
breathing equipment immediately.
Nevertheless, never
take a step without it.
C... Use our canteens freely.
There'll be many
springs on our way.
As my husband's charts
indicated.
Is he to be with us
on our entire journey?
Sorry.
Well, every journey
begins with a first step.
May the good Lord
be with us.
Onward!
Let's have
some music.
Alec, will you
start us off?
Miss Jenny!
I saw you turn pale
when the dominie spoke
of those in peril
at the far ends
of the earth.
Far ends of the earth.
At least that
would be somewhere.
There was a clipping
in a Stockholm paper,
a dispatch
from Reykjavik.
I can only read
their names.
I had it translated.
The last news
of them was
that they went
up Mount Sneffels
with some heavily laden
donkeys.
Yes?
And then the animals
came down without their packs.
And?
And that's all.
Oliver S. Lindenbrook,
Alexander McEwen,
Hans Belka,
and Madam...
What's...
Why, it seems a woman
went with them.
A woman!
You know what
they'll call that
in the Royal Observatory
at Greenwich?
A slight tremor coming
from undefined regions.
Well, we've lived
through a slight tremor.
Let us proceed.
It seems to be
moving away from us.
In these regions,
I don't venture to say
anything is moving away
or coming towards us.
The only thing
we can be certain of
is that danger
is always with us.
We might as well
ignore it.
Run!
Jump!
Aah! Oh!
The three notches.
The three notches
of Arne Saknussemm.
What does that mean?
We've been shown
the right path.
We have a guide.
Alec,
the plumb bob.
Look! Without these marks,
we would have gone astray.
We'd have wasted months
exploring endlessly.
We might have taken
any one of these channels.
But our great colleague
maketh a path for our feet.
Well, you all
deserve a rest.
Let's have tea with
a double ration of raisins.
May I comb my hair first,
Professor?
Oh!
Ladies
on the left.
Gentleman
on the right.
Oh!
What is it,
madam?
Shh!
If we'd known
you had nightmares,
we'd have made different
sleeping arrangements.
Someone is walking
up there.
I heard footsteps,
human footsteps.
Since the beginning
of time,
all women have heard footsteps...
up there.
My hearing is
extremely acute.
The hearing of all women
is extremely acute.
My wife used to hear
rats in the attic,
usually, on the nights before
I had an important lecture.
Alec,
go find out.
Hans...
Will you leave
those men alone!
They need rest.
Moreover,
it was stipulated
that I
give the orders.
Don't use that
patient voice with me.
How about
an impatient voice?
I am a member
of this expedition.
As such, I intend to report
any of my observations.
Alec...
put it down
in the record
that a member
of the expedition
reported rats
in the attic.
Lights out!
Don't be afraid,
madam.
I'm right here.
Conceal these marks
completely.
Ill give them
some new ones.
This is steeper than
anything we've encountered.
It's just as well we all
had a good night's rest.
Alec, take this down.
of our descent,
starting from an estimated depth
of 129 kilometers,
limestone formation
continues.
Aye-aye,
Professor!
Here are the three
notches again.
Good!
Gertrude!
Wrong turn.
Let's see.
What have we here?
One heads 220 degrees
south-southwest,
the other 160 degrees
south-southeast. Strange.
I would have wagered
we should go that way.
That was Gertrude's
feeling, too.
Are you sure
your compass is right?
Quite.
What's he saying?
Hans is wondering about the
ultimate goal of our expedition.
He's asking, "Why?"
Alec, suppose
you tell him.
Well, why does man
freeze to death
trying to reach
the North Pole?
Why does man suffer
the steaming heat
of the Amazon?
Why does he
stagger his mind
with the mathematics
of the sky?
Once a question mark
has arisen in
the human brain,
the answer
must be found
if it takes
a thousand years.
Render that into
a few Icelandic words!
Tell him
that scientists
have bats in
their belfries.
Oh!
Are you all right?
Can you
unhook yourself?
Hans!
I didn't see it!
I didn't see it!
Never mind
about that.
How is it possible?
This way was
clearly indicated.
There must
have been a quake
since
Arne Saknussemm's day.
This is no
recent fissure.
I wasn't
in a position
to observe it
scientifically.
We made a mistake somewhere,
but where?
What are you
doing here, madam?
We were supposed
to stay together.
We've been tricked,
tricked into
the wrong tunnel.
Those three notches
are not
Arne Saknussemm's.
She's right, Professor.
Someone has passed through
before us.
No need
to ask who.
Madam heard him
last night.
Now she's saying,
"I told you so."
Silently, I admit,
but she's saying it.
When I wish
to say something,
I say it aloud.
In view of
this new development,
I must end
the expedition.
But you're not a man
who frightens easily.
I'm not thinking
of myself,
but of you...
a woman!
I'm one
of your men.
If a madman
is loose...
He's against us all,
against the concept
of this journey.
What's happened now?
What's he saying?
He said we should go back
to where Alec fell.
It's not
on our route.
If we're to go ahead,
we've no time
for detours.
Then you wait here.
If only my Jenny
were here to see this.
Now that
the boy has gone
and Hans doesn't
understand English,
I must ask
a delicate question.
I'm blushing
already.
You're wearing stays,
are you not?
Professor!
I can hear
them creaking.
It's not
your business!
Everything here
is my business.
We'll look away
while you discard them.
You go too far.
The heat
will soon be excessive.
Nothing must impede
anyone's breathing.
Alec!
Leaving in a few minutes!
I've got to take a specimen of
this back to Edinburgh,
if it's the last thing
I do.
Unique.
Inexplicable.
Ready to go,
if that boy Alec
would be good enough
to appear.
Where the devil
is he?
It's a blind alley!
Keep back!
Professor!
Hans!
Ah!
Good God!
Aah!
Aah!
Oh. Aah!
Hold on to my arm.
My shoulder.
Hold on.
Oh, praise the Lord.
Oh!
Oh.
Alec.
Professor!
Hello!
Hello! Hello!
Hello! Hello!
Professor,
here I am!
- Here I am!
- Here I am!
Here I am!
Salt!
Ah!
Ah!
Oh!
Alec!
Alec!
Alec! Alec!
Alec!
Professor, you can't
go on this way.
I've kept track of
the passage of days.
Try that channel
there.
We were there
yesterday.
We left marks.
He's not there.
I've got
to find him.
I'm responsible.
Oh.
I can see this
is a recent break.
Alec!
Alec!
Alec! Alec!
Can you hear me?
Can you
hear me?
Give us a sign!
Give us
a sign!
Alec, listen carefully.
When the echoes stop,
try to answer.
If you're injured,
make an effort.
Pick up a pebble
and scratch the rock.
We'll hear you.
Just give us a sign!
Give us
a sign!
A phosphorescent pool.
Strange grave
for a young Scot.
Professor,
there's no use.
How can I live
with myself?
Accept his loss
like one soldier accepts
the loss of another.
You must continue.
You must go on with
the Lindenbrook Expedition.
The Lindenbrook
Expedition.
Yes.
Go on with it.
It was his project,
as much as yours.
Yes.
You're right.
We will proceed,
but we won't
call it
the Lindenbrook
Expedition anymore.
From now on,
it's the Alec McEwen
Expedition.
No broken bones?
Ribs all right?
Good. Get up.
Down there,
food and water.
Refresh yourself.
So you've lost
your friends?
Just as well.
It's my servant.
Too much heat,
too much load,
too much fear.
You're younger.
You'll do
to carry my things.
I'm not your servant,
Count Saknussemm.
Pride? Rather
out of place here.
Eat, drink, and
pick up those things.
I'm in a hurry.
To steal
the professor's project?
Steal? Listen,
young foreigner.
I don't have to steal
what belongs to me.
You're in
my world now.
Stop!
I need someone to
carry my equipment!
You'll never find
your companions.
We need each other.
You found me.
My friends will, too.
You'll carry it with
one arm, not two!
A hail of bullets.
A remarkable echo
reverberating from
the rock chambers.
The last echo
will give us the direction.
south-southeast.
Alec!
Alec!
Alec.
Alec!
Alec!
We'd given you up,
but you're
alive, laddie.
You're alive!
Professor.
Carla.
Hans.
Just to see you!
Where was he?
I didn't think
he'd shoot,
but he did.
Of course I did.
What did you expect?
You are
trespassers here.
I own this domain.
You are also
the murderer of my husband.
I claimed my rights.
He would not listen.
In the name of
your great ancestor,
put down that
preposterous gun.
No harm will come if
you accept my terms.
You will go back
the way you came,
but leave equipment
I need and that man.
You won't listen
to a murderer.
Never interrupt
a murderer, madam.
I resent that
bourgeois classification.
I'll spare
your lives.
You have my word
of honor.
Give me
your hand on that.
Aah!
A bourgeois trick.
So sorry.
All right, before
we continue on our journey,
we must perform
a solemn duty.
We have
to hold court.
Here, hundreds
of kilometers
beneath the surface
of the earth,
we are the law.
The defendant stands accused
of one murder
and one act of mayhem.
I must ask you,
as jurors,
is the defendant
guilty or not guilty?
Guilty.
Guilty.
Hans.
Guilty.
Then the mandatory
sentence...
is death.
There are
two bullets left.
Madam, please
explain to Hans.
We will follow the route
marked by the notches.
He will wait here
for 10 minutes,
then carry out
the sentence.
No, no, no.
I can carry
with my left hand.
Carry yourself
for a while.
That's all
we can expect.
Sir Oliver, there's
a slight problem.
Hans refuses
to shoot the count.
What do you mean?
It's a court order.
His family's been loyal
to the Saknussemms
for generations.
He cannot touch the gun.
This is contempt
of court.
All right, Alec.
No, no,
Sir Oliver.
Don't look at me.
I couldn't
pull the trigger
with my left hand.
Oh, no.
I couldn't do it.
After all,
I'm a woman!
For weeks you've
denied your sex.
Now you
fall back on it.
I would say
the natural executioner
would be the leader
of the expedition.
We must face
the truth, sir.
We're much too civilized
to do away with
a fellow human being.
Should we
drag him along?
Feed him?
Stop fiddling
with those lamps!
What's he
jabbering about?
I'll tell you
what he's saying.
The lamps are
giving out.
The induction coils
have been corroded by the salt.
I insist we leave
here at once.
You insist!
He's bloody well right.
Let's be off.
Saknussemm's unfastened
himself from the rope again
and gone off.
What's the harm?
He'll be back when
it's time to eat.
The harm is he's
wasting a lamp.
Madam, will you
try your lamp, please?
It's dead.
Yours, Alec.
When these things
are gone,
they're really gone.
Madam,
make a final note
while there
is still light.
Let me.
My arm's well.
No need.
Covered another
Temperature
dropped seven degrees.
Surprisingly cooler
than anticipated.
The darkness is
closing about us.
This may be
our last entry.
Hans and I
can cut rope into torches.
That's a good idea.
What puzzles me
is that
Saknussemm's notches
keep pointing
our way.
What lamp
did he have?
Perhaps he didn't
require a lamp.
From here on,
neither do you, Sir Oliver.
Why don't you
turn it off?
Yes, just
switch it off.
Why,
it's miraculous.
Look at this.
What is it, sir?
A form of algae
with a property
of luminescence.
Light without heat.
A cool
chemical light.
You've seen fireflies
and glowworms
and forms of sea life
that generate
their own light?
The same principle
is involved here.
the phenomenal winds
vanished as abruptly
as they came.
We are now in a stupendous
deposit of cinnabar.
What's that little mark
you make?
M. E...
McEwen Expedition.
Whenever I've said
Lindenbrook Expedition,
you've written
McEwen Expedition?
May I remind you
that months ago,
you gave me explicit
orders to that effect?
You may not
remind me.
I don't wish your
correcting me incessantly.
Is that what
I'm doing?
You're doing it
with your looks,
with the posture
of your body.
Your entire presence is
a constant criticism of me.
I'm tired of it!
I've had enough!
You've had enough!
Let me tell you...
you dried-up walnut
of a man!
If anyone's had enough,
it's me!
It's I.
It's I! It's me!
It's Carla Goetaborg.
I quit!
I'm leaving!
May I send for
madam's horse and carriage?
Well, at least you know
I have a temper.
Alec will
keep the charts.
Alec!
Alec!
Why can't he
stay around?
Mushrooms! A forest
of mushrooms.
They might be hundreds
of years old,
but the small ones
we can eat.
They're delicious!
To think they grew
without sun
this far
under the earth.
All the food
we can eat!
Ha ha ha!
It's tougher
than leather.
- Ha ha!
- Ha ha!
We'll have new soles
for our shoes.
Ooh!
It's like
an oak tree!
Ah! Madam,
you're magnificent.
Mushroom steak,
mushroom soup, mushroom hash.
Let me say this...
If we'd had one more week
of that salted beef,
I would have perished.
Don't be too happy.
After some months
of this,
you'll want
salt beef again.
Yes. Months... months.
If we only knew
how many more.
There's no term
to the work of a scientist.
If you hadn't
been along,
this whole journey
would have been unbearable.
But that's not Professor
Lindenbrook's feeling.
It's mine.
You see, we have no sun...
and no moon... no stars,
but then you're here.
And what is the name
of the girl you love?
I beg your pardon?
The girl you love...
what's her name?
Jenny. But why would you
want to know that just now?
Oh, dear Alec.
There are times
when it's advisable
to jog
a young man's memory.
Professor!
Here's some hot mushroom porridge
for you, Sir Oliver.
I slept as I'd never
slept in Edinburgh.
No street noises,
no church bells,
no clatter of pans
from the kitchen.
I may move here
permanently.
What's our large friend
doing over there?
I don't know.
Special command of His Majesty.
Is that madman
still giving orders?
This is
his rest period.
When you fell asleep,
he went off
through the tunnel.
He came back and ordered
the mushrooms felled.
What in the world
can he want
with all those?
You've come
to ask me
why I didn't rest?
I don't sleep.
I hate those little
slashes of death.
It's a sea.
It's an ocean
with currents.
The ocean
of the underworld.
Some earthquake before
the beginning of history
cracked wide open
the great sea,
and, through the fissures,
poured this.
The fissures
closed again.
No map ever recorded
the Saknussemm Ocean.
I so christened it
while you were asleep.
It's the prerogative
of the discoverer.
I congratulate you.
There will be no more
notches to follow.
That's why
you ordered a raft.
I approve.
If I had my gun,
we'd have fresh meat.
That's what
he's saying!
He's a flesh-eater!
Can he swim?
No, thank God.
Ah!
Ah!
Aah!
Ahh!
The wind is blowing
down the street.
Here...
I brought you
some nice apples.
I wonder if it's cold
where they are.
Where they are...
indeed!
Are they anyplace?
McEwen, put that toy away
and take over the rudder.
Yes, sir.
I didn't say
throw it away!
It blew
out of my hand!
My watch!
Save the instruments!
My ring!
My wedding
ring!
A field of force
that snatches gold away.
This is it. This is it!
The junction
of magnetic forces
from the North
to the South Pole...
the center of the earth!
Aah!
Aah!
Hang on!
Hold on
to your rope, Alec!
Aah!
No! Aah!
Is everyone here?
Madam Goetaborg,
Alec...
Hans.
Gertrude.
And His Highness
over there.
So the expedition
with all the names
ends like this.
We're alive,
aren't we?
After all, we did hit
the center of the earth.
It hit us, laddie.
He probably wants to know
where we go next.
Tired minds
don't plan well.
Sleep first,
plan later.
When I refused
to eat my porridge
when I was a boy,
my mother used to say,
"Oliver, the day may come
when you'll very much
want that porridge."
Are you surprised
that I had a mother?
I was thinking
how proud she'd be
of that little boy
who wouldn't eat his porridge.
Here, duck.
Here, duck.
Gertrude!
Gertrude!
Gertrude!
Gertrude!
Gertrude!
Gertrude! Gertrude!
Gertrude!
Hans!
Hans!
Why do you look
at me like that?
Hans!
I needed food,
so I took it.
Professor, tell your man
to calm himself.
I won't engage
in a dispute
about
a slaughtered duck.
Professor!
Stop him!
Stop this fool!
Hans!
Hans!
You ingrates!
What can you do
without me?
Only I can show you the way
out of this, my realm.
Look out!
Aah!
This is
the sunken city.
After 5,000 years,
men behold a fragment
of the lost Atlantis.
All we know about it
comes from the Greek.
The floor
of the sea opened up
and swallowed the whole
island of Atlantis.
This must have been
the market square.
Professor!
Professor, this looks like
some sort of inn.
This is an inn,
an eating place, certainly.
Eating... what a word.
What a wonderful word.
Well, we've
learned one thing
about the inhabitants
of Atlantis...
they ate oysters.
Stale bread.
We must speak
to the baker.
Madam!
Madam!
Ja?
He's asking if that was
a temple to their god?
Yes, I'm
sure it is.
It's some sort
of altar stone
where the
sacred fame burned.
It's serpentine,
isn't it?
Exactly.
A massive form of asbestos.
At a moment like this,
I have no pad and pencil
to record this!
Ah!
Turn around, madam.
Don't look.
What is it?
The great Arne Saknussemm,
I presume.
So this is
as far as he came.
Say "How do you do"
to a brave man.
He must have
dragged himself
with a broken leg.
Look at that tibia.
There is nothing edible
in there.
Why not?
The Chinese eat eggs
over 400 years old.
Gunpowder.
Professor, look
at his right hand.
Professor, look
at his right hand.
It's pointing somewhere.
To that shaft
over there.
Of course! This is what
the pointing finger meant!
This is the way up.
He couldn't make it,
but we can.
This is a volcanic chimney.
The violent updraft means
a direct hatchway
to the surface.
We can climb up!
Madam,
explain to Hans.
Let him venture up
and reconnoiter.
The updraft
can't carry him away.
We'd roll up
our sleeves,
if we had any.
We mustn't hope
for too much.
We'll have to provide
some kind of light.
And food.
I'll go look around.
I'll comb every inch
of Atlantis.
If we only had
some shears,
we could
cut it off.
Could we?
Aye-aye!
Aye-aye!
Aye-aye!
Flints!
I found some flints.
Good lad.
We won't be walking
in darkness.
Madam!
I wish I had
better news for you.
It gives every indication
of a perfect passage upward,
straighter than the one
we descended, but...
But? But?
There's an obstacle,
a gigantic block of stone
obstructs the passageway.
Hans said only a landslide
could ever move it.
No. Let him be.
If all his hopes
hadn't been so high.
Alec!
Yes, sir?
Arne Saknussemm's
haversack.
Get it!
If God is with us,
and that gunpowder
has kept its ginger,
we'll make that
landslide ourselves.
Now, my wonderful
companions,
you realize, I hope,
that we're taking
an enormous chance,
but it's our only chance.
I guarantee that this will
blow up the obstructing rock.
Whether
the surrounding rocks
will take
the disturbance lightly,
that I cannot guarantee.
For protection,
get into the altar stone.
Dear God, ruler of
heaven and earth...
Don't set any limit
to his realm, laddie.
God of the universe,
we are in
thy merciful hands.
Look out!
Run, Professor!
A monster!
Let me go!
We started
an earthquake.
Aah!
The lava
is pushing us up!
It's an earthquake
of unusual magnitude!
More likely, it's
a volcanic eruption.
Listen to this...
"Stromboli, Italy,
first eyewitness report.
"The capsule
of the dead volcano
"broke under
a tremendous explosion.
"Rocks of
extraordinary size
are being spewed out
into the sea."
Dammi la mano.
Piano, eh? Piano.
Passa mi vino.
Ecco.
Signora,
beva, beva.
Where's Alec?
Hans says Alec was thrown
from the altar stone
long before
we hit the water.
Non si preoccupi,
abbiamo lo scalino!
My immediate need
is not a ladder.
I need trousers.
Che dice?
Pantaloons!
Pantaloons!
Oh, vuole
pantalone!
Pantalone? Oh!
Don't bring them
yourselves.
Send a friar, a monk.
- Oh!
- Oh!
Excuse me, ladies.
Excuse me.
Lindenbrook! Lindenbrook!
Lindenbrook!
Lindenbrook! Lindenbrook!
Lindenbrook!
Lindenbrook! Lindenbrook!
Lindenbrook! Lindenbrook!
Lindenbrook!
Speech! Speech!
Speech! Speech!
Speech! Speech!
Hello, Scots!
If these shouts of yours
express some pleasure
that we've returned alive,
I thank you deeply.
However, if they're
meant as praise
for a successful scientist,
I must disclaim that honor.
- No!
- No!
No. A scientist who cannot prove
what he has accomplished
has accomplished nothing.
I have no records,
no shred of evidence.
I will never embarrass
this distinguished university
by asking
that it take my word.
Let me say only this.
a daring man undertook
a perilous journey
and never came back.
We followed his path
and returned...
by God's grace
and a heathen altar stone.
One day, someone else,
it may be you, my boy,
or your sons or grandsons
will pick up
where we left off.
This I know.
The spirit of man
cannot be stopped!
Splendid,
Oliver.
Thank you.
Professor, here's someone
who wants to say goodbye.
His ship
sails at 4:00.
Hans, old friend,
we never could have
done without you.
He has a speech.
Uh...
Hello, sir.
If you...
if you'll ever go
down there again,
the center earth,
Hans will go, too.
Thank you.
Did you get your injuries
when the volcano blew up,
in the hot lava?
No. It happened
at our wedding.
He was hurrying
from the church
and fell
down the steps.
You poor wee bride,
after all that waiting,
it's been no marriage
for you at all.
You underestimate
Alec.
I'm taking the night train
to London
then back
to Stockholm.
But you have a job
to do right here.
I?
I'm writing my memoirs,
but I can't remember
everything that happened.
I see.
You need a widow
who can jog your memory
and take dictation.
I suppose I'm to report
every day from 9:00 to 12:00?
No. You can stay
in my house.
What would
Edinburgh say?
It's one thing to be with
a man under the earth,
and another under one roof
in Scotland.
Well, uh.
What do you propose?
That's not a word
I bandy about, Professor.
What did I say?
Which word?
I thought it would
catch in your throat.
Uh, madam!
Madam...
Oh, thank you.
Uh, Madam Goetaborg!
Madam Goetaborg. Carla!
Yes, Oliver?
Carla.
I warn you.
I'm wearing stays again.
Thank you.
It's a wonderful article
in the paper about you.
Good morning,
Sir Oliver.
Long article about you
on page two.
Is there?
They made a mistake
about your age.
Paper!
Paper!
Paper!
Paper!
It's such an honor
for Edinburgh.
I cannot take
your money.
Thank you.
Paper! Paper!
Congratulations,
Professor.
- Ha ha!
- Ha ha!
I'm sorry.
Since you've been
created a knight,
I've given your
students a holiday...
a day for a knight,
so to speak.
First, there's to
be a presentation.
Will the lad
of Glen Darrick step forward?
In gratitude
for the knowledge
you have
imparted to us...
That's enough
obituary prose.
An inkwell, I presume.
A very handsome thing.
Hellish to dust.
I thank you all from
the bottom of my heart,
and now, off to the playing
fields, all of you!
- Yay!
- Yay!
Ah.
It cost 4.17.
I was on the committee
that made the collection.
I thank you,
McEwen.
5 was subscribed.
That left
three shillings.
You won't give me
the change?
I expended it on this,
a little extra token
I thought you might fancy.
I saw it in
a curiosity shop in Glasgow.
It whispered, " Buy me
for Professor Lindenbrook."
What did you reply?
I said, "Only if you can
be bought for three shillings."
I argued with the owner.
It's lava,
of course.
But exceptionally
heavy.
It could serve
as a paperweight.
Do you like it,
Professor?
It's a scholar's choice.
Where are you
eating tonight?
Oh, this being Tuesday,
I'm not eating.
Oh?
It's healthy to eat
every other night.
Be at my house at 8:00.
I'm entertaining
some faculty.
I don't think I could.
What's the matter,
McEwen?
You used to visit
my house regularly.
Do those frayed cuffs
worry you?
My other shirt
is at the wash.
We're scientists.
That's one society where
frayed cuffs don't matter.
We've all had them.
Yes, Sir Oliver.
Lava?
I swear there's
something inside.
There's Uncle now,
Kirsty.
And high time,
too!
Ohh!
I thought it was
Uncle Oliver.
Nothing I'm wearing
belongs to me.
Good evening,
Miss Jenny.
Good evening,
Alec McEwen.
I'm early.
I didn't know
you were coming.
Your uncle
ordered me to come.
Where is he?
He's never been late
like this.
To return to the subject
of my clothes,
they belong to the lad
of Glen Darrick.
"Don't go to dinner
dressed like that," he said.
I went
to take my bath.
When I returned,
my clothes were gone
and these substituted.
I have no claim to
the Glen Darrick tartan.
You've explained
your magnificence.
Kirsty, there will be
one more guest.
Ill seat you between
the dean and the rector.
Couldn't I sit
next to you?
Certainly not.
I notice
a certain harshness
in your attitude
toward me.
What do you expect when it takes
a command to bring you here?
Miss Jenny, why should
I torture myself?
Two years more I have to study
for my master's degree,
then four more as
a laboratory assistant.
Then there's the money
I must repay my relatives.
You are very logical,
Mr. McEwen.
It's the logic
of an empty purse.
How like a Scotsman!
I am a Scotsman.
I know one who didn't even
have a purse.
His name was
Robert Burns.
Do you know
what he said?
Miss Jenny, the time
of poetry is over.
If this is true,
Alec McEwen,
what are you doing with
your hand on my knee?
Miss Jenny...
Just wait in there.
Kirsty, I'll set
the extra place.
Is there something
you want?
A key is stuck.
But that's impossible.
It was just tuned
last month.
Which one?
This one.
Can't you see?
No, I can't.
You can see
I'm unhappy.
You know
how I've felt
ever since that first day
I saw you.
You looked
like spring.
Miss Jenny, set the table.
Mr. McEwen is fixing
a stuck key.
Shh.
Miss Jenny,
you're crying.
I bent over the goose...
the fumes.
Good evening,
Miss Jenny.
Good evening, gentlemen.
We were just worrying about
Professor Lindenbrook.
We were.
Isn't he with you?
Isn't he here?
No.
Careful it doesn't
go too high, Paisley.
It's just about
the limit now.
I gave no permission
for visitors!
Oh, it's you, McEwen.
Uncle Oliver,
your guests are waiting.
If you don't come,
the goose will spoil...
Oh, goose,
goose, goose.
Tell him, Alec.
This lava
is 1 in 10 million.
I've been at it
all day.
No pause
for lunch or tea.
You've had three semesters
of petrology.
From which volcano could
this lava have emerged?
Fujiyama?
No.
Mt. Etna?
Very close.
The Mediterranean.
The Lipari Islands
near Italy.
But their lava
is light.
That's what
stumped me
because inside
must be something
the weight of the heaviest rock
in existence.
That would be
Icelandic peridotite.
Precisely.
There's a piece
chipped off.
By me.
What's
the rock inside?
Icelandic peridotite,
naturally.
When I saw this,
I stopped chipping.
There's some marks
on the surface.
It looks like a letter
or notches.
Three notches made
by the hand of man.
But how could
a rock from Iceland
possibly pop out of
a volcano across the world?
What's your conclusion?
Science does not
jump to conclusions.
Science is not
a guessing game.
We'll melt off
the crust of lava.
Mr. Paisley.
Add 10 cc of aqua regia.
Not too fast now.
I shall write to Professor
Goetaborg of Stockholm on this.
He's the world's leading
authority on volcanoes.
How long
will this take?
A typically
female question.
Melting lava takes
maybe two hours,
maybe four hours.
Two hours?
Four hours?
Maybe
the whole night.
Who cares?
Jenny.
Are you all right?
That was entirely
my fault.
I don't know how it
could have happened.
Mr. Paisley, by your slip
you've rendered
an inestimable service
to science.
Alec!
See this?
What would
you call it?
As you said,
it's a manmade object.
It looks like a top,
a surveyor's instrument,
a plumb bob.
It is
a plumb bob.
There are letters
on it.
It's an inscription,
a message, perhaps.
Can you make out
what it says, Professor?
It's in some
Nordic tongue.
The hand that
wrote this trembled.
Perhaps it was
a dying hand.
Was it written
in paint? Ink?
Perhaps blood.
Possibly.
Look at this side, sir!
A signature!
Arne Saknussemm.
Arne Saknussemm!
Will you take me
home now, Uncle Oliver,
or do I have to
go alone?
Alone.
Alone!
It's unthinkable,
but it must be true.
A man took tools
and went where no human being
has ever set foot...
alone into the interior
of the earth. Alone.
Who? What is he
talking about?
Arne Saknussemm,
the Icelandic scientist.
The greatest
of his day.
He was laughed at
when he claimed
there was a world
down below.
The laughter stopped
when he disappeared,
never to be
heard from...
until tonight.
Get out of here,
woman!
I don't want any tea!
I only want my post.
Don't shout at me!
I can shout
just as loud as you!
For two weeks,
you haven't eaten or slept.
Out, woman!
Here's your post,
Uncle Oliver.
Another day,
and still nothing!
Can you believe that?
No answer.
And where is Alec McEwen?
At the university.
How long does it take
to get a letter from
Stockholm to England?
Answer the bell.
We have to speak
to Sir Oliver.
Don't tell us
he's busy.
Callers? That's
all I need.
Oliver, we all know your
reputation for rudeness.
You're also
a conscientious man.
But you've skipped
every lecture for two weeks.
I'm involved in
something important.
More important
than our university?
Something any university
would envy us.
Ah, yes!
Ha ha!
You laugh!
What does the name
Arne Saknussemm mean to you?
Saknussemm, Saknussemm.
Didn't he write about
the lost city of Atlantis?
That was
his early career.
He's famous for
his study of volcanoes.
Out of a volcano
came this message from him.
It lay unnoticed
for 100 years
until picked up
by some peasant,
gathered dust in a curiosity shop
until it came to me.
Here is a translation
of the words.
"I'm dying, but my life's work
must not be lost.
"Whoever descends into the crater
of Sneffels Yocul
"can reach the center
of the earth.
I did it.
Arne Saknussemm."
Center of the earth?
Sneffels
Yocul?
That's an extinct volcano
in Iceland.
According to this, it
must lead to an unknown region.
But this is
sheer fantasy.
You haven't heard
all of it.
There's a postscriptum.
"At sunrise on
the last day of May,
the mountain Scartaris
will point the path."
What do you say now?
I'm more mystified
than ever.
Scartaris?
Scartaris is a mountain
peak near the volcano.
This is
a student's hoax.
Wait a second,
rector.
Let's not take
that tone.
Let's assume
it's authentic.
Isn't the correct
procedure
to submit a paper
to the university officially?
You must consult
other experts.
This needs
verification.
Here is my paper.
I've written to
the foremost authority in Europe.
The Royal
Geological Society?
More eminent still.
Professor Goetaborg
of Stockholm.
Oh? And what
does he say?
I haven't
received his reply.
I've written
to him twice!
Well, then, I suggest
we relax on the matter
until your famous correspondent
sees fit to answer you.
Meanwhile, we could do
with some tea.
I know you two
think I'm daft.
Think whatever
you want.
Jenny, tea!
When did you
get here?
Just this moment,
Sir Oliver.
Look.
It's
from Stockholm.
He's got his letter
from Stockholm.
Did you see the shine
in his eyes?
There'll never
be a better moment.
Ill tell him about
our feelings for each other.
He'll say yes
almost inadvertently.
What if he says no
advertently?
You'll see how firm
my voice can be
when I speak
of you.
Blast
and damnation!
That devil!
Blast it!
What is it?
Don't keep us
in the dark.
Bad news,
sir?
I am stricken.
The University of Stockholm
informs me
that Professor Goetaborg
has vanished from Sweden.
His disappearance
follows closely the date
when my communication
must have reached him...
with all my material.
He evidently didn't think it
important enough to answer.
Or too important.
McEwen, find out when
the next ship leaves for Iceland.
I will not be beaten
to my goal.
What is your goal?
You heard
Saknussemm's message.
Oliver, you're
seriously ill.
I am
seriously well.
Don't wait.
I said hurry.
I must
start packing.
To go where?
To Iceland,
to begin with.
And then?
Where Arne Saknussemm went.
Oliver!
I can't wait while
that scoundrel named Goetaborg
exploits what I
foolishly gave him.
Don't you see
what's at stake?
The ultimate aim
of all science...
to penetrate
the unknown.
We know less
about our earth
than about the stars
and outer space.
The greatest mystery
is right here under our feet.
And now, if you'll
excuse me, gentlemen.
I must speak
with you.
I have no time
for words.
You must
take time, sir.
This is urgent.
Not for me.
I have to
go to Iceland.
I'm going with you.
Where?
To the center
of the earth.
Oh!
All Iceland
must be aware
that the Scots
have arrived.
I wish Jenny
could hear me.
Homesick already?
It's painful
to leave your fiance
on the first day
of your engagement.
But to come back
as a world famous scientist,
that's not
to be sneezed at.
Did you expect
a fight of stairs
with a red carpet?
I neglected
to tell you
I have a nervous fear
of heights.
You'll get over that
after the first
million fathoms or so.
Million fathoms.
Alec!
He's been here!
He's been
surveying here.
This is
fresh-cut wood.
Your revered colleague
from Stockholm.
He isn't wasting
any time.
Do you think he's
already gone down?
No. Saknussemm stipulated
the last day of May.
Go back to Reykjavik.
Buy every foot of rope
that's available.
Stock up on hardtack, bread,
chocolate, and medical supplies.
But more than anything,
inquire whether they
have Ruhmkorf lamps.
Have another carriage
waiting
at the foot of
the slope at sunset.
Can we prepare it
that quickly?
We must.
We're in a race.
What's that
you're taking?
Jenny's
farewell gift.
Ill keep it
with me always.
Scartaris!
Back to my hotel.
Ja, Professor Goetaborg.
Ah, my good man.
I assume my assistant
sent you.
No, thank you.
Nobody carries
the soldier's weapons.
And take your time.
These instruments
are delicate.
Easy, coachman!
Easy!
This isn't the same road
we came by this morning!
I said, slow down, man!
You're out
of your senses!
Stop your horses,
man!
This is a command!
Can't you hear me?
Slow down!
Stop, you fool!
Whoa!
If you've ruined
my instruments,
I'll horsewhip you,
so help me.
And where are we?
This certainly
is not my hotel.
Professor!
Alec!
Ah-choo!
Where are we?
Apparently in
an eider feather storehouse.
How did
you get here?
I don't know
what happened.
It went so fast.
I was clubbed
and overpowered.
Did you see
who did it?
No. I was
just walking.
Professor Goetaborg
is a criminal!
Probably he's always
dreamed of fame.
Your letter
opened the door.
Did you hear that?
Some tapping.
Don't get your hopes up,
Professor.
There's
nobody around.
Everybody's in
the market square.
Tomorrow the fishing feet
goes out.
The shops
are closed?
No. They are open,
but everything
we need
was sold already.
To Professor Goetaborg!
He stayed in the inn
where we're staying.
This time,
I heard it, too.
A fellow prisoner,
do you suppose?
He's giving us
signals.
It's a code.
Morse?
I can't
make it out.
Jot this down.
Dash, dash, dot,
dot, dot, dot, long dash.
It doesn't make
sense.
Perhaps it's
in Icelandic.
I don't think so.
We've established
contact.
I still can't
make it out.
My esteemed friend,
whoever you are,
let me introduce
myself,
Professor
Oliver Lindenbrook,
University
of Edinburgh.
May I ask you
to interrupt your tapping
and listen?
In what language
would you like me to speak?
Apparently, he doesn't
understand English.
Ill try French.
Mon cher ami,
vous et nous
sommes dans
une situation
abominable!
It's no good, sir.
It sounds
more Russian.
Kak tvoe imia?
My c toboi tovarishchi
polushashche?
Gertrude!
Gertrude!
Gertrude!
It's a female prisoner.
And her lover.
Professor,
they're kissing.
I'm sorry,
but for once
we must dispense
with tact.
I regret
to disturb you.
Can you get us
out of here?
Oh, Gertrude...
It's a duck!
And I was just about
to try Latin.
You with
the gold tooth,
I'll give you
more gold
if you'll guide us
to Reykjavik.
Ja, Reykjavik.
You take us
to Reykjavik.
I understand
that Professor Goetaborg
from Stockholm
is stopping here,
a friend...
A friend of yours,
Professor Goetaborg?
Let's say a colleague.
May I help?
He is at home,
isn't he?
Yes. L...
He isn't at home.
He can't
be disturbed.
He's asleep with
all this going on?
You cannot see him.
I'm sorry.
Here are your coins.
Here is my card.
Put it in his box
so he'll know
I'm around.
Thank you so much.
Goetaborg,
I know you're
in there.
This is
Lindenbrook.
Goetaborg.
Do you see
what this is, laddie?
The very last word
in equipment.
Ruhmkorf lamps!
Oh!
Self-generating lamps.
How long will they burn,
Professor?
My guess is indefinitely.
As long as
they're wound up,
the induction coil
will give off current.
Breathing devices,
like those used
in coal mines in Wales.
All the instruments needed
for exploring
the world below,
whatever it may be!
I shall wait here
till Goetaborg returns.
You...
wait, too.
Goetaborg may be
a strong man.
More treasure, sir.
Climbing boots,
alpenstocks,
blankets.
Food for months.
A chart with a...
P- P-Professor!
What?
Well, Goetaborg,
it seems there's
such a thing
as justice,
after all.
So you wanted to
push in ahead of us?
Fate took care
of him.
Why didn't they
tell us?
Hotels rarely advertise
that they have corpses.
The Icelander
teaches us a lesson.
We'll observe one
minute of silence
in memory of
a great scientist,
even if he was
a blasted thief.
Alec,
you mentioned fate.
Slight correction...
Fate plus a few grains
of potassium cyanide.
He was against us.
Someone was even more
against him.
Who?
I'm the wife of
Professor Goetaborg.
Oh, my dear.
What is it?
My husband didn't
meet me at the pier.
Is something wrong?
Please sit a minute
before you go up.
Please, my dear.
He seemed so well.
Early in the morning,
he went to the mountain.
He came back and received
a luncheon guest in the lobby.
I saw him myself.
They went up to his room
and ate.
What are you trying
to tell me?
That my husband is...
His guest left
about 4:00.
When the maid went
to make the bed...
Oh, dear God.
I can't remember anyone
ever dying in my inn.
We called a doctor,
but it was too late.
We left him up there
because you were coming.
Just 10 days ago,
he was joking on the pier
in Stockholm.
The moment
he arrived here,
he sent me a message
just with one word...
"Come."
Madam,
my deep sympathy.
My name is
Oliver Lindenbrook
of Edinburgh University.
I take it you're familiar
with that name?
Professor Lindenbrook.
I see you are.
I must ask a question.
I would like
Madam Goetaborg to stay.
This will be difficult
for you, madam.
Who was the last person
to see him alive?
His luncheon guest.
Who?
Count Saknussemm.
Count Saknussemm?
I didn't realize
the Saknussemm family
still existed.
They are the land's
oldest family.
A descendant of
Arne Saknussemm.
And a scientist, too,
in his own right.
He lunched
with Goetaborg?
They saw each other
every day.
They worked together
in his room
with all those charts
and instruments.
I suggest you request
an autopsy immediately.
Is there
something suspicious
about
my husband's death?
Your husband
came to Iceland
for the same reasons
that brought me.
Neither of us
could possibly suspect
a third party would stop
at nothing to forestall us.
He was killed?
Poisoned.
Oh.
This is now
a police matter.
Send for them.
To your room first,
madam.
Uh... just one second,
if you please.
Thank you.
I'm deeply distressed by
your husband's death.
I fully understand
your feelings.
However, I must ask you
one question.
How do you plan to dispose
of your husband's equipment?
What does it matter?
Ill take it
off your hands.
We can
discuss it later.
Time is
running out.
My expedition must start
within 24 hours.
Your expedition?
Exactly.
I only know of
the Goetaborg Expedition.
Husbands don't always
tell wives everything.
I don't wish to blacken
your husband's memory.
However, I demand
that equipment.
I have a right
to it.
A right to take over
another's life work?
He died for that idea!
He stole that idea
from me.
That is a lie.
Madam.
An unforgivable lie.
I would rather destroy
every pound
of that equipment
than let you have it.
"Incredible encounter!
"A Saknussemm descendant
turns up,
"acts as if he were
king of volcanoes,
"tries to force me to surrender
his ancestor's secret.
"Saknussemm called again.
"New complication!
"My real adversary arrives,
Lindenbrook,
"undoubtedly to claim his rights.
Must fight him somehow."
Oh, uh, young man,
would you come here
a moment, please?
Who are those for?
Professor Lindenbrook.
Ah-ha.
Ja, madam.
Oh, at least
we have some rope.
That's a beginning.
Tell him to stop jabbering
and go shopping.
What about lamps?
Ah, lamps... lamps.
What about...
ah... picks?
Oh, and provisions,
food.
What are you doing?
Big ox.
Put me down.
Somebody please
explain this outrage.
Are we to be abducted
every day in Iceland?
Ja, madam.
She speaks
Icelandic.
I do,
but I wish to apologize
to you in plain English.
I went through
my husband's diary.
I believe I have
done you an injustice.
Don't give it
another thought.
I'm Sir Oliver's assistant,
Alec McEwen.
This expedition began
thanks to this lad.
Began... that's all
it has done.
If you still want
the equipment,
it's yours.
Will you
say that again?
I won't stand in the way
of the Lindenbrook
Expedition.
Madam.
My husband had
boots made specially.
I hope they fit.
Mine will be
ready without delay.
Your man's ordering
some for me.
Good, good.
What was that?
Why would you need
boots like this?
I can't go in these.
Go where, madam?
Don't say it.
Naturally,
I'm coming along.
That's why I'm giving you
all of this.
That's a condition.
You didn't mention
any condition.
Then I do now.
Whom were you taking
besides this young man?
The big Icelander.
Then I'll be very useful.
He doesn't
understand English.
You can't come.
You're a woman!
What has my sex
to do with it?
We're not contemplating
a stroll down Piccadilly.
Professor Lindenbrook,
I've just lost my husband.
I have nothing else
to live for up here.
Down there, I can
represent his name.
The decision
is not yours.
The police need you
for the investigation.
I have already given
my testimony.
But madam, quite apart
from the appalling danger,
think of
the inconvenience.
The lack
of privacy!
In short,
you don't want this?
I may be mad
about this journey,
but to burden myself with
a female is sheer stupidity.
I may have been
a disturbance to men,
never a burden.
This is
an absolute holdup.
I assure you
you will not receive
one iota of extra
consideration.
You'll sleep
where we sleep,
you'll eat
what we eat.
Then you accept
my proposition?
Oh!
Professor, look!
There's our gateway.
Thank you, Scartaris.
Never was there
a brighter sunrise.
Now, we descend
into oblivion,
or we enter
the great book of history.
Roll call.
Carla Goetaborg.
Alexander McEwen.
Hans und
Gertrude Belka.
Oliver S. Lindenbrook.
What did he say?
Hans and who?
And Gertrude.
Professor!
Professor!
All right,
you've arrived.
Rather an alarming
descent.
I found it
exhilarating.
I wonder
if Madam Goetaborg
will change her mind.
You make
my mouth water.
Hans is tying the rope
on her.
I'm a fool.
I should have told him
to tie her to a mule
and send her home.
What language
would you have used?
She may be of some use
in that respect,
then there's always the blessed
chance the rope may break.
Are you all right,
ma'am?
Oh, quite.
Hans insisted
on a double rope.
Did he indeed?
How solicitous.
But that was for Gertrude.
Poor Sir Oliver,
stuck with a woman.
If only you
could see your face.
That's my consolation,
madam.
I don't have to
look at it. You do.
There's not enough rope
in all Europe!
Perhaps this is
the wrong entrance.
The sign was
unmistakable.
But there's no
other way to continue.
Gertrude!
Gertrude!
Oh, madam!
Madam!
He says there's a tunnel
on the other side.
Slanting downhill,
but walkable.
Eureka!
Oh, thank you.
Now then,
a general summary...
A... We must never use
more than two Ruhmkorf lamps
at a time.
B... We won't need our
breathing equipment immediately.
Nevertheless, never
take a step without it.
C... Use our canteens freely.
There'll be many
springs on our way.
As my husband's charts
indicated.
Is he to be with us
on our entire journey?
Sorry.
Well, every journey
begins with a first step.
May the good Lord
be with us.
Onward!
Let's have
some music.
Alec, will you
start us off?
Miss Jenny!
I saw you turn pale
when the dominie spoke
of those in peril
at the far ends
of the earth.
Far ends of the earth.
At least that
would be somewhere.
There was a clipping
in a Stockholm paper,
a dispatch
from Reykjavik.
I can only read
their names.
I had it translated.
The last news
of them was
that they went
up Mount Sneffels
with some heavily laden
donkeys.
Yes?
And then the animals
came down without their packs.
And?
And that's all.
Oliver S. Lindenbrook,
Alexander McEwen,
Hans Belka,
and Madam...
What's...
Why, it seems a woman
went with them.
A woman!
You know what
they'll call that
in the Royal Observatory
at Greenwich?
A slight tremor coming
from undefined regions.
Well, we've lived
through a slight tremor.
Let us proceed.
It seems to be
moving away from us.
In these regions,
I don't venture to say
anything is moving away
or coming towards us.
The only thing
we can be certain of
is that danger
is always with us.
We might as well
ignore it.
Run!
Jump!
Aah! Oh!
The three notches.
The three notches
of Arne Saknussemm.
What does that mean?
We've been shown
the right path.
We have a guide.
Alec,
the plumb bob.
Look! Without these marks,
we would have gone astray.
We'd have wasted months
exploring endlessly.
We might have taken
any one of these channels.
But our great colleague
maketh a path for our feet.
Well, you all
deserve a rest.
Let's have tea with
a double ration of raisins.
May I comb my hair first,
Professor?
Oh!
Ladies
on the left.
Gentleman
on the right.
Oh!
What is it,
madam?
Shh!
If we'd known
you had nightmares,
we'd have made different
sleeping arrangements.
Someone is walking
up there.
I heard footsteps,
human footsteps.
Since the beginning
of time,
all women have heard footsteps...
up there.
My hearing is
extremely acute.
The hearing of all women
is extremely acute.
My wife used to hear
rats in the attic,
usually, on the nights before
I had an important lecture.
Alec,
go find out.
Hans...
Will you leave
those men alone!
They need rest.
Moreover,
it was stipulated
that I
give the orders.
Don't use that
patient voice with me.
How about
an impatient voice?
I am a member
of this expedition.
As such, I intend to report
any of my observations.
Alec...
put it down
in the record
that a member
of the expedition
reported rats
in the attic.
Lights out!
Don't be afraid,
madam.
I'm right here.
Conceal these marks
completely.
Ill give them
some new ones.
This is steeper than
anything we've encountered.
It's just as well we all
had a good night's rest.
Alec, take this down.
of our descent,
starting from an estimated depth
of 129 kilometers,
limestone formation
continues.
Aye-aye,
Professor!
Here are the three
notches again.
Good!
Gertrude!
Wrong turn.
Let's see.
What have we here?
One heads 220 degrees
south-southwest,
the other 160 degrees
south-southeast. Strange.
I would have wagered
we should go that way.
That was Gertrude's
feeling, too.
Are you sure
your compass is right?
Quite.
What's he saying?
Hans is wondering about the
ultimate goal of our expedition.
He's asking, "Why?"
Alec, suppose
you tell him.
Well, why does man
freeze to death
trying to reach
the North Pole?
Why does man suffer
the steaming heat
of the Amazon?
Why does he
stagger his mind
with the mathematics
of the sky?
Once a question mark
has arisen in
the human brain,
the answer
must be found
if it takes
a thousand years.
Render that into
a few Icelandic words!
Tell him
that scientists
have bats in
their belfries.
Oh!
Are you all right?
Can you
unhook yourself?
Hans!
I didn't see it!
I didn't see it!
Never mind
about that.
How is it possible?
This way was
clearly indicated.
There must
have been a quake
since
Arne Saknussemm's day.
This is no
recent fissure.
I wasn't
in a position
to observe it
scientifically.
We made a mistake somewhere,
but where?
What are you
doing here, madam?
We were supposed
to stay together.
We've been tricked,
tricked into
the wrong tunnel.
Those three notches
are not
Arne Saknussemm's.
She's right, Professor.
Someone has passed through
before us.
No need
to ask who.
Madam heard him
last night.
Now she's saying,
"I told you so."
Silently, I admit,
but she's saying it.
When I wish
to say something,
I say it aloud.
In view of
this new development,
I must end
the expedition.
But you're not a man
who frightens easily.
I'm not thinking
of myself,
but of you...
a woman!
I'm one
of your men.
If a madman
is loose...
He's against us all,
against the concept
of this journey.
What's happened now?
What's he saying?
He said we should go back
to where Alec fell.
It's not
on our route.
If we're to go ahead,
we've no time
for detours.
Then you wait here.
If only my Jenny
were here to see this.
Now that
the boy has gone
and Hans doesn't
understand English,
I must ask
a delicate question.
I'm blushing
already.
You're wearing stays,
are you not?
Professor!
I can hear
them creaking.
It's not
your business!
Everything here
is my business.
We'll look away
while you discard them.
You go too far.
The heat
will soon be excessive.
Nothing must impede
anyone's breathing.
Alec!
Leaving in a few minutes!
I've got to take a specimen of
this back to Edinburgh,
if it's the last thing
I do.
Unique.
Inexplicable.
Ready to go,
if that boy Alec
would be good enough
to appear.
Where the devil
is he?
It's a blind alley!
Keep back!
Professor!
Hans!
Ah!
Good God!
Aah!
Aah!
Oh. Aah!
Hold on to my arm.
My shoulder.
Hold on.
Oh, praise the Lord.
Oh!
Oh.
Alec.
Professor!
Hello!
Hello! Hello!
Hello! Hello!
Professor,
here I am!
- Here I am!
- Here I am!
Here I am!
Salt!
Ah!
Ah!
Oh!
Alec!
Alec!
Alec! Alec!
Alec!
Professor, you can't
go on this way.
I've kept track of
the passage of days.
Try that channel
there.
We were there
yesterday.
We left marks.
He's not there.
I've got
to find him.
I'm responsible.
Oh.
I can see this
is a recent break.
Alec!
Alec!
Alec! Alec!
Can you hear me?
Can you
hear me?
Give us a sign!
Give us
a sign!
Alec, listen carefully.
When the echoes stop,
try to answer.
If you're injured,
make an effort.
Pick up a pebble
and scratch the rock.
We'll hear you.
Just give us a sign!
Give us
a sign!
A phosphorescent pool.
Strange grave
for a young Scot.
Professor,
there's no use.
How can I live
with myself?
Accept his loss
like one soldier accepts
the loss of another.
You must continue.
You must go on with
the Lindenbrook Expedition.
The Lindenbrook
Expedition.
Yes.
Go on with it.
It was his project,
as much as yours.
Yes.
You're right.
We will proceed,
but we won't
call it
the Lindenbrook
Expedition anymore.
From now on,
it's the Alec McEwen
Expedition.
No broken bones?
Ribs all right?
Good. Get up.
Down there,
food and water.
Refresh yourself.
So you've lost
your friends?
Just as well.
It's my servant.
Too much heat,
too much load,
too much fear.
You're younger.
You'll do
to carry my things.
I'm not your servant,
Count Saknussemm.
Pride? Rather
out of place here.
Eat, drink, and
pick up those things.
I'm in a hurry.
To steal
the professor's project?
Steal? Listen,
young foreigner.
I don't have to steal
what belongs to me.
You're in
my world now.
Stop!
I need someone to
carry my equipment!
You'll never find
your companions.
We need each other.
You found me.
My friends will, too.
You'll carry it with
one arm, not two!
A hail of bullets.
A remarkable echo
reverberating from
the rock chambers.
The last echo
will give us the direction.
south-southeast.
Alec!
Alec!
Alec.
Alec!
Alec!
We'd given you up,
but you're
alive, laddie.
You're alive!
Professor.
Carla.
Hans.
Just to see you!
Where was he?
I didn't think
he'd shoot,
but he did.
Of course I did.
What did you expect?
You are
trespassers here.
I own this domain.
You are also
the murderer of my husband.
I claimed my rights.
He would not listen.
In the name of
your great ancestor,
put down that
preposterous gun.
No harm will come if
you accept my terms.
You will go back
the way you came,
but leave equipment
I need and that man.
You won't listen
to a murderer.
Never interrupt
a murderer, madam.
I resent that
bourgeois classification.
I'll spare
your lives.
You have my word
of honor.
Give me
your hand on that.
Aah!
A bourgeois trick.
So sorry.
All right, before
we continue on our journey,
we must perform
a solemn duty.
We have
to hold court.
Here, hundreds
of kilometers
beneath the surface
of the earth,
we are the law.
The defendant stands accused
of one murder
and one act of mayhem.
I must ask you,
as jurors,
is the defendant
guilty or not guilty?
Guilty.
Guilty.
Hans.
Guilty.
Then the mandatory
sentence...
is death.
There are
two bullets left.
Madam, please
explain to Hans.
We will follow the route
marked by the notches.
He will wait here
for 10 minutes,
then carry out
the sentence.
No, no, no.
I can carry
with my left hand.
Carry yourself
for a while.
That's all
we can expect.
Sir Oliver, there's
a slight problem.
Hans refuses
to shoot the count.
What do you mean?
It's a court order.
His family's been loyal
to the Saknussemms
for generations.
He cannot touch the gun.
This is contempt
of court.
All right, Alec.
No, no,
Sir Oliver.
Don't look at me.
I couldn't
pull the trigger
with my left hand.
Oh, no.
I couldn't do it.
After all,
I'm a woman!
For weeks you've
denied your sex.
Now you
fall back on it.
I would say
the natural executioner
would be the leader
of the expedition.
We must face
the truth, sir.
We're much too civilized
to do away with
a fellow human being.
Should we
drag him along?
Feed him?
Stop fiddling
with those lamps!
What's he
jabbering about?
I'll tell you
what he's saying.
The lamps are
giving out.
The induction coils
have been corroded by the salt.
I insist we leave
here at once.
You insist!
He's bloody well right.
Let's be off.
Saknussemm's unfastened
himself from the rope again
and gone off.
What's the harm?
He'll be back when
it's time to eat.
The harm is he's
wasting a lamp.
Madam, will you
try your lamp, please?
It's dead.
Yours, Alec.
When these things
are gone,
they're really gone.
Madam,
make a final note
while there
is still light.
Let me.
My arm's well.
No need.
Covered another
Temperature
dropped seven degrees.
Surprisingly cooler
than anticipated.
The darkness is
closing about us.
This may be
our last entry.
Hans and I
can cut rope into torches.
That's a good idea.
What puzzles me
is that
Saknussemm's notches
keep pointing
our way.
What lamp
did he have?
Perhaps he didn't
require a lamp.
From here on,
neither do you, Sir Oliver.
Why don't you
turn it off?
Yes, just
switch it off.
Why,
it's miraculous.
Look at this.
What is it, sir?
A form of algae
with a property
of luminescence.
Light without heat.
A cool
chemical light.
You've seen fireflies
and glowworms
and forms of sea life
that generate
their own light?
The same principle
is involved here.
the phenomenal winds
vanished as abruptly
as they came.
We are now in a stupendous
deposit of cinnabar.
What's that little mark
you make?
M. E...
McEwen Expedition.
Whenever I've said
Lindenbrook Expedition,
you've written
McEwen Expedition?
May I remind you
that months ago,
you gave me explicit
orders to that effect?
You may not
remind me.
I don't wish your
correcting me incessantly.
Is that what
I'm doing?
You're doing it
with your looks,
with the posture
of your body.
Your entire presence is
a constant criticism of me.
I'm tired of it!
I've had enough!
You've had enough!
Let me tell you...
you dried-up walnut
of a man!
If anyone's had enough,
it's me!
It's I.
It's I! It's me!
It's Carla Goetaborg.
I quit!
I'm leaving!
May I send for
madam's horse and carriage?
Well, at least you know
I have a temper.
Alec will
keep the charts.
Alec!
Alec!
Why can't he
stay around?
Mushrooms! A forest
of mushrooms.
They might be hundreds
of years old,
but the small ones
we can eat.
They're delicious!
To think they grew
without sun
this far
under the earth.
All the food
we can eat!
Ha ha ha!
It's tougher
than leather.
- Ha ha!
- Ha ha!
We'll have new soles
for our shoes.
Ooh!
It's like
an oak tree!
Ah! Madam,
you're magnificent.
Mushroom steak,
mushroom soup, mushroom hash.
Let me say this...
If we'd had one more week
of that salted beef,
I would have perished.
Don't be too happy.
After some months
of this,
you'll want
salt beef again.
Yes. Months... months.
If we only knew
how many more.
There's no term
to the work of a scientist.
If you hadn't
been along,
this whole journey
would have been unbearable.
But that's not Professor
Lindenbrook's feeling.
It's mine.
You see, we have no sun...
and no moon... no stars,
but then you're here.
And what is the name
of the girl you love?
I beg your pardon?
The girl you love...
what's her name?
Jenny. But why would you
want to know that just now?
Oh, dear Alec.
There are times
when it's advisable
to jog
a young man's memory.
Professor!
Here's some hot mushroom porridge
for you, Sir Oliver.
I slept as I'd never
slept in Edinburgh.
No street noises,
no church bells,
no clatter of pans
from the kitchen.
I may move here
permanently.
What's our large friend
doing over there?
I don't know.
Special command of His Majesty.
Is that madman
still giving orders?
This is
his rest period.
When you fell asleep,
he went off
through the tunnel.
He came back and ordered
the mushrooms felled.
What in the world
can he want
with all those?
You've come
to ask me
why I didn't rest?
I don't sleep.
I hate those little
slashes of death.
It's a sea.
It's an ocean
with currents.
The ocean
of the underworld.
Some earthquake before
the beginning of history
cracked wide open
the great sea,
and, through the fissures,
poured this.
The fissures
closed again.
No map ever recorded
the Saknussemm Ocean.
I so christened it
while you were asleep.
It's the prerogative
of the discoverer.
I congratulate you.
There will be no more
notches to follow.
That's why
you ordered a raft.
I approve.
If I had my gun,
we'd have fresh meat.
That's what
he's saying!
He's a flesh-eater!
Can he swim?
No, thank God.
Ah!
Ah!
Aah!
Ahh!
The wind is blowing
down the street.
Here...
I brought you
some nice apples.
I wonder if it's cold
where they are.
Where they are...
indeed!
Are they anyplace?
McEwen, put that toy away
and take over the rudder.
Yes, sir.
I didn't say
throw it away!
It blew
out of my hand!
My watch!
Save the instruments!
My ring!
My wedding
ring!
A field of force
that snatches gold away.
This is it. This is it!
The junction
of magnetic forces
from the North
to the South Pole...
the center of the earth!
Aah!
Aah!
Hang on!
Hold on
to your rope, Alec!
Aah!
No! Aah!
Is everyone here?
Madam Goetaborg,
Alec...
Hans.
Gertrude.
And His Highness
over there.
So the expedition
with all the names
ends like this.
We're alive,
aren't we?
After all, we did hit
the center of the earth.
It hit us, laddie.
He probably wants to know
where we go next.
Tired minds
don't plan well.
Sleep first,
plan later.
When I refused
to eat my porridge
when I was a boy,
my mother used to say,
"Oliver, the day may come
when you'll very much
want that porridge."
Are you surprised
that I had a mother?
I was thinking
how proud she'd be
of that little boy
who wouldn't eat his porridge.
Here, duck.
Here, duck.
Gertrude!
Gertrude!
Gertrude!
Gertrude!
Gertrude!
Gertrude! Gertrude!
Gertrude!
Hans!
Hans!
Why do you look
at me like that?
Hans!
I needed food,
so I took it.
Professor, tell your man
to calm himself.
I won't engage
in a dispute
about
a slaughtered duck.
Professor!
Stop him!
Stop this fool!
Hans!
Hans!
You ingrates!
What can you do
without me?
Only I can show you the way
out of this, my realm.
Look out!
Aah!
This is
the sunken city.
After 5,000 years,
men behold a fragment
of the lost Atlantis.
All we know about it
comes from the Greek.
The floor
of the sea opened up
and swallowed the whole
island of Atlantis.
This must have been
the market square.
Professor!
Professor, this looks like
some sort of inn.
This is an inn,
an eating place, certainly.
Eating... what a word.
What a wonderful word.
Well, we've
learned one thing
about the inhabitants
of Atlantis...
they ate oysters.
Stale bread.
We must speak
to the baker.
Madam!
Madam!
Ja?
He's asking if that was
a temple to their god?
Yes, I'm
sure it is.
It's some sort
of altar stone
where the
sacred fame burned.
It's serpentine,
isn't it?
Exactly.
A massive form of asbestos.
At a moment like this,
I have no pad and pencil
to record this!
Ah!
Turn around, madam.
Don't look.
What is it?
The great Arne Saknussemm,
I presume.
So this is
as far as he came.
Say "How do you do"
to a brave man.
He must have
dragged himself
with a broken leg.
Look at that tibia.
There is nothing edible
in there.
Why not?
The Chinese eat eggs
over 400 years old.
Gunpowder.
Professor, look
at his right hand.
Professor, look
at his right hand.
It's pointing somewhere.
To that shaft
over there.
Of course! This is what
the pointing finger meant!
This is the way up.
He couldn't make it,
but we can.
This is a volcanic chimney.
The violent updraft means
a direct hatchway
to the surface.
We can climb up!
Madam,
explain to Hans.
Let him venture up
and reconnoiter.
The updraft
can't carry him away.
We'd roll up
our sleeves,
if we had any.
We mustn't hope
for too much.
We'll have to provide
some kind of light.
And food.
I'll go look around.
I'll comb every inch
of Atlantis.
If we only had
some shears,
we could
cut it off.
Could we?
Aye-aye!
Aye-aye!
Aye-aye!
Flints!
I found some flints.
Good lad.
We won't be walking
in darkness.
Madam!
I wish I had
better news for you.
It gives every indication
of a perfect passage upward,
straighter than the one
we descended, but...
But? But?
There's an obstacle,
a gigantic block of stone
obstructs the passageway.
Hans said only a landslide
could ever move it.
No. Let him be.
If all his hopes
hadn't been so high.
Alec!
Yes, sir?
Arne Saknussemm's
haversack.
Get it!
If God is with us,
and that gunpowder
has kept its ginger,
we'll make that
landslide ourselves.
Now, my wonderful
companions,
you realize, I hope,
that we're taking
an enormous chance,
but it's our only chance.
I guarantee that this will
blow up the obstructing rock.
Whether
the surrounding rocks
will take
the disturbance lightly,
that I cannot guarantee.
For protection,
get into the altar stone.
Dear God, ruler of
heaven and earth...
Don't set any limit
to his realm, laddie.
God of the universe,
we are in
thy merciful hands.
Look out!
Run, Professor!
A monster!
Let me go!
We started
an earthquake.
Aah!
The lava
is pushing us up!
It's an earthquake
of unusual magnitude!
More likely, it's
a volcanic eruption.
Listen to this...
"Stromboli, Italy,
first eyewitness report.
"The capsule
of the dead volcano
"broke under
a tremendous explosion.
"Rocks of
extraordinary size
are being spewed out
into the sea."
Dammi la mano.
Piano, eh? Piano.
Passa mi vino.
Ecco.
Signora,
beva, beva.
Where's Alec?
Hans says Alec was thrown
from the altar stone
long before
we hit the water.
Non si preoccupi,
abbiamo lo scalino!
My immediate need
is not a ladder.
I need trousers.
Che dice?
Pantaloons!
Pantaloons!
Oh, vuole
pantalone!
Pantalone? Oh!
Don't bring them
yourselves.
Send a friar, a monk.
- Oh!
- Oh!
Excuse me, ladies.
Excuse me.
Lindenbrook! Lindenbrook!
Lindenbrook!
Lindenbrook! Lindenbrook!
Lindenbrook!
Lindenbrook! Lindenbrook!
Lindenbrook! Lindenbrook!
Lindenbrook!
Speech! Speech!
Speech! Speech!
Speech! Speech!
Hello, Scots!
If these shouts of yours
express some pleasure
that we've returned alive,
I thank you deeply.
However, if they're
meant as praise
for a successful scientist,
I must disclaim that honor.
- No!
- No!
No. A scientist who cannot prove
what he has accomplished
has accomplished nothing.
I have no records,
no shred of evidence.
I will never embarrass
this distinguished university
by asking
that it take my word.
Let me say only this.
a daring man undertook
a perilous journey
and never came back.
We followed his path
and returned...
by God's grace
and a heathen altar stone.
One day, someone else,
it may be you, my boy,
or your sons or grandsons
will pick up
where we left off.
This I know.
The spirit of man
cannot be stopped!
Splendid,
Oliver.
Thank you.
Professor, here's someone
who wants to say goodbye.
His ship
sails at 4:00.
Hans, old friend,
we never could have
done without you.
He has a speech.
Uh...
Hello, sir.
If you...
if you'll ever go
down there again,
the center earth,
Hans will go, too.
Thank you.
Did you get your injuries
when the volcano blew up,
in the hot lava?
No. It happened
at our wedding.
He was hurrying
from the church
and fell
down the steps.
You poor wee bride,
after all that waiting,
it's been no marriage
for you at all.
You underestimate
Alec.
I'm taking the night train
to London
then back
to Stockholm.
But you have a job
to do right here.
I?
I'm writing my memoirs,
but I can't remember
everything that happened.
I see.
You need a widow
who can jog your memory
and take dictation.
I suppose I'm to report
every day from 9:00 to 12:00?
No. You can stay
in my house.
What would
Edinburgh say?
It's one thing to be with
a man under the earth,
and another under one roof
in Scotland.
Well, uh.
What do you propose?
That's not a word
I bandy about, Professor.
What did I say?
Which word?
I thought it would
catch in your throat.
Uh, madam!
Madam...
Oh, thank you.
Uh, Madam Goetaborg!
Madam Goetaborg. Carla!
Yes, Oliver?
Carla.
I warn you.
I'm wearing stays again.