Mysterious Island

Ray Harryhausen's stop-motion animation effects are the best thing about this version of the oft-filmed Jules Verne yarn. Craig leads a gang of Union soldiers who flee a Confederate jail by balloon, only to be washed up on the isolated isle where Lom's Capt Nemo has been experimenting to solve the world's food crisis (hence the giant hen, huge bees and over-sized crabs which test the plucky escapees). Scripted by several hands, but Bernard Herrmann's score a decided plus.