The Lost World (1960 film)
| The Lost World | |
|---|---|
 Original 1960 theatrical poster |
|
| Directed by | Irwin Allen |
| Produced by | Irwin Allen Cliff Reid |
| Written by | Irwin Allen Charles Bennett A. Conan Doyle (novel) |
| Starring | Michael Rennie Jill St. John David Hedison Claude Rains Fernando Lamas |
| Music by | Paul Sawtell Bert Shefter |
| Cinematography | Winton C. Hoch |
| Editing by | Hugh S. Fowler |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
| Release date(s) | July 13, 1960 (USA) |
| Running time | 97 min. |
| Country | U.S.A. |
| Language | English |
The Lost World is a 1960 science fiction adventure film based on the novel of the same name by Arthur Conan Doyle and directed by Irwin Allen. The plot of the film revolves around the exploration of a mysterious flat mountain (seeTepui) in the heart of unknown Venezuela inhabited by cannibalistic natives, dinosaurs, giant carnivorous plants, and giant spiders.
Special effects for the film were rather simple and involved monitor lizards, iguanas, and crocodiles affixed with miniature horns and fins. This technique has been given the nickname slurpasaur by fans.
Contents |
Plot
Professor Challenger leads team of scientists and adventurers to a remote plateau deep within the Amazonian jungle to investigate reports that dinosaurs still live there.
The boisterous, arrogant professor Challenger, a reputed biologist and anthropologist, dares the London Zoological Society to mount an expedition to verify his spectacular claim, without physical proof, that his previous expedition to the Amazonian basin found live dinosaurs. Apart from him and his 'socialite' counterpart, professor Summerlee, it consists of experienced discoverer Lord Roxbury, the young reporter Ed Malone -who got publicly struck down with Challenger's umbrella at his arrival- and Jennifer Holmes, Malone's news agency's boss's daughter, essentially as conditions for putting up the money. In Brazil they are joined by Jennifer's brother David and local 'guide' Manuel Gomez. They soon discover the dinosaurs are real and dangerous, like giant spiders, but loose their helicopter and thus are desperate for a way down from the isolated plateau. They learn Roxbury knew about the fate of Burton White, an explorer whose diary they find, thus presume to be dead, in search of diamonds, and confirmation of the local tribe being the lethal guardians of the plateau's secrets, but also get surprising help...
Featured cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Michael Rennie | Lord John Roxton |
| Jill St. John | Jennifer Holmes |
| David Hedison | Ed Malone |
| Claude Rains | Professor George Edward Challenger |
| Fernando Lamas | Manuel Gomez |
| Richard Haydn | Prof. Summerlee |
| Ray Stricklyn | David Holmes |
| Jay Novello | Costa |
| Ian Wolfe | Burton White |
| John Graham | Stuart Holmes |
| Colin Campbell | Prof. Waldron |
| Vitina Marcus | Native Girl |
Legacy
Irwin Allen utilized stock footage from this film for episodes of his various TV series, including Land of the Giants, Lost in Space, Time Tunnel, and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (TV series). In 1966, Irwin Allen even tried to sell a TV series based on the film as he had done with Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea but was unsuccessful.[1]
Reception
The film is/was panned by critics and fans alike for its use of lizards with fins rather than using the far more convincing method of stop-motion.
External links
- The Lost World at the Internet Movie Database.
- Irwin Allen News Network (The Irwin Allen News Network's Lost World page)
References
- ^ James Van Hise, Hot Blooded Dinosaur Movies, Pioneer Books Inc. 1993 Pg.157
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