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. Written by

Plot Synopsis:
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The 1960 version based on the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle novel opens with title and credits shown over various scenes of lava flowing. A Boing 707 in TWA livery lands at London Airport. A newscaster is there to welcome Professor George Edward Challenger (Claude Rains). A crowd of newspaper reporters crowd the stairway of the airplane clamoring for an interview. Front and center is Ed Malone (David Hedison). Challenger makes himself clear, "Anything I have to say about the expedition will be said tonight at the Institute, and not before." Challenger bops Malone on the head with his umbrella, sending the man crashing to the tarmac below. A small dog, Frosty, climbs up on Malone. Jennifer Holmes (Jill St. John) comes to fetch her dog and explains how she will be attending the professor's lecture. She introduces herself. She is the daughter of Malone's boss. Of course, Ed Malone made the newspaper headlines, "Challenger Assaults London newsman."

At the Zoological Institute in London, a crowd gathers. Challenger enters smoking a cigar. He greets Prof. Summerlee (Richard Haydn) who shows his distain by fanning the cigar smoke away from his face. Jennifer enters with Lord John Roxton (Michael Rennie). They take their seats in the front row as the meeting is called to order. Ed Malone is already seated in the front row. Summerlee introduces Challenger and explains that Challenger has returned from the headwaters of the Amazon River with a report, "That he insists will turn the scientific world topsie-turvey." Challenger tells the audience that on a plateau in Brazil he has found plant and animal creatures from prehistoric times, "Live Dinosaurs." The audience murmurs disbelief, and one gentleman in the audience calls Challenger a liar. Unfortunately for Challenger, on his way down the river, the boat overturned and all his evidence and equipment was lost. Challenger proposes another expedition, not to leave later than a month from now and demands that Sommerlee and two others attend. Roxton volunteers and both Challenger and Summerlee agree. Jennifer volunteers, but Challenger flatly states, "There will be no women on my expedition." Ed Malone volunteers, and of course Challenger objects. Stuart Holmes (an uncredited John Graham), the executive VP of Global News, enters the hall and agrees to finance the expedition to the tune of $100,000, but only if Malone accompanies the professor on the expedition. Challenger agrees, noting, "Since I was never a man to resist logic, or cash, I shall ignore my personal feelings and approve Mr. Malone as a member of the expedition." Summerlee reluctantly agrees to both Roxton and Malone. Roxton and Jennifer depart. Malone writes several articles regarding the expedition. The expedition is covered in the newspapers of many countries and many languages.

Deep in the jungle they arrive by float plane at a trading post. There to greet them is Costa (Jay Novello) and, playing the guitar and singing, Manuel Gomez (Fernanco Lamas). Costa is in charge of local arrangements and supplies. Gomez recognizes Roxton. Gomez is the helicopter pilot. Challenger is shocked to see pink luggage and boots on the dock. Jennifer enters and claims them, and then calls to her brother, David (Ray Stricklyn) and announces that they will both accompany the expedition. Challenger tells Jennifer she and her brother can leave on the float plane, but it leaves. The only other way out is on the helicopter. It is a fait accompli, so brother and sister accompany the expedition. Roxton and Jennifer talk that evening. She is still pursuing the man. After she goes to bed, Malone approaches Roxton and has it out with the man. Roxton informs Malone that Jennifer is coming for two reasons: the first is that she is brave, and secondly she wants to marry a title, namely his. He adds that Malone is interested in the girl. It seems everyone has an agenda, including Gomez.

The next morning they fly to a high plateau. Challenger tells them he was at the base of the plateau and on the ledge above he saw a live dinosaur. They land in a clearing surrounded by large, prehistoric trees. Malone takes a picture of Jennifer, instead of Challenger. They set up camp. Summerlee chides Challenger that he hasn't seen any dinosaurs yet. That evening after supper they hear the roar of some great beast. Trees are being toppled as the creature heads their way. The party heads into the jungle. A strange plant grabs Jennifer around the neck. She is rescued as the lizard goes on a rampage. Costa, a highly nervous man, panics and runs into the jungle. Gomez takes off after him. He sees that the helicopter has been destroyed. The end of outside contact now, as the radio was destroyed. The party begins their trek inland. Roxton and Malone encounter a gigantic three-toed footprint. This seems to confirm Challengers dinosaur theory. Jennifer wanders off to catch her dog. Frosty has found a dinosaur and barks at it. Jennifer picks up her dog and then sees the gigantic creature for herself and screams. Challenger now feels vindicated and Summerlee apologizes for his disbelief. Malone takes pictures, and then they run from the roaring dinosaur. Malone and Challenger manage to fall down a hillside and spot a human female (Vitina Marcus) dressed in animal skins. Malone chases after her through a giant tunnel of spider web material. A huge, green tarantula drops down to menace the native girl. Malone shoots and kills the arachnid, then continues his search for the girl. The party reassembles at a new encampment. Malone returns with the girl in tow. She tries to escape, but is stopped. Challenger notes that she is a local Indian indicating that there must be a way up to the plateau from the jungle below. Roxton reproaches Malone for bringing the girl back. He explains that they are all in danger now, because her tribe will try to find her. Malone and Roxton get into a fight. Roxton finds a journal, the Burton White diary. It is three years old and Roxton is mentioned, as are diamonds. Gomez is looking for a name. Malone and Jennifer ask Roxton to explain. Roxton tells of the legend going back hundreds of years, "a terror guarding riches." Diamonds were Roxton's reason to finance the last expedition. Santiago was a member of the previous expedition, and Gomez is looking for him. Roxton admits he abandoned the last party. The journal ends with a notation that native tribes kidnapped the members of the expedition. They hear the roar of dinosaurs and bed down for the night. Costa sees the native girl sleeping and has lust in his eyes. She wakes and tries to escape, but David stops her. David tries to communicate with her. He shows her the rifle, and it is apparent she knows how to use it. Gomez sees something in the trees just outside camp. He calls to Malone and Roxton for help. A shot rings out and Summerlee is injured and the girl escapes. Malone finds Gomez injured; claims he was grabbed and knocked out. His rifle is missing. Malone, David and Roxton search for the girl. Malone loses the girl, but Jennifer joins him. They run from an approaching dinosaur. Malone fires his rifle at it, but it has little effect on the gigantic creature. A second dinosaur joins the first and they fight. In the melee, the tail of one knocks Malone and Jennifer over the edge, onto a ledge below. The fight continues until both creatures topple over the edge to their deaths below. When Jennifer and Malone return to camp it is empty and a shambles. The dog wanders back into camp, followed shortly thereafter by her brother, David. The tribe is above and captures the three remaining members of the expedition.

They are led into a large chamber in the volcano. A ceremony is under way. The three new prisoners are led to a chamber to join their comrades. Costa is getting nervous and Challenger's observation that the natives are cannibals makes it worse. The native girl, who has developed an affection for David, enters the chamber from above. She motions for them to follow her. They follow the girl deeper into the volcanic cave system. The drums stop and the chief leads his guards to get the prisoners. He is shocked and angry to find them missing. The girl leads the explorers deeper into the tunnels and leads them to a solitary figure. He is an old white man, with long white hair and beard. The old blind man is Burton White (Ian Wolfe) and he warns that the volcano will explode soon. He tells them he is the only survivor and there is a way out via "the cave of fire." They hear the chief and his hunting party approaching. Burton refuses to join them on their escape. He claims he is too old and tired, but assures Roxton he will be safe, as it is a taboo to kill a blind man.

The girl leads them on their escape. Gomez wants to kill Roxton now, but Costa convinces him later would be better, after they find the diamonds. Their first obstacle is a passage with plant arms that reach out to kill. The torch held by the native girl causes the plant arms to retract. Skeletons flank the passage showing what happens if the plants catch their prey. Next is a mist covered passage between the rib bones of a huge creature. This is the "graveyard of the damned." They run along the spinal vertebrae like stepping stones. It ends at a large pool of lava. They walk along a narrow ledge over the pool. The native girl refuses to go any further. Roxton takes the lead. They hug the wall face as the ledge becomes narrower. Challenger steps on a loose rock and falls over the ledge. He is assisted back up by David and Roxton. A passageway entrance is at the end of the ledge. Gomez hears the natives approaching and lights the brush on fire to slow their approach. The escapees push a boulder across the entrance to buy some time. They see the escape route exit and walk towards it. Costa finds his diamonds and Challenger and Summerlee find a dinosaur egg. They are informed by Gomez, "This is the end of the journey." He tells Roxton to drop his rifle. Costa greedily fills his hat with the uncut diamonds. Gomez explains, "I want your life, Roxton. In exchange for that of a man you sent to his death when you deserted Burton White...I mean Santiago, my brother." Malone throws the hat full of diamonds at Gomez. The commotion wakes a sea creature. It picks up Costa in its mouth and gnaws on the poor man's body. Challenger exclaims, "Eaten alive. Horrible! Horrible!" Malone climbs up to where a dam of lava has been built so that it can be broken. He pulls on the lever, but he has insufficient weight to pull it down. Gomez climbs up to help, then stays to finish the job. The dam breaks and Gomez and the lava tumble into the lake below. The water creature is killed. The remaining members of the party escape and follow the route through the volcano. Volcanic activity increases and the mountain is racked with earthquakes. They exit the cave at the jungle below the plateau. The volcano erupts and Challenger remarks, "My lost world, lost forever." Summerlee is disappointed because they have no proof. But Challenger corrects him, "Oh yes we will." And pulls out the dinosaur egg intact. "I thought this might help." Roxton pulls a handful of diamonds out of his pocket and gives Jennifer a couple. She kisses both Malone and Roxton. A ground tremor causes Summerlee to drop the egg. It breaks open and Challenger proudly announces, "A baby dinosaur. Tyrannosaurus Rex...It will live long enough to grow as big as a house and terrify all London." We close with the survivors surrounding and looking at the baby dinosaur.

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phillindholm
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Producer/director Irwin Allen had big plans for this one. He also had the big budget needed to craft a truly spectacular remake of the original 1925 classic silent film. And, he rightly felt that a new movie based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's science fiction masterpiece had better be up to the task. Allen originally intended using the "Stop-Motion animation" technique (made popular by Ray Harryhausen) to bring his prehistoric monsters to life. But, just as production was about to commence, Twentieth-Century Fox, who commissioned the film (and were then experiencing severe monetary shortages, due to production problems with their money guzzling "Cleopatra") slashed the budgets of nearly every film currently being produced. "The Lost World" was no exception, and Allen's dreams of a Sci-Fi Spectacular were crushed. Being a resourceful film maker, though, he did the best he could with what he had, and that turned out to be very good indeed.

For his cast, he chose British character actor Claude ("The Invisible Man") Rains to play the indomitable Professor Challenger, leader of the expedition. As Playboy Johnny Roxton, he cast another British actor, Michael Rennie. David Hedison played newsman Ed Malone, Jill St. John played Jennifer Holmes, daughter of Malone's publisher and Fernando Lamas was Gomez, the expedition's pilot. Supporting them were Jay Novello, as a cowardly guide, and Vittina Marcus as a helpful island native girl. Forced to forego his original Stop-Motion technique, Allen had to make do with photographing lizards, alligators and such, adding horns and gills when necessary. The result was pretty much the way it sounds - the creatures this bunch discovered were a long way from prehistoric beasts. Nevertheless, the movie entertains, with truly beautiful wide screen photography, a fantastic collection of colors which really bring the striking sets to eerie life.

As for the performances, they are decent enough. Rains has gotten plenty of criticism over the years for his bombastic Challenger, but that's the way the character was written, and Rains is true to the material, and highly enjoyable too. Michael Rennie is a bit colorless in his big game hunter part, but he does have some good scenes as well. David Hedison is OK as Malone, who falls for Jennifer (Roxton's girlfriend) though their romance must have ended up heavily edited, as there's little evidence of it here. Ms. St John and Ms. Marcus are mainly eye candy, (this WAS the '60s after all) but act capably enough, though for a woman described as "brave as a lioness". Jill certainly does a lot of screaming while dressed in a very flattering, if impractical wardrobe (which includes a Toy Poodle). Ray Stricklyn is very persuasive as her rather immature but compassionate brother. Lamas and Novello are the supposed villains of this piece, though Lamas has a reason for his hostility. Allen's direction is good and the score by Bert Shefter and Paul Sawtell adds immeasurably to the drama and suspense. All in all, the picture is perfect Saturday Matinee fare, and though the script is talky in places, it still delivers the goods at the climax. The movie is a textbook example of a period when celluloid escapism was all viewers demanded, and here, they got it In spades.

Fox Home Video has just released "The Lost World" as a two-disc DVD set, with special features (trailer, newsreels and galleries of promotional material) from the film on disc one, and a restored version (with a few outtakes!) of the 1925 original on disc two. Allen's film looks wonderful in it's anamorphic CinemaScope transfer, and after years of suffering through the faded pan-and-scanned prints used for TV and video this is really a revelation. The new stereo soundtracks are equally impressive and make this film, from a producer/director who would one day be known as the "Master of Disaster', (thanks to such fare as The Poseidon Adventure' and "The Towering Inferno") a must have for collectors.

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Bruce Cook (brucemcook@windstream.net) from Fayetteville, GA
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Unlike `The Lost Continent' (1951), this 20th Century Fox Cinemascope production had an ample budget -- but the money wasn't spent very well. A good cast (Michael Rennie, Claude Rains, Jill St. John, David Hedison, and Fernando Lamas) are all part of an expedition that discovers a plateau in South America where dinosaurs still thrive.

Unfortunately producer Irwin Allen elected not to use stop motion animation to create the dinosaurs. Instead, the audience is treated to two hours of disguised iguanas and enlarged baby alligators. Irwin Allen also co-wrote the script, which is burdened by an excess of soap opera melodrama. The good musical score, however, is by Paul Sawtell and Bert Shefter.

Top quality production values and good photography make the film easy enough to watch, but there's a tragic story behind `The Lost World'. Willis O'Brien, creator of `King Kong', spent several years during the late 1950s making preparations for a big-budget remake of his 1925 version of `The Lost World'. He made his pitch to producer Irwin Allen and the big wheels at 20th Century Fox, showing them the hundreds of preproduction drawings and paintings he had done. He succeeded in persuading them to make the film -- but Fox refused to let O'Brien do the film's special effects, substituting the poorly embellished reptiles instead.

From all reports, O'Brien's version would have been the greatest lost-land adventure movie of all time. Irwin Allen's lack of vision is puzzling in view of the fact that in 1955 he produced `The Animal World' with animated dinosaurs by Ray Harryhausen and Wills O'Brien! See my comments on `Animal World' for more info.

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William (onnanob66@gmail.com) from Lancaster, Pennsylvania
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You would expect much more from an Irwin Allen film than 1960's The Lost World delivers. This film is high on silly-to-obnoxious characters, and corniness. The first few scenes in the film are particularly loaded down by corniness as we are introduced to the characters. There's eccentric Professor Challenger (Claude Rains) with his silly facial expressions, and boisterous but stuffy personality. There's Lord John Roxton (Michael Rennie) with his selfish and uncharming personality. There's Jennifer Holmes (Jill St. John) who starts out by trying to show the men a woman can also be worthy to take along on an expedition, but then becomes a useless, timid character who shows no strengths at all. The sexist remarks made by some male characters in the beginning become even more obnoxious, because Jennifer never comes through on showing strength, courage or ideas to help her crew members. The only strength she really proves is that she can pick out some elegant but inappropriate clothing to wear during the dangerous expedition. Jennifer has also brought along her silly, little poodle named Frosty. And then there's Costa (Jay Novello), a wimpy, greedy, seedy, little man. Throw in Fernando Lamas as Manual Gomez, the hired helicopter pilot who is also along for a side plot of personal revenge. He plots his murder-revenge and strums his guitar along the way (the natives even let him keep his guitar when the group is captured!) Not too many characters to really care for, but there are a few to possibly like such as Jennifer's brother, David (Ray Stricklyn.) David actually turns out to be more of a help then originally believed. A captured native girl (Vitina Marcus) turns out to be one of the better characters in the picture, but that is most likely because she has none of the corny lines and characteristics the expedition party's characters have. There's also corny drama from a love triangle that forms along the way. We all know Claude Rains (Phantom Of The Opera), Michael Rennie (The Day The Earth Stood Still) and others can do fine acting jobs, and the acting in this movie is fine--It's just most of the characters are so corny at times it should be embarrassing to the stars of the picture. The action in the film does not really build to any exciting levels as the crew is menaced by various creatures. The dinosaurs are lizards and reptiles with fins and horns applied to their bodies, and the giant spider is a rather lame effect (especially since it just hangs there, and only moves its legs a bit.) There is an unpleasant scene in which a real lizard fights a real reptile (portraying dinosaurs) that seems very politically incorrect by today's standards (and should have been a no-no even back in 1960.) Irwin Allen and 20th Century Fox could've done much better than this, and it is not nearly as good of a film as Journey To The Center Of The Earth (also from 20th Century Fox.) Still, The Lost World may entertain on a Saturday afternoon matinee level, and it is one of those movies collectors of horror and science fiction films will probably want to add to their 1950's and 1960's collections.

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march9hare from sparks nv
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Irwin Allen puts a saddle on the Conan Doyle novel and digs in the spurs in this silly adaptation of the eponymous book. Loaded with action but not much else, and well stocked with useless characters such as Frosty the poodle. SEE! Jill St.John, who starts off feisty but ends up as simpering baggage, explore the Amazon in pink tights. HEAR!! Michael Rennie murder the Spanish language. FEEL!!! The sense of loss as Fernando Lamas deadpans the line: "My helicopter". In an interview years later, David Hedison admitted that he HATED this movie, and it's easy to see why. With typical pre-release hype, Irwin Allen teased the public with promises of unbelievably authentic-looking monsters("like nothing you've ever seen before!"). Wrong: they were exactly like everything we've seen before. The actors, from Claude Rains to Fernando Lamas, are all good to very good, but not in this clunker. Their combined talents were wasted, as will be your money if you buy or rent this film. Get it ONLY if you feel compelled to complete a collection of '50s and '60s B-movies, otherwise: don't walk, run!

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Gary170459 from Derby, UK
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Along with King Kong this is one of the first films I remember seeing, on Saturday night TV sometime in the mid '60's. My expert judgement at 6 years old was that it was the best film ever made, over the years since it has somewhat slipped down my list – but at least is still in it! Viewed through rose-tinted spectacles I still enjoy watching it and trot the vid out every 5 years or so for another wallow in personal nostalgia. Viewed dispassionately I think it's also better than both 1925 versions – the long was too slow, the short unintelligible; forget any others.

Eccentric Professor Challenger challenges crusty Professor Summerlee in public to go with him on an expedition to find a plateau in South America where he (claimed) he saw prehistoric dinosaurs roaming around. A motley party is assembled to make the trip consisting of a cynical aristocrat with a secret, his eye-fodder girlfriend in pink and her eye-fodder brother, the hard working reporter who fancies her, and 2 dingy latins with plenty of secrets. A couple of hours after landing they discover … prehistoric dinosaurs roaming around partial to wrecking helicopters, and we discover Challenger appears rather challenged when coming to name them. Corn abounds, the special effects are worse than in 1925, every plot device is telegraphed ahead, and every racial, sexual and class stereotype is out in force – but I love it just the same! At least Jill St. John didn't twist her ankle, and the sets weren't always cardboard though.

If you didn't see this when young and impressionable don't bother, however if you did and you're not a serious type it's worth a try. You still might be horrified but you might return to a lost world of safe family adventure movies.

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Coventry from the Draconian Swamp of Unholy Souls
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It's such a damn shame that the youngest generation of cinema buffs only knows about "Jurassic Park", because they have been making really good dinosaur movies since the silent era already! Particularly Arthur Conan Doyle's legendary novel has always been a very popular story that received decent film versions in practically every decade. In case you know nothing about the plot just yet: the obnoxious and self-centered professor Challenger assembles a troop of unlikely adventurers to go on an expedition deep in the Amazonian jungle, because there's supposed to be a plateau where the dinosaurs never got extinct. The expedition sure is no field trip, since the plateau also homes giant funky green spiders and an aggressive tribe of aboriginals that don't really like intruders. Unavoidably the group also falls apart due to personal intrigues and two adventurers' mutual love-interest for the same girl. "The Lost World" by Irwin Allen by no means is a good film, but it's vastly entertaining, partly because the special effects and set pieces are so incredibly crummy! The dinosaurs are just ordinary reptiles, like lizards and even a crocodile, with fake horns glued onto them and filmed with a fish-eye lens so that they appear to be gigantic. Well, they obviously remain simple reptiles and totally don't evoke feelings of fear or engagement. The decors are quite nice, though, and this film definitely has the irresistible early 60's charm that never fails to put a smile on your face. Claude Rains, here in the final stage of his well-filled career, is excellent as the boisterous professor Challenge and he obviously amused himself with yelling at people and hitting them on their heads with an umbrella. The rest of the cast is rather forgettable, expect from the stunningly beautiful Vitina Marcus who plays the sexy native girl. Even though I only remember it vaguely, the 1925 version of the same story is a much better film, but this version will definitely appeal more to larger audiences.

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TrevorAclea from London, England
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Irwin Allen's 1960 version of The Lost World may be shot in CinemaScope, but stylistically it fits right in with his 60s sci-fi TV shows (indeed, stock footage from the film found its way into his Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea series, as did co-star David Hedison). Originally intended to feature state-of-the-art stop-motion animation from Willis O. Brien, the special effects genius behind the groundbreaking 1925 version as well as King Kong, the ever-economical producer opted instead for the tried and trusted and, most important of all, much cheaper technique of supergluing fins and horns on real lizards and having them double for dinosaurs despite looking like nothing so much as lizards with fins and horns superglued on them. However, even had he spent the extra time and money, this modernised version was never going to be the definitive one: 'dinosaur' action is fairly thin on the ground and the novel's finale that sees a pterodactyl on the loose in London is unceremoniously dropped. Instead there's a lot of wandering around the Fox ranch and backlot, cameo appearances from the odd poisonous giant plant left over from Journey to the Center of the Earth, a tribe of natives with a yen for human sacrifice, a fortune in diamonds and the obligatory erupting volcano finale, though it retains a certain nostalgic Saturday kids matinee appeal even if most of today's kids wouldn't sit still for it. Claude Rains gets to grandstand as Professor Challenger while Michael Rennie's aristocratic big game hunter seems almost like a blueprint for George Lazenby's take on James Bond, with Jill St. John tagging along for no good reason other than Arthur Conan Doyle's thoughtless failure to provide any female roles in the original novel.

Fox's new DVD boasts a fine 2.35:1 widescreen transfer, but the stereo tracks are reversed so that the left comes from the right speaker and vice versa!

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Chris Gaskin from Derby, England
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This was the first sound version of the Lost World and I think it is one of the best. The silent, 1925 movie is the best. There have been several remakes since this one.

Professor Challenger takes a party to an uncharted plateau where dinosaurs still roam. They arrive there by helicopter, but not long after they get there, this is destroyed by a dinosaur. Despite this, they explore the land and capture a native cave girl, who knows how to use a gun. We learn that Lord Roxton has been here on a previous expedition and he killed Gomez's brother. After a fight between two dinosaurs, the party are captured by unfriendly natives, who are cannibals. Luckily, the cave girl who the party captured earlier helps them to escape and after meeting Burton White, the blind surviver of an earlier expedition, make their way along a narrow ridge where Challenger nearly meets his death. The party collects some diamonds and then Gomez holds everyone hostage as he wants Lord Roxton dead, but the gun shot wakes the "fire monster" and it eats Costa. Gomez then meets his death by falling in the lava helping to open a rock door. The plateau then blows its top and everyone is safe. But one last explosion causes the dinosaur egg they found to fall on the floor and break, revealing a baby T-Rex...

The "dinosaurs" in this movie are enlarged lizards with fins and horns attached to them and an enlarged crocodile. This what director Irwin Allen wanted unfortunately. Pity he did not want stop-motion, despite Willis O'Brien helping with the special effects. We also see a giant spider and man eating plants.

The movie has a great cast: Claude Rains (The Invisible Man), Michael Rennie (The Day the Earth Stood Still), David Hedison (The Fly, Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea) and Bond Girl Jill St John (Diamonds Are Forever).

I enjoyed this movie, despite the non stop-motion dinosaurs.

Rating: 4 stars out of 5.

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Doylenova (Doylenova@hotmail.com) from Kansas, U.S.A.
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I was six years old when this film came out, at which time my parents took me to the theatre to see it, and I have not seen it since! So, any comment I can make about this version of The Lost World will be from the point of view of a six-year-old! Having clarified that, let me just say this: It is one of only two or three films from my childhood that left such a lasting impression on me. It started my interest in dinosaurs, which continues to this day, and even now I can perfectly visualize the baby dinosaur (okay, so it was only a lizard, I didn't know back then!) hatching from its egg, and more than anything, wanting it for a pet!!! From other people's comments that I have seen here, perhaps, the special effects left something to be desired, and maybe, as intimated here also, the makers of the movie had hired the best special effects person and had hoped for more. Whatever the case, I was impressed to the point of writing this review 40+ years later and maybe all the special effects in the world couldn't have struck that same chord with me &/or many other children around the world? My husband, who comes from England, remembers having had a similar effect when he first saw the film! So, if making an impression counts, I'd say the film was, after all, very successful indeed!!

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bkoganbing from Buffalo, New York
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The Lost World might have been a better film if it had been set back in the time when Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote the novel. Which would be in the pre-World War I days of 1912. Back then such a plateau might have escaped detection from modern man.

In any event it's been updated to 1960 and I remember seeing it for the first time at a downtown Rochester theater long since demolished and I was with my grandmother. She took me when I was by myself visiting them in Rochester. I remember the movie, but I also remember how slow she was moving. What I didn't know was that she was in the first stages of Parkinson's disease which would eventually kill her.

Seen as an adult it's a film better left to the juvenile set. And it could use a makeover now and replace those dinosaurs with the more realistic ones of Jurassic Park.

But I doubt we could get a cast as classic as the one I saw. Claude Rains is in the lead as Conan Doyle's irascible Professor George Challenger who was the protagonist in about five books. Not as many as that much more known Conan Doyle hero Sherlock Holmes, but Challenger has his following.

In this film he's back from South America in the country roughly between Venezuela and British Guiana at the time, deep in the interior at some of the Amazon tributary headwaters. He claims he saw some ancient dinosaurs alive on a plateau.

True to his name Claude Rains invites company and financing on a new expedition to prove him right. His rival Richard Haydn accepts as does big game hunter Michael Rennie and David Hedison who is an American newspaperman whose publisher promises financing for an exclusive.

Of course it wouldn't be right in the day of woman's liberation if the shapely Jill St. John, sportswoman and a crack shot doesn't come along with her brother Ray Stricklyn. Guiding the expedition are South Americans Fernando Lamas and Jay Novello who have an agenda all their own involving at least one member of the party.

Watching The Lost World again, I think of myself as a kid back in the day and even with such a cast it really should stay in the juvenile trade. And this review is dedicated to my grandmother Mrs. Sophie Lucyshyn who took me to the movies that day back in 1960.

Director Irwin Allen wanted to use stop-motion dinosaurs for this film, but due to budget reasons he had to use lizards - mainly monitor lizards - as dinosaurs. Plastic horns and spikes were attached to them to make them look more like dinosaurs.
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This was an attempt by 20th Century Fox to replicate the huge success of Disney's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954) six years earlier, whilst also taking full advantage of the CinemaScope process. Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959) had done well for the company the year before.
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David Hedison was reluctant about making the film as he didn't think the material was any good. Seeing 'Jill St John' dressed in a pink outfit with a poodle on set didn't do much to make him think differently. Nevertheless, he applied himself anyway, to the extent that Irwin Allen offered him the lead in his next film, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1961). Hedison turned it down but would later take a part in Allen's TV series based on the submarine film.
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The last screen credit for Willis H. O'Brien who was the mastermind behind the special effects for the original King Kong (1933). O'Brien's input was largely restricted to hundreds of conceptual sketches for the dinosaurs. Budget limitations meant that none of them were realized on film.
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The helicopter that lands on the plateau is one of the Sikorsky H-19 Chickasaw series of machines (also known as a S-55).
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Irwin Allen wanted stop motion for the special effects but the film's budget precluded that so they were forced to work with lizards and other reptiles. 20th Century Fox had no option but to slash the budgets of all their feature productions at the time as the costs over Cleopatra (1963) were starting to spiral out of control.
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Professor Challenger was Arthur Conan Doyle's favorite of all his creations.
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The first sound version of Arthur Conan Doyle's tale.
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When Gomez walks out into the jungle to scout around, he's suddenly heard calling out for help - but he's still seen walking calmly in the distance, unharmed and clearly not calling out at all.
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In the scene where Ed Malone and Jennifer Holmes meet up in the forest before the "Brontosaurus" chases them, Ed Malone says dialogue, but his mouth doesn't move. Also, Jennifer's mouth moves, but no dialogue comes out.
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When the party of adventurers are in a boat approaching the dock where they will meet their helicopter pilot, Challenger is ostentatiously holding his large black umbrella up as a parasol against the tropical sun. However, the angle of the sun is such that no part of him is shaded by the umbrella.
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When Jennifer is attacked by one of the vines, she's carrying a basket with her poodle inside it in one shot, then grabs the vine with both hands in the next.
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In the cave when Roxton finds the diary, the native girl is sitting down with her right hand resting on her left leg in long shots, and with her left arm resting on her right leg in close-up shots.
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In the exterior shots of the helicopter, Manuel Gomez can be seen in a tiny cockpit on top flying it (this also houses much of the rotor engine). When they approach the plateau, the interior cockpit expands to accommodate the Professor and the rest of the cast.
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In the long shots of the helicopter, we can see that there are four side windows, two to a side. The forward windows are flanked by broad orange stripes which run to the edge of the rear windows. However, in the closeups of the characters peering out through three different windows, the orange stripes have vanished.
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The Plateau in the film has been described as a world that is "cut off from evolutionary development." If that were true then dinosaurs from different eras would not be in the same place, nor would there be any ape-men or humanoids.
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When the camp is attacked, after the explorers have run away, Challenger identifies the creature as a Brontosaurus, yet the posture of the animal is all wrong and it has certain features from other herbivorous dinosaurs like Triceratops and Stergosaurus.
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Challenger constantly misidentifies the dinosaurs they encounter on the plateau.
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When the explorers encounter the dinosaur in the "Cave of Fire", the wires holding the monster upright can be seen.
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In the scene were the native girl waits for Jennifer to fall asleep, she tries to escape. In the scuffle to subdue her one of the large boulders is moved by an actor. Such a large rock, when bumped, could not have moved.
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professor|dinosaur|expedition|helicopter|jungle|scientist|pilot|reporter|south america|escape|diamonds|tribe|native|giant spider|guitarist|footprint|singing|pet dog|indian|canoe|guitar|seaplane|tv news|lizard|safari|amazon river|credibility|speaker|press|photographer|airport|airplane|lava|skeleton|cannibal|prehistoric times|prehistoric animal|christopher columbus|albert einstein|thomas alva edison|newspaper headline|london england|egg|captive|volcano|cave|el dorado|legend|fistfight|lizards used as dinosaurs|remake|based on novel|

AKAs Titles:
Argentina - El mundo perdido
Brazil - O Mundo Perdido
Denmark - Den forsvundne verden
France - Le monde perdu
UK (complete title) - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World
Greece (transliterated ISO-LATIN-1 title) - To mystiko tis hamenis zouglas
Italy - Mondo perduto
Mexico - El mundo perdido
Portugal - O Mundo Perdido
Serbia - Izgubljeni svet
Turkey (Turkish title) - Gaip Dünya
USA (complete title) - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World
West Germany (reissue title) - Urupara - Die versunkene Welt
West Germany - Versunkene Welt

Release Dates:


Certifications:
Argentina:Atp / Canada:PG (Ontario) / Finland:K-12 / UK:PG (DVD) / UK:A (original rating) (passed with cuts) / USA:Approved (MPAA rating: certificate #19503) / West Germany:12 (original rating)