The Lost World (1925)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Harry O. Hoyt

Writers:

Arthur Conan Doyle (novel)
Marion Fairfax (screenplay)

Release Date:

22 June 1925 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Fantasy | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's stupendous story!

Plot:

The first film adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's classic novel about a land where prehistoric creatures still roam.

Plot Keywords:

Professor | Expedition | Prehistoric | Reporter | Dinosaur

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Bessie Love	...	Miss Paula White (as Miss Bessie Love)
Lewis Stone	...	Sir John Roxton (as Mr. Lewis Stone)
Wallace Beery	...	Prof. Challenger (as Mr. Wallace Beery)
Lloyd Hughes	...	Edward E. Malone (as Mr. Lloyd Hughes)
Alma Bennett	...	Gladys Hungerford (as Miss Alma Bennett)
Arthur Hoyt	...	Prof. Summerlee (as Mr. Arthur Hoyt)
Margaret McWade	...	Mrs. Challenger (as Miss Margaret McWade)
Bull Montana	...	Ape-Man (as Mr. Bull Montana)
Frank Finch Smiles	...	Austin (Challenger's butler) (as Mr. Frank Smiles)
Jules Cowles	...	Zambo (Roxton's servant) (as Mr. Jules Cowles)
George Bunny	...	Colin McArdle (as Mr. George Bunny)
Charles Wellesley	...	Maj. Hibbard (as Mr. Charles Wellesley)
Jocko the Monkey	...	Jocko
Arthur Conan Doyle	...	Himself

Runtime:

USA:64 min (1991 alternate version) | USA:93 min (2000 alternate version) | USA:64 min (Kodascope Version) | USA:106 min (original version) | 100 min (1998 George Eastman House Restoration)

Country:

USA

Color:

Black and White | Color (hand-colored) | Color (tinted and toned)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Certification:

Spain:T | USA:Unrated

Company:

First National Pictures

Trivia:

When the explorers return to London, there is a shot of the London Pavilion with a flashing sign advertising a showing of The Sea Hawk (1924), a movie in which two of the film's stars, Wallace Beery and Lloyd Hughes, had also appeared.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The newspaper headline announcing Malone's departure is dated in January. Right after this is shown, Malone types that he has been gone for less than three months and it is now December 12th.

Movie Connections:

Edited into "Drawn Together" (2004)

Soundtrack:

The Lost World

The Dawn of O'Brien...and Stop-Motion Animagic

Willis O'Brien made some early shorts utilizing his unique concept of special effects, but it was this film, The Lost World, that made his vision first come to life so to speak. O'Brien makes the lost world full of dinosaurs that seemingly do everything. They eat, fight, move, and generally live on screen. The film is a fairly good adaption of Doyle's book, with Doyle even having a cameo in the film. A raging professor named Professor Challenger, played with gusto by Wallace Beery, says that dinosaurs live on a plateau somewhere off in the Amazon. He is disbelieved by all concerned, and he, with the help and support of a rich adventurer, a cynical zoologist, a newsman, and a daughter of a lost professor on a previous journey, sets out to prove that dinosaurs do indeed exist on Earth still. The film has a nice, quick pace and is very entertaining. Beery, Lewis Stone, and Bessie Love all do fine jobs acting. The film has a new marvelous score to go with its silent action. Best of all...the film boasts the special effects of O'Brien's genius. A fine, fine film.