The Lost City (1935/I)

Director:

Harry Revier

Writers:

Zelma Carroll (story) &
George M. Merrick (story) ...
(more)

Release Date:

6 March 1935 (USA)

Genre:

Sci-Fi

Tagline:

High-Voltage Action! Electrifying Thrills! Thunderbolt Drama!

Plot:

An evil scientist plots to take over the world from his base in Africa, where he has invented a machine that can cause earthquakes.

Plot Keywords:

Africa | Storm | Tied To Chair | Evil Genius | Rebellion

Cast

William 'Stage' Boyd	...	Zolok (as Wm. 'Stage' Boyd)
Kane Richmond	...	Bruce Gordon
Claudia Dell	...	Natcha Manyus
Josef Swickard	...	Dr. Manyus
George 'Gabby' Hayes	...	Butterfield (as Geo. F. Hayes)
Billy Bletcher	...	Gorzo (as Wm. Bletcher)
Eddie Fetherston	...	Jerry Delaney
Milburn Morante	...	Chet Andrews [Chs. 1, 4, 5, 8-10]
Margot D'Use	...	Rama, Queen of the Wangas [Chs.8-11] (as Margot Duse)
Jerry Frank	...	Appollyn
Ralph Lewis	...	Prof. Reynolds [Chs.1-4]
William Millman	...	Dr. Colton [Chs.1-5] (as Wm. Millman)
Gino Corrado	...	Sheikh Ben Ali [Chs. 5-7]
Sam Baker	...	Hugo, lead giant
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Everett Brown	...	Boyo, a Giant [Chs. 1-2, 10-12] (uncredited)
Edwards Davis	...	Scientist [Ch. 1] (uncredited)
Curley Dresden	...	An Arab (uncredited)
Henry Hall	...	The General [Ch.1] (uncredited)
Eric Mayne	...	Scientist [Ch. 1] (uncredited)
Albert Pollet	...	Gendarme (uncredited)

Directed by
Harry Revier

Writing credits
Zelma Carroll		story &
George M. Merrick		story (as Geo. M. Merrick) &
Robert Dillon		story and
Eddie Granemann		screenplay &
Leon D'Usseau		screenplay &
Perley Poore Sheehan		screenplay (as Perley Sheehan)

Produced by
Sherman S. Krellberg	....	producer

Original Music by
Lee Zahler		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
Edward Linden
Roland Price

Film Editing by
Holbrook N. Todd		(as Holbrook Todd)

Art Direction by
Ralph Berger

Production Management
George M. Merrick	....	production manager (as Geo. M. Merrick)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Richard L'Estrange	....	assistant director (as Dick L'Estrange)
William L. Nolte	....	assistant director (as Wm Nolte)

Art Department
Ken Strickfaden	....	set designer

Sound Department
Clifford A. Ruberg	....	sound (as Cliff Ruberg)

Special Effects by
Ken Strickfaden	....	special effects: electrical (as K. Strickfadden)
Norman Dawn	....	special effects (uncredited)

Music Department
Lee Zahler	....	musical director (uncredited)

Other crew
James Altwies	....	technical director
Sherman S. Krellberg	....	presenter

Production Companies

• Super Serial Productions Inc.

Distributors

• Principal Distributing (1935) (USA) (theatrical)
• Super Serial Productions Inc. (1935) (USA) (theatrical)
• VCI Home Video (2000) (USA) (VHS)
• Reel Media International (2004) (worldwide) (video)
• Treeline Films (2004) (USA) (DVD) (on "150 Serial Classics")
• Alpha Video Distributors (2005) (worldwide) (DVD)
• Gotham Distribution (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Reel Media International (2005) (worldwide) (TV)
• Admit One Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Mill Creek Entertainment (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• Nostalgia Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Reel Media International (2007) (worldwide) (all media)
• Western Trails Video (????) (USA) (VHS)

Also Known As:

"Lost City" - USA (DVD box title)

Runtime:

USA:240 min (12 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Approved | USA:Passed (National Board of Review)

Filming Locations:

Mack Sennett Studios - 1712 Glendale Blvd., Silver Lake, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Super Serial Productions Inc.

Trivia:

Some of the electric gizmos created by Ken Strickfaden had been used at Universal for Frankenstein (1931) and Bride of Frankenstein (1935).

Movie Connections:

Edited into The Lost City (1935/II)

seriously, seriously! bent.

Is there a good 35mm print of this thing? If there is and a negative, there is millions to be made from a camp Rocky Horror type reissue in cinemas or on the late-show cine circuit. Never have I seen such a bizarre serial. Imagine a jungle jumble of RED DUST, UNDERSEA KINGDOM, THE GOLEM, TARZAN AND HIS MATE, and FLASH GORDON, KING KONG, and THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME..I know, I know, just insane...but wound up to almost hysteria level acting and with a reasonable budget of deco indoor FRANKENSTEIN looking ray guns and zzzzy things, on steel rivet sets; submarine-airship bits and pieces...and you get sort of a picture of how berserk this serial truly is. Handsome he man Kane Richmond and some silly old professor and screaming daughter end up in darkest Africa being menaced chased, shot at, tied up and scribbled on (yes, scribbled upon!) by a roster of jungle idiots who include: giant oily Nubians who walk like huge stoned babies, a hunchback in a "prince Valiant style" page boy wig (and speaks in Shakespearian English), a tribal queen who clearly is Spanish, wears huge diamonties and talks like Lupe Velez, a gang of what look like flour covered jockeys in feathers and white fright wigs, and a gang of Hawaiian looking cranky cannibals who yell 'oomba goomba' and throw wobbly spears at whoever they are told to. And last but not least, a gay muscle dude who wears the tightest...and I mean SO tight you can see his religion... tightest spangly one piece girls swimming costume this side of the Hayes censorship code of 1934...he is called Appollon just in case you are not sure what he is there for. Once the scene is set between caves, indoor deco lost city with zappy electrical instruments and the usual all seeing television, and the jungle huts, the whole cast then chase each other between each location, throwing things at each other, looking suspiciously at each other or through windows or around corners - and screaming. Sometimes someone gets tied up or lions appear in old circus stock footage, or Kane gets his chest scribbled on (!) or the jockeys flabbboiiiing arrows at someone or the nubians stagger about, OR they run into a bush or get locked up in a grass hut, or tied to a chair, OR slam a door or just plain hit each other from behind in corridors with lead pipes, the action just basically rattles about in circles with ridiculous comments and overacting. I loved all 236 minutes of it. Made at the same hopeless serial factory by someone called Sherman Krellberg who produced THE BLACK COIN and other terrible serials before Republic Studios married Mascot and stopped (and imitated) the competition, THE LOST CITY needs to be concreted in infamy as the most hysterical loony and out of control piece of kids horror pantomime ever committed to celluloid. The 5000 FINGERS OF DR T has nothing on this. BUT I do believe it was made for adults. Exactly what type of adults I can only guess, but in its camp value and howling general beserkness suggests it was either seriously deranged in every part of its production or made by shrewd schlockmeisters who knew that in 2006 we would be waiting.