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The Lost City More at IMDbPro »
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| Index | 14 reviews in total |
14 out of 15 people found the following review useful:
seriously, seriously! bent., 4 July 2005
Author:
ptb-8 from Australia
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.
9 out of 12 people found the following review useful:
Routine Serial With Impressive Sets!, 22 September 2004
Author:
(bsmith5552@rogers.com) from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
"The Lost City" is another of those "mad scientist wanting to rule the
world" serials. This one was independently produced by Sherman S.
Krellberg and Directed by Harry Revier. The set pieces especially the
laboratory equipment I thought, were quite impressive by poverty row
standards.
The story has electrical engineer Bruce Gordon (Kane Richmond) tracking
the source of global electrical disturbances, which he discovers to be
originating from central Africa. He mounts an expedition which includes
fellow scientists Reynolds (Ralph Lewis) and Colton (William Millman)
and his pal Jerry (Eddie Fetherstone). Arriving in Africa, they go to a
trading post run by the slave trader Butterfield (George F. Hayes).
Gordon soon discovers that the disturbances are coming from a nearby
mountain.
Inside the mountain are evil scientist Zolok (William "Stage Boyd") who
along with his assistants the hunchback Gorzo (William Bletcher) and
muscleman Appolyn (Jerry Frank), plan to rule the world with the help
of an army of zombie like giants created by Dr. Manyus (Josef
Swickard). Manyus and his daughter Natcha (Claudia Dell) are being held
prisoner by Zolok and forced to do his will.
Soon Gordon's party is lured to the lost city. Once there Reynolds and
Colton see the possibilities of the giants and kidnap Manyus and take
him into the jungle where they meet up with evil slave trader Ben Ali
(Gino Corrado) who also sees the possibilities. Meanwhile Butterfield
through his cohort Andrews (Milburn Moranti) also learns of the giants.
All wish to capture Manyus and force him to do their evil deeds. Then
later on there enters the evil slave trader, Queen Rama (Margot D'use)
who also has designs on the giant maker and on Bruce Gordon as well.
Gordon and Jerry do all they can to prevent Manyus' capture and ward
off the assorted villains. Finally they defeat the villains and save
the world from a fate worse than death.
There's an interesting sequence where we learn that Manyus also has the
power to turn black men into white. Wonder how that made it pass the
censors. Also there is a "death ray" which looks a lot like a laser
beam several decades before such a beam was invented. The advanced
television system also foretold of similar such systems in the future.
Willam "Stage" Boyd had been in films since 1913. He used the name
"Stage" to avoid confusion with the "other" William Boyd who was
playing Hopalong Cassidy at the time. Sadly, this was Boyd's final film
for he passed away shortly after its completion.
George F. Hayes is of course the infamous "Gabby" Hayes who would enjoy
a long career in "B" westerns playing the crusty old sidekick. Oddly
enough, Hayes worked with both William Boyds.
5 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
The Most Deranged Serial Ever Made, 31 March 2009
Author:
DearJohnny from Ohio
A bizarre, demented, utterly berserk multi-chapter hoot that's a pure delight for camp enthusiasts, sci-fi movie freaks, and fans of the demented in any form. Wild, woolly adventures in a lost city in Africa which seems to have only three inhabitants. The story, if one can call it that, concerns an elderly captive scientist who elongates and lobotomizes natives (and can also make black people white), his beautiful daughter, the evil dictator who holds them captive, his assorted flunkies, a fiendish jungle priestess of some sort, a painfully earnest hero and his doltish, bumbling sidekick, and God knows what else. Weirdly acted, scripted by someone who must have been drunk out of his mind (or SOMETHING), and, oddly, has impressive special effects, given the time. Derivative, racist, whacked out, and utterly delightful.
6 out of 7 people found the following review useful:
Wild, Wild, Wild, 29 October 2006
Author:
pastark2 from United States
All the other comments are really right on the mark about THE LOST CITY. For some of us it is a guilty pleasure, mainly because it is so outlandish. Trying to rate it is difficult, because on the one hand the acting is so atrocious and the racial attitudes are beyond belief, and the other hand, it is never boring, and has imaginative sets and Kenneth Strickfadden's electrical devices. Recently Jerry Frank's, nephew wrote about this film. Frank and Sam Baker, who played the 7 foot zombie Hugo became best of friends. It was heartwarming to read how in those days, the two actors, one Black and the other Jewish bonded. Baker referred to the film as "That old dog" but neither would disavow the film.
8 out of 11 people found the following review useful:
Loony, goofy, surreal, 29 November 2004
Author:
mcornett from Washington, DC
How bizarre is this serial? Very.
It was made fairly cheaply but does have some impressive sets and
occasionally decent effects. But the writing and the acting are all
terrible.
Kane Richmond is bland as the square-jawed hero. Claudia Dell seems
miscast as the love interest; although she was only 26 she looks 40ish
and plain. She has an overall prim, quavering, schoolmarmish air that's
rather off putting. Jerry Frank as Apollyn is easy on the eyes in his
gold lame shorts and little else. He helps rise this serial to a
certain level of homo erotic camp.
The serial belongs to William "Stage" Boyd as mad scientist Zolok. He
camps it up hilariously, although obviously meant to be serious. His
final scenes are strangely effective; I'm told he was actually roaring
drunk during the filming of those scenes which makes his final madness
seem more effective. He died not long after completing this serial,
making this an odd obituary.
The story? Well, Zolok is menacing the world from a lost city in
Africa, once inhabited by a highly advanced race of which Zolok is the
last member. He has hunky Apollyn and a twisted hunchback as
assistants, and also has a captive scientist who has the requisite
"lovely" daughter (Dell). Richmond goes to stop him and runs afoul of
one trap after another, as well as Zolok's army of mindless black
giants, and the queen of an African tribe who a) falls for Richmond and
b) wants to be white.
Yup, this serial is morbidly racist. Quite a bit of plot hinges on the
scientists' ability to turn black people white; at one point it's done
and the subject jumps and leaps about with glee. When the Queen
proposes marriage to Richmond, he smiles smugly and says, "Oh, I'm
afraid that's out of the question."
Some audiences may find THE LOST CITY unpalatable, but it must be
bourne in mind that it's a product of less-enlightened times (MUCH less
enlightened). I view it not as a serious racial statement but just a
reflection of the limited psyches of those involved.
It's actually pretty fun if you make the campiness of it part of the
deal. I understand this was actually considered quite old-fashioned and
out-of-date when it was released in 1935, making it a true oddity. See
it and enjoy, but you were warned...
4 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
Lost City is one of my Favorites, 17 December 2005
Author:
lostcatshotel from hamiton
As I saw it as it was intended to be seen at the Delta Cinema,in my home town of Hamilton.They showed a lot of older films as the Gentleman who ran the Cinema was money challenged. So they showed Serials Chapter by Chapter and the Lost City ws one that I saw Three or Four Times when I was young. This is a Serial that throws in everything but the Kitchen Sink,with Africans being turned into Giants,Slave Traders and a Tribe Of Spider Men. There are interesting people like Gabby Hayes,and Gino Corrado who was the Singer in the Three Stooges Microphonies.And Billy Bletcher as Gorzo,who was the voice of the Big Bad Wolf in the Three Little Pigs. And a young Kane Richmond,later on Spy Smasher. The acting is so over the top its enjoyable. I recommend this to anyone who loves that sort of off the wall lunacy in their films.
5 out of 8 people found the following review useful:
Flash Gordon meets Tarzan, sort of., 19 May 2007
Author:
Kenneth Eagle Spirit from United States
An obvious attempt to capitalize on things that were already popular, this is actually mildly amusing. Acting? Except for Gabby Hayes, who was a natural hoot anyway, and Gino Corrado there's not much in the way of really good talent here. I say that, but its understandable too that the standard was often over the top at that time, which thing often enough covered real talent with unnecessary over acting. And that, I think, is a problem with the director and not the cast. Anyway. Plot? Not much of one really. It comes across like it was made up as they went along. Whatever it takes to keep folks coming back on a weekly basis. Character development? Well, the players jump around kind of like the plot, and probably for the same reason. Special effects? Lets just say they weren't shocking, but Tesla would've been proud. Last analysis? Rainy day, comfort food, don't want to think about what you're doing? Watch this. Its fun enough.
1 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
Remarkable assortment of villains, 31 December 2008
Author:
sheenafilm from Hamburg, Germany
This is a wonderful rediscovery, 12 chapters = 4 hours running time of
hilarious entertainment. "The Lost City" begins like a science fiction
story when a mad scientist threatens the world from his secret
laboratory, but when the hero travels to Africa to find that hiding
place, it turns into a jungle adventure with lions, giant spiders and
slave raiders. And the inevitable racism of the 1930s, but other
reviewers have mentioned that before.
There is a remarkable assortment of villains, not just the ruler of the
lost city, Zolok (William 'Stage' Boyd), but also the greedy
Butterfield (Gabby Hayes, who is remembered for his westerns mostly), a
scantily clad jungle queen who wants to kill the hero's girl, a
hunchback with unhealthy ambitions and the clever but merciless leader
of the slave raiders. All of them get Bruce Gordon (Kane Richmond) and
Natcha (Claudia Dell) into a lot of cliffhanger situations almost
impossible to survive. It will give you an idea on how bizarre the
whole serial is when I tell you Natcha's father Dr Manyus was forced to
develop a machine for Zolok that "enlarges" an average man into a 7 ft
giant with a lot more muscles, but less brain than before, so the
victims can be used as slaves. Don't let the manager of your local
basketball team watch this, but don't hesitate to watch it yourself.
2 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
Never Ending, 21 March 2007
Author:
Hitchcoc from United States
This is quite a project. There is every conceivable kind of plot development. The bad guys turn good; the good guys turn bad; they turn back again. It's about scientists messing with the realm of electricity; it's about Arab slave traders; it's about zombie black men being made bigger, their brains being canceled out. There's Gabby Hayes. The sidekick. When I was a child I sold enough subscriptions to the St. Paul Pioneer Press to go to the Minnesota State Fair and meet Gabby Hayes, along with several other boys. He was there with the late singer, Johnny Horton, and called us all a bunch of young whippersnappers. It was a high point in my life. Anyway, it was kind of cool to see the old guy, with his scruffy beard, playing a pretty significant role. I'm not going to take this apart. It wouldn't be fair. It had to have been made up from one day to the next. I wondered how long that old scientist would survive being picked up and carted around. Everything is so hammy. Still it's a bit much, even for a serial. By the end you feel like you've been on a roller coaster and need a program to figure the whole thing out. I did enjoy William "Stage" Boyd and his manic throwing orders around. Also, the strong man in the sparkly suit (who was continuously incompetent) was real kick. It certainly was an interesting few hours.
Strange Story. Terrible Acting. Racist Elements., 21 January 2012
Author:
earlytalkie from United States
Here is a laugh-out-loud epic from 1935 that makes the old Universal and Republic serials (Flash Gordon, Undersea Kingdom) look like Avatar. This show must have seemed racist even in the unenlightened year of 1935. Set in Africa, this show sends the message that if you are black, you can be given a new lease on life by being turned white. You will then run around whooping it up with glee. The only element of good acting may come from the unknown actress who plays the evil queen. A giant black slave named Hugo staggers around the proceedings grunting and leering into the camera, and once-promising actress Claudia Dell (Sweet Kitty Bellairs) contributes to the show by screaming every 30 seconds or so. This serial is the "Plan 9 From Outer Space" of it's genre. So unbelievably bad that it is a hoot to watch.
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