Lost Horizon (1937)

Director:

Frank Capra

Writers:

Robert Riskin (screenplay)
James Hilton (novel)

Release Date:

1 September 1937 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | Fantasy | Mystery

Tagline:

Millions to make it ! . . . Two years in production ! . . . The best seller that set a new style in romance floods the screen with splendor and drama surpassing Frank Capra's greatest past achievements. "Mr Deeds" and "It Happened One Night".

Plot:

A plane crash delivers a group of people to the secluded land of Shangri-La -- but is it the miraculous utopia it appears to be?

Plot Keywords:

Shangri La | Diplomat | Paradise | Illness | Love

Awards:

Won 2 Oscars. Another 5 nominations

Cast

Ronald Colman	...	Robert Conway
Jane Wyatt	...	Sondra
Edward Everett Horton	...	Lovett
John Howard	...	George Conway
Thomas Mitchell	...	Barnard
Margo	...	Maria
Isabel Jewell	...	Gloria
H.B. Warner	...	Chang
Sam Jaffe	...	High Lama

Also Known As:

Lost Horizon of Shangri-La (USA) (reissue title)

Runtime:

132 min (original version) | USA:95 min (TV version) | USA:118 min (general release version) | West Germany:97 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Mandarin

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | West Germany:12 | Finland:K-16 | Portugal:M/12 | UK:U | USA:Approved (PCA #2061) | Norway:7 (original rating) | Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

Bronson Caves, Bronson Canyon, Griffith Park - 4730 Crystal Springs Drive, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

After initial reservations about Frank Capra's method of directing, Ronald Colman would eventually come to rely on him and the two would experiment with improvisations.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Lovett and Henry debate directions, Lovett has the box in front of him, and in the next cut his coat and arms are on top of the box.

Quotes:

Robert Conway: George, didn't you ever want to know what's on the other side of the mountain?

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Cooler (2003)

Soundtrack:

Here We Go Gathering Nuts in May

Maligned classic

Fantasy filled film that shows the different facaets of human nature. Beautifully conceived by Frank Capra whose brilliant at making films with sentlemenity as main force. A masterpiece which was brutally cut during its threaitcal run and only recently has the film been somewhat restored. Thus, the complete version of Lost Horizon(1937) is one of many lost classics in history of film. Acting is excellent with everyone giving deep performances. An wonderful story with intriquing spirital symbolisms. Ronald Colman does a marvalous job as the good natured and tolerate Robert Conway. Personally I perfer Lost Horizons(1937) over Its a Wonderful Life(1946) because the main character in the former is more complex.