Lost Continent (1951)

Director:

Sam Newfield

Writers:

Richard H. Landau
Carroll Young (story)
(more)

Release Date:

17 August 1951 (USA)

Genre:

Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Monsters in a land that time forgot!

Plot:

Major Joe Nolan heads a rescue mission in the South Pacific to recover a downed atomic rocket. The crew crashlands on a mysterious island...

Plot Keywords:

Rescue | Dinosaur | Volcanic Eruption | Brontosaurus | Tinted Footage

Cast

Cesar Romero	...	Maj. Joe Nolan
Hillary Brooke	...	Marla Stevens
Chick Chandler	...	Lt. Danny Wilson
John Hoyt	...	Michael Rostov
Acquanetta	...	Native Girl
Sid Melton	...	Sgt. Willie Tatlow
Whit Bissell	...	Stanley Briggs
Hugh Beaumont	...	Robert Phillips
Murray Alper	...	Air Police Sergeant
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Paul Bradley	...	Officer at Proving Grounds (uncredited)
William E. Green	...	Simmons (uncredited)
Ed Hinton	...	Officer at Proving Grounds (uncredited)
Clark Howat	...	Naval Captain (uncredited)
Chubby Johnson	...	Bunker 'Suit' (unconfirmed) (uncredited)
Bert Stevens	...	Officer at Proving Grounds (uncredited)

Directed by
Sam Newfield		(as Samuel Newfield)

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Orville H. Hampton		uncredited
Richard H. Landau
Carroll Young		story

Produced by
Jack Leewood	....	associate producer
Robert L. Lippert	....	executive producer
Sigmund Neufeld	....	producer

Original Music by
Paul Dunlap

Cinematography by
Jack Greenhalgh

Film Editing by
Philip Cahn

Art Direction by
Frank Paul Sylos		(as F. Paul Sylos)

Makeup Department
Harry Ross	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Bert Sternbach	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Stanley Neufeld	....	assistant director

Sound Department
John D. Hall	....	sound effects
Fred Lau	....	sound

Special Effects by
Augie Lohman	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
Ray Mercer	....	opticals
Edward Nassour	....	animation supervisor (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Alfred Berke	....	wardrobe supervisor

Music Department
George C. Emick	....	music editor

Other crew
Orville H. Hampton	....	dialogue supervisor

Production Companies

• Sigmund Neufeld Productions (as Tom Productions Inc.)

Distributors

• Lippert Pictures (1951) (USA) (theatrical)
• Image Entertainment (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• Schröder Media (2012) (Germany) (DVD)
• Shout! Factory (2010) (USA) (DVD)
• Sinister Cinema (1993) (USA) (VHS)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

83 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Finland:K-8 | Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Nassour Studios - 5746 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Sigmund Neufeld Productions

Trivia:

The opening shot of the Whits Sands Missile Base, and some of the rocket scenes, were lifted from Rocketship X-M (1950), which, like Lost Continent, had also been released by Lippert Pictures.

Goofs:

Continuity: The cast is in an Air Force C-47. When they land for fuel, a Boeing 247 airliner is shown taxiing in.

Quotes:

Nolan:Look at the size of that footprint! I've never seen anything like it before!
Phillips:I have. Once... in a museum.

Movie Connections:

Edited into "Muchachada nui: Episode #4.12" (2010)

An excellent early 50's dinosaur movie

The Lost Continent is an excellent, low budget dinosaur adventure from 1951. Although we don't get to see any dinosaurs until the last half hour, this is worth the wait.

A party is sent to a South Seas island to search for a missing atomic rocket. They eventually arrive there after a long flight and a lot of rock climbing. While resting on the rock face, one of the party sees an enlarged lizard, but no one else believes him. When they get there, they discover an uncharted plateau where time has stood still. It is tinted green. On the plateau, they battle a Brontosaurus, some Triceratops and a Pterodactyl. These stop-motion monsters look quite impressive, even though they are not done by Willis O'Brien or Ray Harryhausen. The party eventually finds the rocket, get the information they want off it and escape from the plateau which is then destroyed by an earthquake.

This movie stars Cesar Romero and several familiar faces from 50's sci-fi movies: Whit Bissell (Creature From the Black Lagoon), John Hoyt (When Worlds Collide) and Hillary Brooke (Invaders From Mars). All play good parts. The score in this movie is excellent throughout and the green tint looks good too.

I had been after this movie for ages and was pleased when I obtained an NTSC copy.

This is a must for fans of dinosaur movies and 1950's sci-fi. A treat.

Rating: 4 stars out of 5.