The Land That Time Forgot (1975)

During World War I, a German U-boat sinks a British ship and takes the survivors on board. After it takes a wrong turn, the submarine takes them to the unknown land of Caprona, where they ... See full summary »

Director:

Kevin Connor

Writers:

Edgar Rice Burroughs (novel), James Cawthorn (screenplay),

Stars:

Doug McClure, John McEnery, Susan Penhaligon

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Doug McClure	...	Bowen Tyler
John McEnery	...	Captain Von Schoenvorts
Susan Penhaligon	...	Lisa Clayton
Keith Barron	...	Bradley
Anthony Ainley	...	Dietz
Godfrey James	...	Borg
Bobby Parr	...	Ahm
Declan Mulholland	...	Olson
Colin Farrell	...	Whiteley
Ben Howard	...	Benson
Roy Holder	...	Plesser
Andrew McCulloch	...	Sinclair
Ron Pember	...	Jones
Grahame Mallard	...	Deusett
Andrew Lodge	...	Reuther

Storyline

During World War I, a German U-boat sinks a British ship and takes the survivors on board. After it takes a wrong turn, the submarine takes them to the unknown land of Caprona, where they find dinosaurs and neanderthals.

---

Plot Keywords:

dinosaur | submarine | german | crevasse | betrayal | 

---

Taglines:

THE ADVENTURE YOU WILL NEVER FORGET!

---

Genres:

Adventure | Fantasy

---

Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 August 1975 (USA)

Also Known As:

Caprona - Az elfeledett vidék

Filming Locations:

La Palma, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain

Company Credits

Production Co:

Amicus Productions, Edgar Rice Burroughs Inc., Land Associates

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Michael Palin found a gun from this production in a skip in the studio where this was shot. He kept it.

---

Goofs

When the 'plesiosaurus' is attacking the submarine crew on top of the boat, and even kills and eats one, and it is trying to get Tyler, it has a huge head, but when it's killed and flops down onto the submarine deck, it's head and neck are much smaller.

---

Quotes

Whiteley: You know it could be more difficult to leave Caprona than it was to land. We'll have that current with us going out through the tunnel. Be very difficult to navigate.
Dietz: Captain Von Schoenvorts will take us through. I was with him when he took our U-33 down the Norwegian coast in winter, to sink a British cruiser. Storms and ice floes did not stop him.
Olson: He's not very good against lifeboats, though, is he?

---

Connections

Referenced in Sneak Previews: A Star Is Born/King Kong/The Seven-Per-Cent Solution/The Enforcer/Network/Rocky/Nickelodeon/Silver Streak (1976)

User Reviews

Great vision, god awful F/X

This was actually a pretty good movie, capturing a sense of adventure and travel that's almost forgotten from modern story telling, what with all the political correctness and marketing hype we have today.

Edgar Rice Burrough's story is modernized somewhat for World War One, but still has that nineteenth century feel when people really believed they could find forgotten lands just off the map.

What almost kills it, however, is the sock puppet "dinosaurs" that were pretty poor even for 1975. (Someone should have placed a call in to Ray Harryhausen.) Despite the best efforts to create a vast world, the switches between real footage and fake backdrops or animated diroamas is jarring. This movie almost cries out for a George Lucas style redoing, since with modern CGI effects and the same story/character footage this could be a very presentable film.