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.

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Plot Keywords:

dinosaur | submarine | german | crevasse | betrayal | 

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Taglines:

THE ADVENTURE YOU WILL NEVER FORGET!

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Genres:

Adventure | Fantasy

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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.

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Goofs

When the pterodactyl appears late in the movie and ultimately carries away one of the natives multiple cables supporting it are visible.

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Quotes

Bradley: Caprona has damn little respect for guns, Mr. Tyler.
Captain Von Schoenvorts: No, there's nothing wrong with our shooting, gentlemen. In primitive nervous systems like this allosaurus, even a fatal wound might register in the brain with a delayed action. As your saying would have it, this "chap" was late for his own funeral.

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Connections

Remade as The Land That Time Forgot (2009)

User Reviews

Still a respectable B-budget adventure

I loved this movie as a kid. Can't recall how many times I watched it on the late show in my early teens, but it was more than a few. I hadn't seen it since about 1982 and was pleased TCM ran it recently, so I recorded it and watched it last night.

The scenes came back to me by rote though I definitely needed the refresher after all these years. Seeing it now at 40, it of course has become a little more quaint in the wake of the Jurassic Park series, but it still held my interest as it WAS a very good effort in 1975 with limited resources at bringing to the screen an intelligent Sci/fi adventure with old fashioned heroics reminiscent of King Kong etc.

The script, though certainly not as good as it could have been, stays true to itself, and even though the SFX at times look primitive (they still kick the snot out of the FX in Logan's Run}, the story is poorly paced after the U-Boat reaches Caprona, and the Neanderthals and the obligatory volcanic eruption are more than forced, the film never becomes kitschy or laughable, or outright uninteresting like dozens of other films like this made on the cheap. My only wish is it would have been a bit longer and included more thoughtful dialogue about nature and evolution and survival to give the story and characters more depth. And Ray Harryhausen could have done much more with the dinosaurs in the technical department.

As far as leading men go, Doug McClure is good in this and will always get my sympathy as that likable, two fisted action star who had the misfortune of looking too much like Lee Marvin and sounding too much like Glenn Ford to ever get the kind of roles he deserved in bigger pictures. He was good in these Kevin Connor adventure flicks in the 70's, and is eternally one of my favorite actors as a result.

Lots of details about the U-Boat and what not are probably inaccurate, and the story itself is more than too similar to Verne's Mysterious Island with shades of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, but overall, while I wouldn't call it great or even good, it is definitely worth a look and still a nifty little piece of entertainment for the budget it had. Surprising a remake hasn't appeared in this age of CGI. Could be a dandy. Are you listening, Peter Jackson?