The Lost World (1925)

The first film adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's classic novel about a land where prehistoric creatures still roam.

Director:

Harry O. Hoyt

Writers:

Arthur Conan Doyle (based upon the 1912 novel by), Marion Fairfax (screenplay)

Stars:

Wallace Beery, Bessie Love, Lloyd Hughes

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Bessie Love	...	Paula White (as Miss Bessie Love)
Lewis Stone	...	Sir John Roxton (as Mr. Lewis Stone)
Wallace Beery	...	Prof. Challenger (as Mr. Wallace Beery)
Lloyd Hughes	...	Ed Malone (as Mr. Lloyd Hughes)
Alma Bennett	...	Gladys Hungerford (as Miss Alma Bennett)
Arthur Hoyt	...	Prof. Summerlee (as Mr. Arthur Hoyt)
Margaret McWade	...	Mrs. Challenger (as Miss Margaret McWade)
Bull Montana	...	Ape-man (as Mr. Bull Montana)
Frank Finch Smiles	...	Austin (as Mr. Finch Smiles)
Jules Cowles	...	Zambo (as Mr. Jules Cowles)
George Bunny	...	Colin McArdle (as Mr. George Bunny)
Charles Wellesley	...	Maj. Hibbard (as Mr. Charles Wellsley)
Jocko the Monkey	...	Jocko - the Monkey (as Jocko)
Arthur Conan Doyle	...	Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Storyline

s expedition to rescue Maple White, who has been marooned at the top of a high plateau. Joined by hunter John Roxton, and others, the group goes to South America, where they do indeed find a plateau inhabited by pre-historic creatures, one of which they even manage to bring back to London with them.

---

Plot Keywords:

national film registry | diary | professor | reporter | expedition | 

---

Taglines:

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's stupendous story!

---

Genres:

Adventure | Fantasy | Sci-Fi

---

Certificate:

Passed

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Release Date:

22 June 1925 (USA)

Also Known As:

Die verlorene Welt

Filming Locations:

Brunton Studios, 5300 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$547,913, 31 December 1925

Company Credits

Production Co:

First National Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

64 min (1991 alternate) 93 min (2000 alternate) 64 min (Kodascope Version) 106 min (original) 100 min (1998 George Eastman House Restoration)

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White Color (hand-colored) Color (tinted and toned)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film was such a success that there were plans to do a sound remake. In possible preparation for this, Aileen Rothacker reached an agreement with First National to withdraw the film from distribution. First National was to destroy all release prints and the foreign negative but the domestic negative was to be retained. It is not known if the original negatives decomposed or if they were mistakenly disposed of.

---

Goofs

At the beginning of their boat journey in the Amazon forest, a bird appears in the bushes at the right side of the screen. The bird is obviously thrown into the shot by someone.

---

Quotes

Ed Malone: Professor Challenger, I've *got* to go on this expedition! The girl I'm engaged to won't marry me until I've faced death or...

---

Alternate Versions

In 1948 Encyclopedia Britannica Films produced a 10 minute abridged version, under the title A Lost World, with some newly-shot live action scenes with an actor portraying Conan-Doyle himself as he narrates the story.

---

Connections

Referenced in Ray Harryhausen: Special Effects Titan (2011)

---

Soundtracks

The Lost World
(1925) (uncredited)
Music by Rudolf Friml
Lyrics by Harry B. Smith
Published in connection with the movie

User Reviews

Before King Kong, there was The Lost World!

Hello and welcome to my first review. Let me start by saying that the movie is not worth watching unless you see the IMAGE DVD version. Any other version is missing half of the movie and has bad image quality and incorrect tints. For those of you who are unfamiliar with movies from the 20's, this is a silent film which means there is a musical track playing throughout the film to match what is going on and in some cases sound effects. As far as tints go, unless everything was done in studio where the lighting and other effects could be controlled, the technology at the time only allowed for filming during the day so different tints were used so show that it was daytime/nighttime, indoors/outdoors, and other events. Since the actors did not have dialog in silent films, they had to over act a bit to show you what is happening. Inter-titles(written speech/narration) cuts in and out of the film. Let it be known that this means that you have to pay very close attention to a silent film to fully enjoy and understand it.

The movie was made in 1925 and runs 93 minutes. The restoration involves the combining of 8 versions from around the world to give you the most complete version possible making this film one of the best restorations as of yet. The IMAGE DVD contains two musical scores, outtakes, audio commentary, and a reproduction of the original souvenir program in print where the insert is contained. I don't want to give anything away from the movie but I will just say that this is the first of the large monster movies and is the framework for any other movie of this kind without question not to mention that this movie is a masterpiece. Watch it a few times before you make your judgment and you will see how great it is.