The Secret Land

Secret Land, The (1948)

*** (out of 4)

Oscar-winning documentary from MGM takes a look at the dangerous expedition of Admiral Richard E. Byrd and thousands of American soldiers who tried to make it to Antarctica. The documentary, shot in beautiful Technicolor, shows the men leaving America and shows us the constant dangers of exploring one of the most dangerous places in the world (and especially at this point in history). If you're a fan of adventure then you're going to really eat this thing up. The film really plays out like an action film and it contains some pretty good drama as well as some great visuals. I'm really not sure how many cameras MGM sent to capture this footage but we get a lot of great stuff. Everything from the wildlife to a Christmas dinner to even a helicopter crashes into the sea are here for us to see and we get just about everything else that you can think of. One of the more dramatic moments happen towards the end when a plane crashes in the fog and two weeks later they're found alive but they're going to have to walk ten miles to reach a point where someone can get them. Knowing that all of this stuff is real just adds to the entertainment and the Technicolor also adds a lot. Robert Montgomery, Robert Taylor and Van Heflin narrate.