Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
Eric Porter | ... | Capt. Lansen | |
Hildegard Knef | ... | Eva Peters | |
Suzanna Leigh | ... | Unity Webster | |
Tony Beckley | ... | Harry Tyler | |
Nigel Stock | ... | Dr. Webster | |
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Neil McCallum | ... | First Officer Hemmings |
Ben Carruthers | ... | Ricaldi (as Benito Carruthers) | |
Jimmy Hanley | ... | Patrick, the Bartender | |
James Cossins | ... | Nick, Chief Engineer | |
Dana Gillespie | ... | Sarah | |
Victor Maddern | ... | Mate | |
Reg Lye | ... | Helmsman | |
Norman Eshley | ... | Jonathan, the Prisoner | |
Michael Ripper | ... | Sea Lawyer | |
Donald Sumpter | ... | Sparks, the Radioman |
On their way to South America, the passengers and crew of an old freighter face many challenges. The captain has taken on illegal cargo - a dangerous consignment of phosphorous that will explode if it comes into contact with water - something that worries the crew but less so for the passengers who all seem to have good reasons to continue their trip. When the ship takes on water some of the crew mutiny and eventually abandon ship. For those who stay aboard, they soon find themselves trapped in a huge bed of living seaweed and find a several centuries old Spanish galleon that has been trapped for all of that time - now manned by the descendants of the original crew. They will have to help them if they are to survive. Written by garykmcd
One of my favorite rainy weekend movies, The Lost Continent also is one of the best ripe Hammer films of the Sixties.
A freighter is blown off course and finds itself in a fog-shrouded part of the ocean where the seaweed enjoys flesh and mutated creatures with claws scamper about. It's a mild horror version of the Sargasso Sea and Bermuda Triangle. Eventually the surviving crew and passengers encounter humans who scitter around the seaweed with paddle-like shoes and balloons. The ship these people are from is a Spanish galleon several hundred years old, the crew of which survived and bred into the generations, evolving an Inquisition-like culture on board.
It's really pretty good, thanks to the interesting ideas of seaweed that bites back and the evolved life on the Spanish ship, plus the skill of the two lead actors. And it has a great look. Eric Porter and Hildegard Knef were both heavyweights in the acting department. I'm not sure why they agreed to this film, but I assume the money was good. Porter is one of my favorite actors. He wasn't handsome enough to make a career as a movie leading man, but if anyone doubts his abilities to command watch him as Soames in the original BBC Forsyte Saga. Knef had a so-so career as a lead actress in a handful of American and British films, but returned to Germany for better stuff. She was sexy and self-confident.