The Land That Time Forgot (1974)

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.

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

After a German U-Boat sinks their ship, several survivors manage to take control of the boat. Bowen Tyler is the son of an American shipbuilder and Captain Bradley an experienced seaman. After several tussles with the German crew, they find themselves on a strange island. There they find a place where several stages of Earth's evolution co-exist at the same time. As a result several types of humans are found as well as prehistoric dinosaurs. There are also active volcanoes which all add up to a challenge to survive.

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Plot Keywords:

gun | sinking | uniform | captain | enemies become allies | 

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Taglines:

This Was The Day The 20th Century Met The Primeval World Face-To-Face!

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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 - Das vergessene Land

Filming Locations:

La Palma, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain

Box Office

Budget:

$1,500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Amicus Productions,Lion International,Edgar Rice Burroughs Inc.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (colour) (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Amicus cast Stuart Whitman in the lead. AIP refused to finance the film if Whitman starred, so he was fired.

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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.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Bowen Tyler: [narrating] I do not expect anyone to believe the story that I am about to relate. It even seems incredible to me that all that I have passed through, all those weird and terrifying experiences, should have been encompassed within as short a span as three brief months. It must have been a little after 3 o'clock in the afternoon that it began - the afternoon of June 3rd, 1916.

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Connections

Referenced in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990)

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Soundtracks

Radetzky March
(uncredited)
Music by Johann Strauss Sr.

User Reviews

Jurassic Lark

Fun dinosaur movie with a solid British cast headed by suitably lantern-jawed Doug McClure.

Respected SF author Michael Moorcock adds a dash of intelligence to what might have been just another Sunday matinee pot-boiler, and the downbeat ending (slightly different to the book) is a change from the norm. The decision to turn the U-Boat captain from the stereotypical dastardly Hun in the original book to a philosophical man of science is also a good one.

The submarine is suitably claustrophobic and the jungle suitably clammy, just a shame that some of the dinosaurs couldn't have looked a little more than just as if they'd been borrowed from episode of "Doctor Who". Fans of which should be suitably impressed by future 'Master' Anthony Ainley's nasty performance as the treacherous German first officer Dietz.

"Auf weidersehn, Mr Tyler!"