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:

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 German

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:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (colour) (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

German actor Anton Diffring dubbed John McEnery's voice as Captain Von Schoenvorts, allegedly because the producers felt McEnery had used a silly voice for the part.

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Goofs

When Olson and Bowen fight off the water dinosaur, Olson is firing an MP-18 submachine gun. As its name implies, it was not in service until 1918, two years after the film is set. Although technically incorrect, it's still a plausible weapon to use.

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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 Jonny Quest: Peril of the Reptilian (1986)

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Soundtracks

Radetzky March
(uncredited)
Music by Johann Strauss Sr.

User Reviews

30 some odd years ago...

... I went and saw this with the family at a theatre which has since been transformed into dental center run by local Koreans. I can't say I remembered too much of the film, until today when I purchased a DVD reissue of this piece of 1975 nostalgia.

The marionette-dinos were some of the worst prehistoric SFX ever put on screen, but the film still holds together after a fashion. There's essentially no plot, but a loosely tied together story of survival and cooperation between two at-odds factions.

Burrough's source material is lifted out of Victorian England and pushed forward into the time of "The Great War". Whether that's good or bad is up to the viewer. As a kid I really didn't understand the relevance of it, and, as an adult, ... well ... I still don't :-) If you're expecting Jurassic Park like hi-jinx, then look elsewhere. This is 70s B-grade dino-schlock, and an "Oscar" for SFX (much less anything else) is the last thing on the minds of the film makers. McClure's acting is what it is, there, but not much else. The best thesping is done by the U-Boat skipper who adds a bit of intellectual dash to this flick.

If you remember seeing this thing in 1975 like I do, then grab a cheap copy and take a stroll down memory lane.

Enjoy.