Synopsis:
At the height of World War I, a German submarine sinks a commercial ship. After the survivors of the sunk vessel manage to take over the U-Boat, they come across an uncharted island that has been frozen in time.
Reaction & Thoughts:
“You cannot go back to the beginning!”
After the U.S. Supreme Court forced movie studios to sale their theatre chains because they were violating antitrust laws, many independent producers flourished with their small-scale films. These films first monopolized the drive-in market, and more recently they have found fertile ground on the straight-to-streaming market.
The Land That Time Forgot is a perfect example of this kind of filmmaking — quickly and cheaply made, with the sole purpose of making a quaint profit. Although the independent market can offer far better films, this is a nice time-filler, perfect for a rainy night with a bucket of popcorn. This Amicus production falls into the category of B-movies that can be a lot of fun for people who aren’t too picky.
It’s based on Edgar Rice Burroughs’s 1918 book of the same name. Apparently, the movie follows the book closely, and that may explain why it has a finely constructed three-act plot. The film has a fair amount of action, and plenty of suspense. Sure, it doesn’t have the finesse of a big Hollywood production, but there is something really endearing about a movie that flat-out refuses to get bogged down by lack of resources.
The film is pretty good when it comes to setting up the story. It begins like an old-fashioned submarine movie. These sequences reminded me of the excellent WWII film The Enemy Blow (1957), and they are well done. The rest of the story resembles the classic monster movie King Kong (1933), with the characters encountering many prehistoric creatures. The two halves come together effectively, and entertainingly.
However, how much you enjoy the movie will depend on your reaction to the low-rent visual effects. They are shoddy even by 1970s standards. Frankly, I’ve seen better effects in a Muppets movie. Bad optical effects notwithstanding, I still had a great time watching this poor cousin of Spielberg’s Jurassic Park (1993). I sensed that they did the best they could with what they had, and that was good enough for me.
Conclusions & Final Thoughts:
Okay, it’s true, The Land That Time Forgot might have been better with a bigger budget. The special effects seem to have been designed by the Sesame Street crew. But it’s reasonably well-paced and the acting is good. For those moviegoers who enjoy unpretentious B- movies, this Roger Corman-esque war-fantasy hybrid could easily find its way to their film collection. Color, 91 minutes, Rated PG.
Followed by The People That Time Forgot (1977)
This is my contribution to The Hammer-Amicus Blogathon IV, hosted by Cinematic Catharsis and Realweegiemidget Reviews.
Theatrical Trailer:
Diary of A Movie Maniac 
You are at it again, we both made an obscure Sesame Street reference in our posts for this blogathon – thanks for that and for joining with this fab double bill.
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I watched this as a kid several times on TV. When I watched it as an adult much later, I was really surprised at how poor some of the effects were – particularly compared to Hammer’s dinosaur movies, which were actually made earlier. Good cast, too – although I doubt it was ever on any of their highlights reel
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I know what you are saying. The FXs didn’t bother me as a kid, but, wow, they ARE bad! I guess they couldn’t afford Ray Harryhausen! 😉
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Like you, I have a soft spot for this one, despite the sketchy effects and creaky elements. It’s pure Saturday matinee material, which as you mentioned, doesn’t hold up to much scrutiny. I guess I’m also a sucker fo the submarine elements, as well. Thanks a million for joining our little blogathon!
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It demonstrates that a film doesn’t have to be perfect to be enjoyable!
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Those can be the most enjoyable kinds of films, or stories in general, because of the particularly better freedoms that we may feel from them. So it’s good that reviewers like you can make room for them on your sites. Thank you, Eric.
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Agreed. For example, I didn’t enjoy the Jurassic Park sequels despite their high production values. They feel like souless, overblown corporate vehicles. I much prefer the giddy enthusiasm of a small Roger Corman production. Just my opinion.
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I quit on those sequels after Jurassic Park III. So I sympathize.
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Amen to preferring the giddy enthusiasm of independent and B moviemakers over today’s soulless corporate sausage machine. Movies like Land That Time Forgot and the follow-up People were made strictly to entertain, and they do just that with a guileless energy that makes up for the less-than-stellar effects (at least as far as I’m concerned). Kudos for tackling both these films!
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Your review is completely accurate in that the film’s effects do not stand up. But, I have a huge soft spot for them. They are so charmingly quaint that I can’t help but smile. And, as you say, the film is entertaining in a way that many big budget films cannot compete with.
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It is indeed “charmingly quaint.” 🙂
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