More Like "Lost Premise"
This weekend's review is actually a double feature. So first up; the 1960 version of The Lost World.
I had two reasons I wanted to watch the 1960 version of The Lost World. One was because I’d already watched the 1925 version of the same story and wanted to compare it as best as my memory would allow; the other was because it was written and directed by Irwin Allen, who had a reputation for cheesy disaster movies. Unfortunately, it wasn’t quite as over-the-top as I would have hoped.
Instead of being set during the early 1900’s like the novel was, the movie is set in the then-present of the 1960’s, though the plot is basically the same. Professor George Challenger (Claude Rains) claims he found a plateau in South America where dinosaurs still exist, which is roundly mocked by almost everyone, including fellow scientist Professor Summerlee (Richard Hayden). Challenger convinces Summerlee to come along and see for himself, assuming they can get the proper funding. Said funding is provided by the adventurer Lord Roxton (Michael Rennie) and a London newspaper, with the provisos that Roxton and newspaperman Ed Malone (David Hedison) can come along. Upon arriving in the Amazon, the group picks up a few more members-a helicopter pilot named Manuel Gomez (Fernando Lamas), his cowardly assistant Costa (Jay Novello), and the adult children of the newspaper owner, Jennifer and David Holmes (Jill St. John and Ray Stricklyn). This unusual crew do finally make their way to the plateau, and they discover in short order that dinosaurs do still roam the earth up there, though it comes at the cost of their helicopter. From there, the movie follows a lot of the tropes you might expect from a movie set in jungles or uncharted territory. And while this could be good cheesy fun, it doesn’t quite play out that way.
I think the reason the movie didn’t live up to expectations for me was twofold. It kept bringing up new plot points mostly out of nowhere, and said plot points caused problems with continuity or tone. The biggest one for me has to do with Roxton. When he’s introduced, you get the sense that he wants to go on the expedition because he’s in it for the thrill. Then we meet Gomez, and based on his cold greeting to Roxton and his dark looks, you can tell there’s some sort of bad blood there, even if it’s all on Gomez’s end. From that point, it takes a fairly long time before we get the explanation as to what’s going on, and when it’s all finally revealed, you’re left with a feeling of “where did this come from?” Sure, you can hazard at least a vague sense of why Gomez is upset if you’re even slightly trope-savvy, but the details we’re given haven’t even remotely been established, when it would have been really easy to scatter in some lines that could serve as foreshadowing. Since this comes probably around the halfway point of the movie, it feels really abrupt, especially when a good deal of the second half deals with this new material. And to make matters even worse, I figured I knew the ending fates of some of the characters thanks to the reveal, but the exact opposite of what I’d expected happened. Given that Hollywood has always had a streak of “punish the bad, reward the good” in its stories, this struck me as odd, since I thought one character was far more deserving of punishment than the other. But it’s possible that the Hays Code (which still existed, though was close to being retired) had different thoughts on the subject than I did.
I’m also bothered by another development once they arrive at the plateau, though I’m also not surprised by it. In addition to dinosaurs, the group eventually stumbles upon a tribe of natives, making them another threat. This is a staple of exploration/adventure movies, so in most circumstances, I’d have just accepted this. However, there was a line early on in the movie where Challenger described the plateau as something like “untouched by evolution”. Perhaps I’m just being nitpicky, but if it really was untouched by evolution, then you wouldn’t expect humans to be there. Granted, there is an oblique explanation for the presence of humans there if you really want to try to justify it, and it’s not a big deal in the grand scheme of things, but sometimes you just run into something that makes it difficult to maintain your suspension of disbelief, and this was one of them for me.
That’s not to say there aren’t some good elements in here, though one of them’s more of the “so bad it’s good” variety. One of the few genuinely good things is Rains’ performance. Challenger is arrogant, passionate about his ideas, and wields his umbrella like a club, and Rains makes him a joy to watch. Definitely not someone you’d want to know in real life, but very entertaining in a fictional world. And the other notable and mildly amusing element are the dinosaurs themselves. Apparently the studio didn’t have the budget for better practical effects, because the dinosaurs are clearly things like alligators and lizards with random frills or spikes glued on them. What makes it even more ridiculous is that instead of just calling them dinosaurs, or claiming they’re never before seen species, one of the creatures is flat out called a Tyrannosaurus Rex, when the thing walks on four legs and has spikes sticking out of its head. Apparently the T-Rex wasn’t as well-known or popular back in 1960, but other pieces of prior media (including Disney’s Fantasia) had portrayed T-Rexes properly, so you’d have thought Allen would have at least claimed it was a Triceratops or something. As it is, it’s hard to see the “T-Rex” without shaking your head in disbelief.
Amusement over Rains and the dinosaurs aside, I wouldn’t recommend the movie. There’s nowhere near as many action scenes or dramatic encounters as you’d expect given the premise, and it ultimately winds up feeling a bit dull. Fortunately, there are lots of other movies featuring more realistic looking dinosaurs you can watch instead, including the 1925 silent version of The Lost World. You could also try the 2001 version, though attempting to watch it may be an adventure in and of itself…
I had two reasons I wanted to watch the 1960 version of The Lost World. One was because I’d already watched the 1925 version of the same story and wanted to compare it as best as my memory would allow; the other was because it was written and directed by Irwin Allen, who had a reputation for cheesy disaster movies. Unfortunately, it wasn’t quite as over-the-top as I would have hoped.
Instead of being set during the early 1900’s like the novel was, the movie is set in the then-present of the 1960’s, though the plot is basically the same. Professor George Challenger (Claude Rains) claims he found a plateau in South America where dinosaurs still exist, which is roundly mocked by almost everyone, including fellow scientist Professor Summerlee (Richard Hayden). Challenger convinces Summerlee to come along and see for himself, assuming they can get the proper funding. Said funding is provided by the adventurer Lord Roxton (Michael Rennie) and a London newspaper, with the provisos that Roxton and newspaperman Ed Malone (David Hedison) can come along. Upon arriving in the Amazon, the group picks up a few more members-a helicopter pilot named Manuel Gomez (Fernando Lamas), his cowardly assistant Costa (Jay Novello), and the adult children of the newspaper owner, Jennifer and David Holmes (Jill St. John and Ray Stricklyn). This unusual crew do finally make their way to the plateau, and they discover in short order that dinosaurs do still roam the earth up there, though it comes at the cost of their helicopter. From there, the movie follows a lot of the tropes you might expect from a movie set in jungles or uncharted territory. And while this could be good cheesy fun, it doesn’t quite play out that way.
I think the reason the movie didn’t live up to expectations for me was twofold. It kept bringing up new plot points mostly out of nowhere, and said plot points caused problems with continuity or tone. The biggest one for me has to do with Roxton. When he’s introduced, you get the sense that he wants to go on the expedition because he’s in it for the thrill. Then we meet Gomez, and based on his cold greeting to Roxton and his dark looks, you can tell there’s some sort of bad blood there, even if it’s all on Gomez’s end. From that point, it takes a fairly long time before we get the explanation as to what’s going on, and when it’s all finally revealed, you’re left with a feeling of “where did this come from?” Sure, you can hazard at least a vague sense of why Gomez is upset if you’re even slightly trope-savvy, but the details we’re given haven’t even remotely been established, when it would have been really easy to scatter in some lines that could serve as foreshadowing. Since this comes probably around the halfway point of the movie, it feels really abrupt, especially when a good deal of the second half deals with this new material. And to make matters even worse, I figured I knew the ending fates of some of the characters thanks to the reveal, but the exact opposite of what I’d expected happened. Given that Hollywood has always had a streak of “punish the bad, reward the good” in its stories, this struck me as odd, since I thought one character was far more deserving of punishment than the other. But it’s possible that the Hays Code (which still existed, though was close to being retired) had different thoughts on the subject than I did.
I’m also bothered by another development once they arrive at the plateau, though I’m also not surprised by it. In addition to dinosaurs, the group eventually stumbles upon a tribe of natives, making them another threat. This is a staple of exploration/adventure movies, so in most circumstances, I’d have just accepted this. However, there was a line early on in the movie where Challenger described the plateau as something like “untouched by evolution”. Perhaps I’m just being nitpicky, but if it really was untouched by evolution, then you wouldn’t expect humans to be there. Granted, there is an oblique explanation for the presence of humans there if you really want to try to justify it, and it’s not a big deal in the grand scheme of things, but sometimes you just run into something that makes it difficult to maintain your suspension of disbelief, and this was one of them for me.
That’s not to say there aren’t some good elements in here, though one of them’s more of the “so bad it’s good” variety. One of the few genuinely good things is Rains’ performance. Challenger is arrogant, passionate about his ideas, and wields his umbrella like a club, and Rains makes him a joy to watch. Definitely not someone you’d want to know in real life, but very entertaining in a fictional world. And the other notable and mildly amusing element are the dinosaurs themselves. Apparently the studio didn’t have the budget for better practical effects, because the dinosaurs are clearly things like alligators and lizards with random frills or spikes glued on them. What makes it even more ridiculous is that instead of just calling them dinosaurs, or claiming they’re never before seen species, one of the creatures is flat out called a Tyrannosaurus Rex, when the thing walks on four legs and has spikes sticking out of its head. Apparently the T-Rex wasn’t as well-known or popular back in 1960, but other pieces of prior media (including Disney’s Fantasia) had portrayed T-Rexes properly, so you’d have thought Allen would have at least claimed it was a Triceratops or something. As it is, it’s hard to see the “T-Rex” without shaking your head in disbelief.
Amusement over Rains and the dinosaurs aside, I wouldn’t recommend the movie. There’s nowhere near as many action scenes or dramatic encounters as you’d expect given the premise, and it ultimately winds up feeling a bit dull. Fortunately, there are lots of other movies featuring more realistic looking dinosaurs you can watch instead, including the 1925 silent version of The Lost World. You could also try the 2001 version, though attempting to watch it may be an adventure in and of itself…