Product Details

• Actors: Jock Mahoney, Shirley Patterson, William Reynolds, Henry Brandon, Douglas Kennedy
• Directors: Virgil W. Vogel
• Writers: Charles Palmer, László Görög, William N. Robson
• Producers: William Alland
• Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, HiFi Sound, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Universal Studios
• VHS Release Date: October 1, 1996
• Run Time: 78 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6303046452
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #221,101 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Attack of the Killer B Movie!!, March 23, 2003

By 

Deborah MacGillivray "Author," (US & UK) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Land Unknown [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Okay, I agree some of the monsters in this movie are rather weak, but all in all, because of the likable cast, this is a perfect Drive-in Black and White film. I am sure kids of today raised with all colour films and with the high quality computer generated effects, will sniff their noses at this film, but to the baby-boomers that loved Drive-In B movies, this is one of the better ones.

Jock Mahoney (TV's Yancy Derringer and later a Tarazon for movies) stars with the gorgeous William Reynolds (TV's FBI and also from The Thing that Would Not Die another perfect B movie) in this tale of a polar expedition that crashes over the South Pole due to crashing into a Pterodactyl. There is a hot pocket where all sorts of prehistoric (make it in this case prehysteric!!) monsters still exist. Three men and a woman crash and await rescue, but due to one of the running the battery down they cannot get word where they are hidden in the tropics jungle at the centre of the Pole. They discover there was another party, with one man still surviving, and since there is only one female, tempers flare up naturally.

I am a sucker for the old Black & White B horror, Sci-fi and mysteries. It's not the quality of the monsters...its the experience. So pop some popcorn, turn out the lights and enjoy a kinder gentler Jurassic Park....

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 50s Fun with Nostalgic Appeal, May 10, 2002

By 

Gary F. Taylor "GFT" (Biloxi, MS USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Land Unknown [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Today's kids, raised on computer-generated graphics, will probably sneer at it, but by 1957 standards THE LAND UNKNOWN was pretty hard to beat. Drawing inspiration from 1920s silent classic THE LOST WORLD and using film shot by Byrd during his polar expedition, THE LAND UNKNOWN presents the story of a helicopter forced down at a warm-water oasis in Antartica--where the crew discovers a prehistoric world where everything seems determined to gobble them up.

The special effects are a mixed bag, ranging from live-action shots of lizards-in-combat to Godzilla-style rubber suits to full size mechanics. While I wouldn't describe it as greatly sophistocated or even consistently executed, it is all a tremendous amount of fun. The script is more intelligent than you might expect--and the story takes an unexpected turn that tempers the action-heavy plot with a certain depth. The cast is no-name, but every one plays expertly, and THE LAND UNKNOWN moves at a cracking pace. This will never compete with the likes of Harryhausen's stop-motion classics, nor will it go down in the history of film as an equal to the truly great science-fiction and fantasy films of its day. But THE LAND UNKNOWN is a fun flick, and I recommend it to fans of 1950s creature features.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Recommended viewing, January 14, 2001

By 

Tuco (Phoenix, Az USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Land Unknown [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This flick had well above average production values for the 1950's. The actual sets were spectacular(for this timeframe) and it had great use of stock footage. Sure, the dinosaurs were cheesy, but name one 50's monster that wasn't. I purchased this before seeing it and am glad to say that it will remain in my library. Most films I purchase before seeing end up on Ebay. Check it out!!