Customer Reviews

Lost Continent [VHS]

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The Image dvd release, with the cover that shows Cesar Romero, Hugh Beaumont and the triceratops, against a green background, DOES have the moving Sid Melton scene at the end. I had a vhs copy that cut it, so I ordered this Image dvd release, when it became available, and the scene IS included.

As for the movie, it's an excellent B movie with snappy clever dialogue and dinosaurs that look more cute than menacing. It was a perennioal favorite of mine as a youth and remains so. It's not King Kong but it's very enjoyable.

Not the greatest Sid Melton science fiction movie (that would be The Atomic Submarine), Lost Continent is still lots of cheesy fun, one of those "cross-genre" flicks that should appeal to pretty much any B-movie fan. You get SF, war movie, and jungle adventure cliches neatly combined with some of the most pitiful stop-motion dinosaurs ever. The quintessential B-cast includes Cesar Romero (TV's Joker, Week-end in Havana, Captain from Castile), John Hoyt (When Worlds Collide, Attack of the Puppet People), Whit Bissell (Teenage Werewolf & Frankenstein, Time Tunnel), Hugh Beaumont (Ward Cleaver, Michael Shayne), Chick Chandler (Music Man, Blondie), and Sid Melton (Make Room for Daddy, Green Acres), with Acquanetta (Captive Wild Woman, Tarzan & the Leopard Woman) and second-billed Hillary Brooke (Ministry of Fear, Invaders from Mars) in cameos. To the movie's credit, the plot moves at a brisk pace (except during the seemingly interminable 'climbing scenes'), Romero and Chandler execute some great flyboy banter, and the earthquake stock footage from One Million B.C. is actually pretty well integrated into the movie, particularly during the surprisingly exciting (if rather implausible) climax. The script by Richard Landau (Girl in Black Stockings, TV's Wild Wild West) and direction by veteran PRC schlockmeister Sam Newfield (Nabonga, White Pongo, Flying Serpent) are also slightly above-average for this type of thing. Unfortunately, when we eventually encounter the extremely lame stop-motion brontosaurus, pterodactyl, and triceratops (and one live lizard for laughs), any semblance of credibility generated up to that point is completely destroyed, leaving the movie dangling on the edge of "so-bad-it's-good" rather than "really-not-half-bad". Still a great Saturday-afternoon time-waster for the low-budget cinema set. Serious stop-motion fans beware.
Image upgrades their typical DVD package a bit with this release (perhaps feeling the heat from Anchor Bay?). The disc comes in the superior 'keep case' box and the main menu is animated (not that I really care that much). Twelve chapter stops, five trailers in an Easter egg, and a very good-to-excellent if rather scratchy LC trailer are the usual extras, plus you get informative Tom Weaver liner notes, and an isolated music and effects track so you can listen to Paul Dunlap's rousing score minus the wisecracks. Source print quality is generally excellent with terrific grayscale, brightness, contrast, sharpness, and detail. There is some light speckling and blemishing (some sporadic horizontal 'banding' toward the beginning of the movie), but otherwise there is no major damage. The plateau scenes are tinted green as in the original release. While I commend Image for presenting the movie in its original format, these scenes are not as easy on the eyes as the crisp B&W of the rest of the movie. The only sour note in the whole shebang is the extremely hyperbolic commentary ("beautifully crafted," "excellent production values") by Wade Williams on the box. Pity the fool who purchases based on his glowing review. Overall a step up from Image's usual offerings and as close to a definitive release as this film is likely to see. Three stars for the movie, 4 or 5 for the DVD. Cheese-lovers, go for it.

Primitive but effective sci-fi/dinosaur movie. An experimental rocket (as if in 1951 it could be any other kind) gets lost somewhere over the ocean, and the military hones in on a remote island. Major Joe Nolan (Cesar Romero) is ordered to guide a search party of scientist types to retrieve the critical scientific data in the missing rocket. The simple, fast paced story holds the viewers' attention. There are a few tiresome interludes while Nolan argues with Rostov (John Hoyt) to get on the "right" political side. Evidently in 1951 it was smart for moviemakers to be openly anti-communist. The expedition finds the rocket on a great plateau of a tropical island. A primitive jungle covers the plateau, tinted in green (an unusual visual gimmick in a B&W film), and inhabited by antisocial, stop motion animated dinosaurs. This Grade B movie is fun for 11 year olds of all ages. The anti-communist moralizing of the script makes the film a curious relic of a bygone era. Lovable Sid Melton's comedy relief provides chuckles in distress. Until the triceratops attacks, but we won't go there in this review. Cesar Romero is curiously cast as a career military type. Hugh Beaumont (you know, Wally and the Beaver's dad) is one of the scientists. The special effects are almost as primitive as the dinosaurs, but serve the purpose. Bottom line, this is a basic sci-fi/dinosaur adventure film that doesn't pretend to be more than it is. Take it for what it's worth, and enjoy it.

I just got my Lost Continent DVD today from Amazon. I saw this movie in a theater when I was young. It was good to see it again after some 50-years for the first time in a long time.
I had my concerns, by other reviews about the scene with Sid Melton being gored by the Triceratop would be cut out from the DVD version.
Well! the scene is in! The DVD shows Sid Melton behind a rock and a Triceratop coming in from behind him. The others tried to warn him, but too late. He gets gored.
The entire movie is as I remember seeing it back then, especially the tinted green scenery. I remember my brother coming home telling me about it which prompted me to go see the movie.

An interesting item that is inside the DVD case is the information sheet that gives a detailed account of how the movie was made, Sid Melton's role, and some disappointments that faced the directors and actors.
The stop-motion dinosaur sequence were not the best, it explains, but they didn't have the technology like they have now.
The movie was done in 11-days.
But they got a lot of praise for their efforts in making this movie when it was released in theaters.

Enjoy!

OK, from the other reviews I have concluded that this is still a cut-up version. Sid Melton's "death scene" is missing (Romero puts a cig between his blood-oozing lips before he cashs his chips in and tells them to say goodby to the plane for him). Some of the earthquake scenes are probably missing also (Acquanetta's demise - if my memory serves me correct they used the "lava flow overcomes cavegirl" stock footage from 1 Million Years BC - Now you think, "Say, what did happen to those other villagers?"). Sinister Cinema advised me some years ago that whoever owns the rights was just too lazy or stupid to restore them properly. Boycott it until they do it right. Pitiful! It was one of my favorites as a child.

I grew up during the formative years of SciFi and all the mellodramatic garbage that we were forced to digest, but this and "Rocketship XM" were the best of the growing medium. As a "pre-Boomer" we didn't have an awful lot to see on Saturday afternoons, and many of the movies we COULD see were denied us by the Catholic Legion of Decency. So, many of us were destined to grow our teeth on second rate genre movies. In 1950 and 1951 these two movies kept me awake many nights thinking about monsters and the post-atomic age we were going to live in -- a lot of meat to digest for a boy of 7 and 8 years of age. "The Lost Continent" is a clasic for me, because it helped me form a wedge in my thinking about the abstract world of science fiction. I respect the effort that this low-budget movie achieved, and the results are terrific for the $.29 that were spent on special effects. Besides, this is one of the few films where we '50s children had a glimpse of a Beaverless pre-Ward Cleaver in the accomplished actor Hugh Beaumont. It's worth the price of the CD just to see him act without Wally and The Beav. I always will like this film -- as much of my childhood as Wonder Bread and Richard Nixon.

It has all of the crucial elements: U.S. Military equipment Cheezy Monsters

Only drawback is it is missing one scene when one guy gets killed they were supposed to give him a cigerette.

1951 had its share of great films-The Thing (From Another World), The Day the Earth Stood Still, The African Queen, An American in Paris, A Streetcar Named Desire, When Worlds Collide, etc. Lost Continent is a nice entry into the science fiction genre.

Hunting for a lost atomic rocket on a remote island are three scientists, two air force pilots and a sergeant whose plane crashes on the mysterious island with its plateau shrouded in clouds. Instruments failure was the cause of the crash.

They meet a youngster and a young woman- Acquanetta, an exotic beauty who appeared in a number of B movies. Nicknamed the Venezuelan Volcano by the studio who wanted to add a Latin favor, she was actually a Native American born in Wyoming. Unfortunately, for her fans her appearance was just a cameo. She directs them to the mountain of the gods and the great firebird that caused her people to abandon their island.

Now, the scientists and the sergeant are totally dressed for a climb up this island's Olympus, but the two pilots are dressed in their uniforms and dress shoes. Take it from someone who has climbed a lot of mountains and canyon walls, dress shoes don't cut it. You need a great pair of boots and the right gear.

It was nice to see Cesar Romero in his prime. His main love interest was the beautiful Hillary Brooke who was regulated to a mere cameo. He would gain international fame in the late 60's as the Joker on the Batman television series.

Whit Bissell as Stanley Briggs was the family man with two children. He had no business climbing a mountain. In the late 60's he would gain international recognition as the commanding general in the television series-The Time Tunnel.

John Hoyt is always a joy to watch in films. In fact, he was in three 1951 films-this one, When Worlds Collide, and Quebec. Playing an exile Russian scientist was a great part for this fine actor, especially when he revealed the reasons why he left the Soviet Union which is one of the touching moments in this film. In addition, he had the best line, "No country can survive when it loses the respect of its own people or the world".

Hugh Beaumont, one of the scientists, was one of the busiest actors of his day. However, it is his portrayal of Ward Cleaver of Leave It To Beaver fame that he is remembered fondly as a great dad and role model. He wrote and directed several episodes of the series, especially the finale.

One of the special effects was the green tint when the party reached the top of the plateau. It was explained why there was green tint.

One thing that amazed me was the endless supply of cigarettes. Based on all the smoking in this film, it is a miracle that the prehistoric creatures did not die just from second hand smoke.

Overall, this is a great film which has an excellent story, cast and descent special effects for 1951. Paul Dunlap wrote the music. His name is probably unfamiliar to most people, but his resume is outstanding if you want to look it up.

I loved this film as a child, and I still enjoy it. The film used to air on the old WNEW in New York City back in the early and mid 1960s. Of course, I don't know how much of the enjoyment of the movie comes from the nostalgia. One thing I noticed is that it's a major cigarette add. The dialogue is very clever abeit politically incorrect in many ways. "What, and have some wife tell him what dames he should or shouldn't go out with? Not, Joe." According to one of your reviewers, the Sid Melton scene toward the end is cut half way through. It is also cut on a differently packaged copy which I purchased some years ago. That's unfortunate, as the scene is very moving. It shows a lack of responsibility on the part of the releasing companies.

At first I thought the movie was going to be bad but I was wrong. I loved it!!! Especially the big fight between the two triceratops. I recomend this to dino fans and B-movie fans.