The Land That Time Forgot (1974) Doug McClure, John McEnery, Susan Penhaligon, Keith Barron Movie Review

The Land That Time Forgot (1974)   3/53/53/53/53/5


The Land That Time Forgot (1974)

The Opening I Wish They Forgot

During WWI Bowen Tyler (Doug McClure) and Lisa Clayton (Susan Penhaligon) along with some British officers find themselves aboard Captain von Schoenvorts' (John McEnery) U-boat after he torpedoed their ship. But Bowen and his men manage to take control of the U-boat and make the Captain and his crew take them towards a safe sea port. Except they don't and instead end up in uncharted waters on the island of Caprona where to their surprise dinosaurs still roam. But the island is also not only full of food but also natural oil which if the enemies can work together will allow them to escape. That is until a volcano erupts and they seem doomed.

I remember trying to watch "The Land That Time Forgot" as a kid in the 80s and gave up because I found it boring. Having watched it since I know why I found it boring, it is the opening which sees Bowen and his men on a German U-boat as it goes on and on for almost a third of the movie's running length and while there is some action it is very wordy and tedious. It is a shame as when they end up going through an ice tunnel and into Caprona things get entertaining as it then delivers the action and fantasy you expect but for me that opening really drags this movie out and down.

The Land That Time Forgot (1974)

Now I said that "The Land That Time Forgot" gets entertaining but only in comparison to that opening as what we then get is pretty usual. We get the fun of model monsters attacking are heroes, we get some luscious art work when it comes to creating this hidden paradise and of course we have conflict between are pluck band of explorers. Oh there are a couple of minor twists when it comes to what they discover in this hidden paradise but it doesn't really stand out from the crowd of forgotten land style adventure movies.

In truth what I have always remembers "The Land That Time Forgot" is that alongside Doug McClure there is Keith Barron, an actor I have always associated with British TV rather than movies but does a good job in the supporting role. Okay there is something else I remember "The Land That Time Forgot" for and that is for a complete historic inaccuracy but then I guess as a fantasy movie anything goes.

What this all boils down to is that "The Land That Time Forgot" is a heavily flawed movie which now at times borders on the comically bad. But in fairness there is something surprisingly entertaining about it even now over 40 years after it was made.


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