Throughout the history of cinema, dinosaurs have been a relatively popular theme not only for audiences, but also for filmmakers who liked a good challenge in the area of special effects and other aspects of film magic. Some of those films, although technically obsolete following new standards set by Jurassic Park, can still function as stylish entertainment, while some cannot. The Land That Time Forgot, the 1974 British film directed by Kevin Connor, belongs to the latter category.
The film is based on the novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs, the American author best known as the creator of Tarzan. After a prologue showing the discovery of a bottle containing the message of the protagonist and narrator, the plot begins in 1916, a time when the Atlantic Ocean was one of the battlefields of the First World War. The protagonist is revealed to be Bowen Tyler (played by Doug McClure), an American passenger on a British ship that was sunk by U-33, a submarine of the Imperial German Navy. When the submarine surfaces to recharge its batteries near the lifeboats, Tyler leads the desperate survivors in boarding the enemy vessel and takes control. Tyler’s attempt to steer it to a British port is thwarted by Captain von Schoenvorts (played by John McEnery) and his men, who sabotage the boat and take back control, only to lose it afterwards. By that time, the submarine has spent most of its supplies and fuel and ended up in the waters of Antarctica. Tyler and von Schoenvorts reluctantly decide to declare a truce in order to survive, and their only hope comes in the form of the uncharted, half-mythical island of Caprona with its inaccessible coast. Instead of landing, the crew of U-33 finds a warm underground river and uses it to pass through the mountains into the interior of the island. There, to their amazement, they discover a tropical paradise filled with dinosaurs and other prehistoric beasts. Further investigation finds that the island also has a human population made up of cavemen at various levels of evolution. But the most important find is an oil spring that could provide fuel for the submarine’s return to civilisation.
Despite being made on a relatively low budget, The Land That Time Forgot had potential. The script was co-written by the respected science fiction author Michael Moorcock. The lead role was played by McClure, an experienced star of Western TV shows, who provided enough charisma and action skills to play a very believable hero. He also had good rapport with the experienced British cast, including McEnery as his surprisingly gentlemanly, erudite, and environmentally conscious rival. The film works best in the first half when the seemingly ridiculous premise of two factions fighting for control of a submarine creates more than enough tension, action, and drama. But when the submarine reaches Caprona’s interior and we finally see dinosaurs, the film starts to fall apart. Poor and often unconvincing special effects that feature rubber puppets are the least of its problems. The segment on Caprona takes up roughly more than half of the running time, and the producers use it mostly to stuff in as many dinosaurs and cavemen as possible, often at the expense of plot, exposition, and exploring some intriguing ideas from Burroughs’ original novel. Finally, in order to have the film end at 90 minutes of running time, the producers introduce a finale in the form of a convenient volcanic eruption that causes an ending surprisingly bleak for this sort of film, although with enough avenues for a possible sequel. Despite its flaws, The Land That Time Forgot had decent box-office returns, and a sequel under the title The People That Time Forgot was made in 1977.
RATING: 4/10 (++)
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