|
|
|
THE LAND UNKNOWN
Classic
Sci-Fi Ultimate Collection
|
|
U.S.A.
|
1957
Directed
by Virgil Vogel
Starring
Jock Mahoney
Shawn Smith
William Reynolds
B&W
| Not Rated |
78 Min.
Format:
DVD (R1 - NTSC | 6-disc
set)
Universal Home Video
|
|
 |
|
|
|
Hold
your mouse pointer over an image for a pop-up caption
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
|
6
|
|
 |
|
8 |
|
10
= Highest Rating |
|
|
•
A film from the Classic Sci-Fi Ultimate
Collection
• DVD Rating is for entire 6-disc
set |
In
2006-7 Universal FINALLY got its corporate butt in gear and
released on DVD some of the studio's most requested science
fiction catalog titles. Problem was, both multi-disc volumes
of the Classic Sci-Fi Ultimate Collection were issued
as Best Buy "exclusives" available only via that particular
retail chain. Once BB's supply was gone the sets started going
for ludicrously high prices on eBay and the like... Some people
were actually paying north of $100 for a single set! I really
feel sorry for those folks now that, as of this month (May 2008),
Universal has reissued both volumes bundled together in a 6-disc
combo package made widely available. The old maxim "good
things come to those who wait" was never more applicable
— at least where fans of golden age SF flicks are concerned.
Some
of the ten films in the collection have already been covered
by EC, so to mark its re-release I'm taking a look at one we
hadn't yet reviewed: 1957's The Land Unknown,
an entertaining "lost world"-type adventure.
Following up on Admiral
Byrd's famous survey of the previous decade, a joint military/civilian
mission to Antarctica is organized by the U.S. Navy to gather
meteorological and geographical data. Joining the expedition
is journalist Maggie Hathaway (Shawn Smith), who'll be the first
woman to ever reach the South Pole. During a flight over the
polar ice the helicopter she's riding in is struck by something
unseen in the fog —
a bat-winged Pterodactyl! Damaged, the chopper goes down in
an uncharted volcanic crater 3,000 feet below sea level. Maggie
and the three Navy men with her —
Commander Hal Roberts (Jock Mahoney), Lt. Jack Carmen (William
Reynolds), the pilot, and mechanic Steve Miller (Phil Harvey)
—
aren't injured, but nonetheless find themselves in very
deep doodoo. Warmed by geothermal forces and kept hidden from
aerial observation by a perpetual cloud of steam, the jungle
floor of the crater is teeming with giant prehistoric monsters.
The chopper can't
be repaired for lack of a crucial part. Radio signals won't
penetrate the cloud layer above. Emergency supplies will last
for six weeks, but by that time the ships of the polar expedition
will have to depart lest they become trapped in the ice pack.
The situation looks bleak, if not completely hopeless. Then
the quartet discovers that they aren't the only humans in the
crater. Dr. Carl Hunter (Henry Brandon) is the sole survivor
of a plane crash 10 years earlier. Surprisingly, he isn't overjoyed
to see other people. Living like a caveman, the marooned scientist
has gone crazy and now claims to rule the crater as his private
domain. He tells them that the helicopter can be repaired using
a part cannibalized from the wreck of his plane. But
Hunter won't reveal the wreck's location unless the Navy men
agree to leave Maggie behind
when they fly out...
Much of the film's
budget obviously went into the elaborate sets and special effects.
These positively creak by modern standards but for the "I
like Ike!" era they're fairly impressive. Except for stop-motion,
every major FX technique of the day was employed to depict the
monsters. The Pterodactyl, man-eating plant and aquatic Elasmosaur
are animatronic puppets; a pair of monitor lizards wrestle on
a diorama in the obligatory 'live-animals-used-as-dinosaurs'
scene. (At least it's not that familiar footage of an iguana
—
floppy rubber fin glued to
its hide —
battling a young alligator,
a sequence used in God knows how many movies.) The T-Rex is
a guy in a bulky monster suit, stomping around on a well-detailed
miniature 'forest primeval' set. The suit's forelegs don't function
but at least the head and eyes are articulated. (I've seen much
worse, believe me.) Model work is above par for the period,
even if one can occasionally glimpse the wires holding up the
helicopter. That the movie was shot in widescreen CinemaScope
helps negate the cheap look and cramped feel typically associated
with completely stage-bound productions (regardless of their
actual cost or how well photographed they might be).
Although it can't
escape the clichés and conventions of both its genre
and the time it was made, The Land Unknown
at least benefits from brisk pacing and good performances. Henry
Brandon (The Drums Of Fu Manchu,
The Searchers) stands out among
the cast, effective as the scientist driven to madness by years
of isolation in a harsh, hostile environment. As played by athletic
Jock Mahoney (Tarzan Goes To India),
the Roberts character —
while afflicted with the terminal blandness of so many '50s
sci-fi heroes —
is exactly the kind of guy you'd want in charge during a crisis.
He's a quick-thinking man of action but not brashly gung ho,
tempering logic with empathy and compassion. (When Miller, backed
by Carmen, tries to torture Hunter into revealing the location
of the wreck, Roberts pulls a gun and makes them stop. "We're
not gonna dig our way out of here through human flesh,"
he calmly asserts.) Typical for pre-Women's Lib fare, sole female
cast member Shawn Smith (It!
The Terror From Beyond Space) is on hand mainly to scream
and wear progressively skimpier clothing.
Perhaps I'm being
a tad generous with my Film Rating score... But anyone who appreciates
'50s sci-fi, or just digs dinosaur movies in general, should
have a decent time with this film. It certainly beats the hell
out of similar, albeit laughable, Z-budget fare such as Lost
Continent (1951) and King Dinosaur
(1955). If you liked The
Land That Time Forgot —
made nearly 20 years later but with no appreciable improvement
in special effects —
you'll definitely enjoy it. (Can't abide antiquated FX? Best
to pass.)
|
|
|
As
of this writing, the Classic Sci-Fi Ultimate Collection
combo set is going for around $45 (new) on Amazon... At a little
more than four bucks per movie it's an excellent value. Volume
1 contains Tarantula,
The Mole People,
The Incredible Shrinking Man, The
Monolith Monsters and Monster
On The Campus. In addition to The Land
Unknown, Volume 2 consists of Dr.
Cyclops, Cult Of The Cobra,
The Deadly Mantis and The
Leech Woman. Titles are paired two per disc except for
Monster On The Campus and Leech
Woman, which are each afforded a DVD all their own. (Given
my druthers I would've put Shrinking Man
and Tarantula on the solo discs.)
The films look and sound as good as one could realistically hope
for (i.e., clean, undamaged prints with strong, clear mono audio
tracks), with only a few minor hiccups. (Deadly
Mantis, for some reason, is presented fullframe instead
of its proper 1.85 aspect ratio.) Expect varying degrees of graininess,
which is perfectly natural given the vintage of these movies and
their general penchant for stock footage. Each title is supplemented
with its original theatrical trailer as well as optional subtitles.
Land
Unknown is one of the
best-looking movies in the set, boasting an excellent widescreen
anamorphic transfer in the film's original 2.35 AR.
5/30/08 |
•
Home
| Reviews | Top
•
|
