Land Unknown is a 'Lost World' type movie, this one from the 1950s. It being a movie from the '50s, there are little scenes of scientific briefings at the beginning of the film, and even a little science film within the film. Trust the 1950s sci-fi movies to educate the viewer! As in any 'Lost World' movie, the big question is how will the explorers react when thrown into a primeval situation? Here we get a look at a very competent, post Korean War military style exploration. Several navy ships are dispatched on a routine expedition to the south pole. Three men and one woman fly around a mysterious warm zone when their cool-looking helicopter is forced to attempt a landing in bad weather. They land in deep fog. Not to worry. This group is well-trained, on-the-ball, and everyone does their duty. The woman, Maggie, is spunky, adventurous and likes hunky, competent and smart science type men. Every male in the movie looks at her wolfishly. She revels in it. The commander, as alpha male of the group, gets the woman. Period.
The next morning, the fog lifts, and what an amazing setting! This is one great looking lost world. Very primeval. The setting rivals King Kong (1933). Awesome. The dinosaurs are not great, but they are not too bad, and they are all used to great effect. The pteronodon makes a good appearance, damaging the cool-looking helicopter and is later shown dead near the lake. The obligatory giant monitor lizard fight scene is horrific in its violence. The rope-plant nearly eats the woman, and does eat her cute little mammal pet. The T-rex is clumsy and silly looking, but it is used to good effect as a threat to the cool-looking helicopter. The elasmosaurus looks somewhat like a water park kiddie ride, but that's okay because the creature is used to great effect as it patrols the lake.
The crew awaits rescue, but time is limited as the ships must depart before the ice pack freezes solid. Of course, one guy starts to crack. Not to worry. The alpha male commander sets him straight, and bucks up the woman when she starts to lose it. Clothes are soon in tattlers as the days tick off. Things get really interesting when the crew meets up with a lone survivor of an expedition 10 years ago. This guy, Hunter, is nearly insane, but has somehow learned to survive the dinosaurs and the long nights. He is able to disperse the dinosaurs by blowing a conch-shell trumpet (don't ask why, it makes no sense). Having nearly lost all humanity, he takes whatever he wants, raiding the food supplies and kidnapping Maggie! He has a spare part that will fix the cool-looking helicopter, which he will trade for the woman. It is one life for three.
What will the commander do? Forbid any such exchange of course. What will Maggie do? Of course she will do her duty and sneak off and get with Hunter to save the others. The crew attempts to rescue her, and in the scuffle, Hunter is knocked unconscious. One of the crew, (the guy who is cracking) is out of his mind and prepares to torture and kill the helpless Hunter for information about the spare part. The commander then whips out his standard-issue military .45 pistol and makes the defining statement of how this expedition will handle contact with the primeval, 'We are not going to dig our way out of here through human flesh. Not Maggie's, Hunter's, not even yours.' Great stuff! With the spare part in place, the cool-looking helicopter is ready for takeoff. Look out! Here comes T-rex (whoops, he's too slow). Now it's the scene we've all been waiting for - elasmosaurus versus cool-looking helicopter. A flare gun round to the mouth takes care of the elasmosaurus, everyone is rescued, including the survivor guy. Reunited and back in civilization, what will the commander and the woman do? Exactly what they must do, in a 1950s sci-fi movie.
Land Unknown tells a good story, does not lag, has excellent lost-world moments, and features good acting all around (the survivor guy really fits the part). This is a must see for fans of the genre. Excellent movie.
The next morning, the fog lifts, and what an amazing setting! This is one great looking lost world. Very primeval. The setting rivals King Kong (1933). Awesome. The dinosaurs are not great, but they are not too bad, and they are all used to great effect. The pteronodon makes a good appearance, damaging the cool-looking helicopter and is later shown dead near the lake. The obligatory giant monitor lizard fight scene is horrific in its violence. The rope-plant nearly eats the woman, and does eat her cute little mammal pet. The T-rex is clumsy and silly looking, but it is used to good effect as a threat to the cool-looking helicopter. The elasmosaurus looks somewhat like a water park kiddie ride, but that's okay because the creature is used to great effect as it patrols the lake.
The crew awaits rescue, but time is limited as the ships must depart before the ice pack freezes solid. Of course, one guy starts to crack. Not to worry. The alpha male commander sets him straight, and bucks up the woman when she starts to lose it. Clothes are soon in tattlers as the days tick off. Things get really interesting when the crew meets up with a lone survivor of an expedition 10 years ago. This guy, Hunter, is nearly insane, but has somehow learned to survive the dinosaurs and the long nights. He is able to disperse the dinosaurs by blowing a conch-shell trumpet (don't ask why, it makes no sense). Having nearly lost all humanity, he takes whatever he wants, raiding the food supplies and kidnapping Maggie! He has a spare part that will fix the cool-looking helicopter, which he will trade for the woman. It is one life for three.
What will the commander do? Forbid any such exchange of course. What will Maggie do? Of course she will do her duty and sneak off and get with Hunter to save the others. The crew attempts to rescue her, and in the scuffle, Hunter is knocked unconscious. One of the crew, (the guy who is cracking) is out of his mind and prepares to torture and kill the helpless Hunter for information about the spare part. The commander then whips out his standard-issue military .45 pistol and makes the defining statement of how this expedition will handle contact with the primeval, 'We are not going to dig our way out of here through human flesh. Not Maggie's, Hunter's, not even yours.' Great stuff! With the spare part in place, the cool-looking helicopter is ready for takeoff. Look out! Here comes T-rex (whoops, he's too slow). Now it's the scene we've all been waiting for - elasmosaurus versus cool-looking helicopter. A flare gun round to the mouth takes care of the elasmosaurus, everyone is rescued, including the survivor guy. Reunited and back in civilization, what will the commander and the woman do? Exactly what they must do, in a 1950s sci-fi movie.
Land Unknown tells a good story, does not lag, has excellent lost-world moments, and features good acting all around (the survivor guy really fits the part). This is a must see for fans of the genre. Excellent movie.