Atlantis, the Lost Continent
| Atlantis, the Lost Continent | |
|---|---|
 Promotional movie poster for the film |
|
| Directed by | George Pal |
| Produced by | George Pal |
| Written by | Daniel Mainwaring Gerald Hargreaves (play) |
| Starring | Sal Ponti Joyce Taylor John Dall |
| Music by | Russell Garcia |
| Cinematography | Harold E. Wellman |
| Editing by | Ben Lewis |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
| Release date(s) | May 3 1961 |
| Running time | 90 min |
| Country |  |
| Language | English |
| [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054642 [1]/ IMDb profile] | |
Atlantis, the Lost Continent is a 1961 science fiction film directed by George Pal and starring Sal Ponti about the destruction of Atlantis during the time of Ancient Greece.
Plot
A Greek fisherman named Demetrios (Sal Ponti) and his father rescue Princess Antillia (Joyce Taylor) from a shipwreck without knowing that in fact she is from the technologically advanced civilisation of Atlantis. Upon returning her to her civilization, Demetrios is placed into slavery. It turns out that the King is being manipulated by an evil sorcerer who wishes to use the resources of Atlantis to take over the world. The slaves of Atlantis have been mining crystals which absorb the sun's rays and can then be used to fire heat rays.
Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Sal Ponti | Demetrios |
| Joyce Taylor | Princess Antillia |
| John Dall | Zaren |
| William Smith | Captain of the Guard |
| Edward Platt | Azor the High Priest |
| Frank DeKova | Sonoy the Astrologer |
| Berry Kroeger | Surgeon |
| Edgar Stehli | King Kronas |
| Wolfe Barzell | Petros, Demetrios' Father |
| Jay Novello | Xandros the Greek Slave |
| Paul Frees | Narrator/multiple voices |
Reaction
The film became notorious for its inclusion of material from other movies including Quo Vadis and The Naked Jungle. Many items were also reused including a large statue at the temple from The Prodigal and Krell gauges from Forbidden Planet[2]
Science fiction author David Wingrove also had similar criticisms in his science fiction film source book: "No expense was spared in buying up footage from Quo Vadis to give it true period flavour. Avoid." [3]
At a preview screening of this film, questionnaires were handed to the audience asking what their favorite scene was. One person, apparently recognizing the footage taken from Quo Vadis, replied "The scene where Robert Taylor saved Deborah Kerr from the fire."[4]
References
- ^ Atlantis, the Lost Continent at the Internet Movie Database
- ^ . The film's prologue describing the legend of Atlantis features Pal's stop motion special effects. It has generally received negative comments from critics. The film has generally received poor reviews and was described by film critic Leonard Maltin in his 2002 Movie & Video Guide as "Pal's worst film", saying that it had "poor effects" and that it was: "Occasionally funny - but not on purpose." <ref>Leonard Maltin, ed., ''Leonard Maltin's 2002 Movie & Video Guide''. A Signet Book, 2001.</li> <li id="wp-_note-2">'''[[#wp-_ref-2|^]]''' Wingrove, David. Science Fiction Film Source Book (Longman Group Limited, 1985)</li> <li id="wp-_note-3">'''[[#wp-_ref-3|^]]''' http://imdb.com/title/tt0054642/trivia</li></ol></ref>
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