Main Cast: Jock Mahoney, Shawn Smith, William Reynolds, Henry Brandon, Douglas Kennedy
Release Year: 1957
Country: US
Run Time: 78 minutes
Plot
Generous portions of The Secret Land, the 1948 documentary on the Byrd Antarctic Expedition, were worked into the action of The Land Unknown. Jock Mahoney and William Reynolds play Hal and Jack, leaders of an expedition to the South Pole. Along for the ride is girl reporter Maggie (Shawn Smith), over whose affections Hal and Jack constantly battle. Making a forced landing in the Antarctic, our intrepid explorers find that they've descended well below sea level. Before long, they are attacked by prehistoric beasts which have been preserved in this heretofore uncharted region. When not fending off Tyrannosauri and Pterodactyls, Hal, Jack, Maggie and copter pilot Steve (Phil Harvey) try to steer clear of an unwieldly carnivorous plant. Further complicating things is the presence of a long-lost, slightly demented scientist (Henry Brandon) who craves companionship...specifically the female companionship of Maggie. Its reasonably convincing special effects notwithstanding, The Land Unknown is much ado about nothing. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
Make no mistake about it, The Land Unknown is one bad film. But those who are fans of 1950's sci-fi, especially the subgenre known as "lost world" films, will still get a kick out of it, as will all aficionados of bad movies. Not every single thing in Land is bad; some of the optical effects are actually pretty good for the period, and the use of actual footage from an early South Pole documentary is also interesting. Unfortunately, the dinosaurs, which are the reason one watches a film like this, are exceptionally poor. Many are lizards with plates or other objects attached to them, and they look no more like dinosaurs than any other lizard with objects attached to it. But those are still better than the tyrannosaurus, which is nothing more than a man wearing a not-too-convincing tyrannosaurus suit. Throw in a lame script, simply horrible dialogue, haphazard plotting and performances that are strictly from hunger, and the result is a dreadful mess that can't help but inspire laughter. It's definitely fun for a while, but the fun wears out a bit too quickly. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
Alexander Golitzen - Art Director, Richard H. Riedel - Art Director, Joseph E. Kenny - First Assistant Director, Virgil Vogel - Director, Fred MacDowell - Editor, Joseph E. Gershenson - Composer (Music Score), Henry Mancini - Composer (Music Score), Hans Salter - Composer (Music Score), Herman Stein - Composer (Music Score), Bud Westmore - Makeup, Ellis W. Carter - Cinematographer, William Alland - Producer, Fred Knoth - Special Effects, Jack Kevan - Special Effects, Leslie I. Carey - Sound/Sound Designer, Corson Jowett - Sound/Sound Designer, Charles Palmer - Screen Story, Laszlo Gorog - Screenwriter, William N. Robson - Screenwriter
The Land Unknown (1957) is a sci-fi, adventure film about a naval expedition trapped in an Antarctic jungle. The story was allegedly inspired by the discovery of unusually warm water in Antarctica in 1947. It starred Jock Mahoney and Shirley Patterson and was directed by Virgil W. Vogel. The film has poor special effects, mainly because it was made on a low budget.
Plot
Three men and a reporter are on an expedition into Antarctica for the United States Navy. Their helicopter crash-lands in a volcanic crater. Inside, are steamy tropical jungles, dinosaurs, carnivorous plants, and human footprints. The crew encounter many dangers and perils in the jungle in a fight for survival. The dinosaurs featured in this film include a Tyrannosaurus the plesiosaurElasmosaurus and Stegosaurus (played by Monitor lizards) and a Pterodactyl also appear.
