The Land That Time Forgot (1974)

The Land That Time Forgot

1974 | 90 minutes | 5.7 ★ (164)

Adventure Fantasy Science Fiction

Overview
During World War I, a German U-boat sinks a British ship and takes the survivors on board. After it takes a wrong turn, the submarine takes them to the unknown land of Caprona, where they find dinosaurs and neanderthals.
Release Date
13 August 1974
DirectingKevin Connor
Budget
$1,500,000.00
Revenue
$0.00
Stars
Doug McClure John McEnery Susan Penhaligon

Videos

User Reviews

John Chard

16 May 2024

The Adventure You will Never Forget! The Land That Time Forgot is directed by Kevin Connor and adapted to screenplay by Michael Moorcock & James Cawthorn from the Edgar Rice Burroughs novel of the same name. It stars Doug McClure, Keith Barron, John McEnery, Susan Penhaligon, Anthony Ainley and Declan Mulholland. Music is by Douglas Gamley and cinematography by Alan Hume. It is the first of four feature films featuring the pairing of director Kevin Connor and actor Doug McClure. Story is set during World War I and sees an uneasy alliance formed between enemies on board a German U-Boat after it drifts for miles and lands in a lost world of dinosaurs and cavemen. Rationale goes out the window, as does any hope of quality thesping, in the sort of cheese laden creature feature that thrilled many a child back in the mid to late 1970's. Film was enough of a success that it spawned three more films of the same ilk - At the Earth's Core (1976), The People That Time Forgot (1977) and Warlords of Atlantis (1978). Of the four, this is the one that arguably has the most about it in terms of plotting and character development. Certainly it's the biggest budgeted of the four. In fact for the first third of the picture it's distinctly un-child friendly, as story focuses on characters from opposite sides of the war clashing on board the U-Boat after the torpedoing of the ship housing the allies. But once the boat reaches arctic climes and wades through to the sunnier "other side", it's all prehistoric puppets, fisticuffs and square jawed heroics from McClure. Ultimately a fun boys own adventure without sensible trappings. Not as outrageously fun as At the Earth's Core, but a decent launching pad for the 70's creature feature niche created by Connor and McClure. 6.5/10

CinemaSerf

27 March 2022

The survivors from a U-boat attack turn the tables on their would be killers and hijack the submarine after it has surfaced to recharge batteries. A gentlemen's agreement between the crews doesn't quite go to plan, and next we know it they are surfacing in a land that is full of dinosaurs and primitive human beings. Will they get home? Well that's down to a rather wooden but entertaining Doug McLure and John McEnery to fathom out. The monsters and other special effects are fine given the budget, though you do glimpse the odd bits of string now and again! Like a few others who have reviewed this, I too saw it at the cinema when I was but a bairn, and I cannot help but look back on this (and "Warlords of Atlantis") with a fondness maybe not quite due to the production. Still, it's a jolly adventure lark and still worth a watch.

More Like This

The Flintstones

Modern Stone Age family the Flintstones hit the big screen in this live-action version of the classic cartoon. Fred helps Barney adopt a child...

The City of Lost Children

A scientist in a surrealist society kidnaps children to steal their dreams, hoping that they slow his aging process.

Madagascar

Alex the lion is the king of the urban jungle, the main attraction at New York's Central Park Zoo. He and his best friends—Marty the zebra, Melman...

Mission: Impossible II

With computer genius Luther Stickell at his side and a beautiful thief on his mind, agent Ethan Hunt races across Australia and Spain to stop a...

Gappa, the Triphibian Monster

An expedition in the South Pacific lands on a tropical island where the natives worship the mysterious deity Gappa. An earthquake opens up an...

Solaris

A troubled psychologist is sent to investigate the crew of an isolated research station orbiting a bizarre planet.

The Perfect Storm

In October 1991, a confluence of weather conditions combined to form a killer storm in the North Atlantic. Caught in the storm was the...

The Time Machine

A Victorian Englishman travels to the far future and finds that humanity has divided into two hostile species.

The Time Machine

Hoping to alter the events of the past, a 19th century inventor instead travels 800,000 years into the future, where he finds mankind divided into...

Fantastic Voyage

In order to save an assassinated scientist, a submarine and its crew are shrunk to microscopic size and injected into his bloodstream.

Wicked

Elphaba, an ostracized but defiant girl born with green skin, and Glinda, a privileged aristocrat born popular, become extremely unlikely friends...

1984

In a totalitarian future society, a man whose daily work is rewriting history tries to rebel by falling in love.

I, Robot

In 2035, where robots are commonplace and abide by the three laws of robotics, a technophobic cop investigates an apparent suicide. Suspecting that...

Jaws

When the seaside community of Amity finds itself under attack by a dangerous great white shark, the town's chief of police, a young marine...

Dances with Wolves

Wounded Civil War soldier John Dunbar tries to commit suicide—and becomes a hero instead. As a reward, he's assigned to his dream post, a remote...

Solaris

A psychologist is sent to a space station orbiting a planet called Solaris to investigate the death of a doctor and the mental problems of...

Interview with the Vampire

A vampire relates his epic life story of love, betrayal, loneliness, and dark hunger to an over-curious reporter.

The Wizard of Oz

Young Dorothy finds herself in a magical world where she makes friends with a lion, a scarecrow and a tin man as they make their way along the...

The Man Who Fell to Earth

Thomas Jerome Newton is an alien who has come to Earth in search of water to save his home planet. Aided by lawyer Oliver Farnsworth, Thomas uses...

The Thirteenth Floor

In Los Angeles, a wealthy man, known as Mr. Fuller, discovers a shocking secret about the world he lives in. Fearing for his life, he leaves a...

Cast

Crew