TWO LOST WORLDS (1951)

TWO LOST WORLDS (1951)

Tagline: Maddened prehistoric monsters wage warfare to the death!

(Adventure, Romance, Sci-fi Kind-Of?) [G]

Note – This movie did not originally have an MPAA rating, but I am pretty sure it would have been a G. 

In this one, a ship called “The Queen” is marauded by pirates in 1830. One of the shipmates named Kirk Hamilton ends up getting jacked up and has to stay in Queensland Colony, Australia. Where there he ends up basically falling in love with another man’s woman creating a bit of a love triangle. As if that isn’t enough drama, the place they are staying also gets raided by pirates, and Kirk, his new love Elaine and her fiancé as well as a few others have to flee by ship. After a series of events, they all end up on a volcanic island with giant dinosaurs to contend with. Can they survive? Which man will Elaine choose? 

Okay, first off I should say that this movie has endured quite a few reviewers with fangs showing and blood dripping from their teeth, but I actually liked it quite a bit. What I do have to say however is that if you are expecting much sci-fi from this so-called sci-fi movie, well forget you! Although we do get a few giant “lizards” and an alligator dressed up as a dinosaur, there isn’t really much “sci-fi” outside of that. 

I guess this thing is loaded with historical inaccuracies, but who knows anymore. Everything seems to be loaded with junk history, especially our public schools over the past decade or so. I really wasn’t focused on that, I actually got caught up in the characters. James Arness who is no stranger to sci-fi does pretty well in this. He is best known for the movie THEM!. He is quite a towering man at 6’7” so he was actually cast as ‘The Thing’ in THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD. I found Bill Kennedy less likable as Martin Shannon but his character does end up displaying some redeeming qualities. Kennedy wasn’t in anything I am that familiar with. The lead actress was Kasey Rogers well known for her role on the TV Bewitched and she is what I would consider “just okay” in this.  Gloria Petroff was given a smaller role as Elaine’s sister Janice. Petroff is pretty solid in this one and is probably best known for the sci-fi horror flick THE UNEARTHLY, but she had a very small role in that. 

In sci-fi, there are just a ton of misleading posters for most of these movies, but this one actually has the distinction of having a misleading trailer as well. The trailer focuses on two “dinosaurs” fighting and kind of makes you think that is the thrust of the movie. Oddly though, when you watch this thing it’s maybe 3 minutes of that and the rest plays out like a movie that PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN might have stolen its pirate action sequences and part of its plot from. The dinosaur footage is actually from another movie called ONE MILLION B.C., so none of that was actually shot for this movie. I guess they also threw footage from CAPTAIN CAUTION in here as well for good measure. 

Even knowing all that went into this and even what didn’t, I still thought this movie was pretty cool and would watch it again. There was just enough backstory and emotional investment to keep me wondering how it was going to end. All said this thing is only 61 minutes long. Even if you hate it, it’s not the end of the world. 

My recommendation for the sci-fi fan, this probably won’t be your thing. We only get “some sci-fi”. However, for the adventure fan, it’s going to be an interesting ride. I give this one a 4 out of 7.

GRAPHICS ARE THE PROPERTY OF GOLDEN STERLING PRODUCTIONS INC. AND ARE USED FOR REVIEW PURPOSES ONLY. 

Please check out the link below by clicking on the picture. Because no one should die buttonless.