THE LAND UNKNOWN (1957)

THE LAND UNKNOWN (1957)

Tagline: Lost and Terrorized in Prehistoric Time.

(Sci-Fi, Adventure, Antarctica) [G]

Note: This movie wasn’t given an MPAA rating, but it would have been a [G]. 

Maybe you will if you aren't trampled to death first or eaten alive or die of starvation. Wait till the Antarctic night comes and for nine months the black air hangs round you like a rotten rag and your eyes are blinded from the dark and from your own sweat, and you lose each other - and you're alone - alone. Do you hear me? ...Always alone!

In this one, 3 men and a reporter take a helicopter over Antarctica when they end up having to crash land. They end up 1000 meters below sea level in a tropical climate infested with dinosaurs and plants that think they taste really good. Along with reporter Margaret Hathaway, they must find a way to get out of THE LAND UNKNOWN!

First off, this film features the least “crashy” crash landing of any film ever. There is another hilarious scene where Commander Steve Miller says “this tube is a magnesium alloy” and everyone else looks at him like he’s nuts as if to say “bloody hell…why…the humanity of it all, it can’t be magnesium alloy”. This is also another 1950s movie where I don’t think you can slip a “no animals were harmed” notice in the credits. Also, Margaret “Maggie” doesn’t care what you think. If she wants to boat around in her little boat, you are just going to have to deal with it.

Some of the things I liked about this movie were the sets. They aren’t ridiculously well done, but they have a depth that is better than we get in some films. I am not a huge fan of “lizards for dinosaurs” movies, but at least we get dinosaurs in this that look like dinosaurs even if it’s a guy in a suit. The dinosaur looks about the size it should look in comparison to the people as do the lizards. 

Acting wise we get Shirley Patterson who plays Margaret “Maggie” Hathaway. She is pretty rad because she doesn’t care. Anytime you get a woman that just flies by the seat of her pants, that’s a plus as long as she’s not an idiot. Patterson is also known for WORLD WITHOUT END and IT! THE TERROR FROM BEYOND SPACE. Phil Harvey who plays Steve Miller didn’t seem too challenged by the role but did okay. He was also in the sci-fi flick THE DEADLY MANTIS. This one also had Henry Brandon as Dr. Carl Hunter. He wasn’t mind-blowing by any means. Brandon is probably most famous for a small part in WAR OF THE WORLDS. It does feel like at least they tried to give us a decent ensemble. 

Where this movie kind of falls off the cliff, is in the wonky theory of evolution statements that even a third grader these days could refute. We know one species doesn’t evolve into another one so the outdated notions in this feel kind of heavy-handed by today’s standards. While we do see adaptation, evolution from one species to another simply isn’t a provable concept. There is also a bit of a side story where they run into a dude who has claimed control over the unknown land. I am not sure this was necessary with all the other dangers we had introduced in the film, having said that at least they give this dude some good lines. It’s also kind of strange that no one that knew about the expedition seemed to bother looking for them in an area that made sense. The love story they tried to slip in at the very end also didn’t make any sense either. 

Overall as a sci-fi flick, this was actually pretty fun with very little filler and some cool dinosaurs, but the overall story was all jacked out. I have to give this one a 4 out of 7 but only for the effort, they put in.

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