The Lost World (1960 film)

This article is about the 1960 film. For other uses, see The Lost World (disambiguation).

The Lost World
Original 1960 theatrical poster
Directed by	Irwin Allen
Produced by	Irwin Allen Cliff Reid
Written by	Irwin Allen Charles Bennett A. Conan Doyle (novel)
Starring	Michael Rennie Jill St. John David Hedison Claude Rains Fernando Lamas
Music by	Paul Sawtell Bert Shefter
Cinematography	Winton C. Hoch
Editing by	Hugh S. Fowler
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release date(s)	July 13, 1960 (USA)
Running time	97 min.
Country	U.S.A.
Language	English

The Lost World is a 1960 science fiction adventure film based on the novel of the same name by Arthur Conan Doyle and directed by Irwin Allen. The plot of the film revolves around the exploration of a mysterious flat mountain (see Tepui) in the heart of unknown Venezuela inhabited by cannibalistic natives, dinosaurs, carnivorous plants, and giant spiders.

Special effects for the film were rather simple and involved monitor lizards, iguanas, and crocodiles affixed with miniature horns and fins. This technique has been given the nickname slurpasaur by fans.

Plot

Professor Challenger leads team of scientists and adventurers to a remote plateau deep within the Amazonian jungle to investigate reports that dinosaurs still live there.

The boisterous, arrogant Professor Challenger (Claude Rains), a reputed biologist and anthropologist, dares the London Zoological Society to mount an expedition to verify his spectacular claim, without physical proof, that his previous expedition to the Amazon Basin found live dinosaurs. Apart from him and his 'socialite' counterpart, Professor Summerlee (Richard Haydn), it consists of experienced discoverer Lord Roxton (Michael Rennie), the young reporter Ed Malone (David Hedison) - who got publicly struck down with Challenger's umbrella at his arrival - and Jennifer Holmes (Jill St. John), Malone's news agency's boss's daughter, essentially as conditions for putting up the money. In Brazil they are joined by Jennifer's brother David (Ray Stricklyn) and local 'guide' Manuel Gomez (Fernando Lamas). They soon discover the dinosaurs and other creatures are real and dangerous, but lose their helicopter and thus are desperate for a way down from the isolated plateau. They learn Roxton knew about the fate of Burton White, an explorer whose diary they find, search for diamonds, and confirm that the local tribesmen are lethal guardians of the plateau's secrets. During a volcanic eruption, they manage to escape from the plateau, carrying a Tyrannosaurus rex egg with them. The egg hatches when it is dropped by accident, and Professor Challenger resolves to take the infant dinosaur (here represented by a cosmetically altered gecko lizard) back to London with them.

Featured cast

Actor	Role
Michael Rennie	Lord John Roxton-A member of the expedition and a confident gamekeeper who volunteers to join Professor Challenger into the Amazon, he is also a field equipment expert, who also shot the expedition's guide Gomez' brother years before.
Jill St. John	Jennifer Holmes-A disobedient member who is the daughter of Malone's boss, she disobeys Challenger's orders to stay off the expedition and also ventures into the Amazon, she takes her brother David Holmes with her much to Challenger's disapproval.
David Hedison	Ed Malone-A journalist who volunteers to become a member of the expedition, he is disliked by Challenger because of many journalists bothering Challenger with their non-stop questions, Malone eventually befriends Challenger when he rescues him from falling off a cliff.
Claude Rains	Professor George Edward Challenger-The head of the expedition who has a disliking of reporters, he takes an immediate dislike to Malone, promptly pushing the reporter down the steps of an airplane, Challenger eventually makes a truce with Malone when the reporter rescues him from a sheer drop over a cliff.
Fernando Lamas	Manuel Gomez-A guide and expedition of the team, he flies the expedition onto the plateau before trying to execute them because of the death of his brother who was killed by Roxton, Gomez eventually redeems himself when he sacrifices himself to pour lava onto a carnivorous dinosaur.
Richard Haydn	Professor Summerlee-A sarcastic raspy-voiced scientist, who joins the expedition, he is the rival of Challenger and Summerlee doesn't believe Challenger's theory of dinosaurs living on an Amazon Plateau, he quickly apologises to Challenger when he sees a dinosaur and Challenger forgives him.
Ray Stricklyn	David Holmes-The confident and brave brother of Jennifer Holmes and the son of Malone's boss Stuart Holmes, he sneaks into the Amazon with his disobedient elder sister much to Challenger's disapproval, and becomes a member of the expedition, and reluctantly gains Challenger's trust.
Jay Novello	Costa-Gomez' cowardly and selfish assistant who also guides the expedition into the plateau, he uses Gomez's plan to kill the expedition to take all of the diamonds hidden in the volcano for himself, he later receives his punishment when he scrambles for his spilt diamonds and is promptly devoured by a carnivorous dinosaur.
Ian Wolfe	Burton White-A professor who ventured into the Amazon Plateau a couple of years before Challenger's expedition did, he never returned but his diary with sketches of dinosaurs in them is discovered, White is later found by the expedition blind living in the core of a volcano, and he is presumably killed when it erupts.
John Graham	Stuart Holmes-The boss of Edward Malone, owner of the Daily Gazzete, and the father of Jennifer and David Holmes, he allows Malone to venture onto the plateau with Challenger.
Colin Campbell	Prof. Waldron-The employer of Professor Challenger and Professor Summerlee, he organises the expedition that the two scientists agreed to go on.
Vitina Marcus	Native Girl-A native girl found on the plateau by the expedition, she helps the expedition get into the volcano, find Burton White, and eventually point out to them an escape tunnel leading off the plateau.

Prehistoric Creatures

• Iguanodon---portrayed by an iguana with glued on horns
• Unspecified carnivorous dinosaur---portrayed by a monitor lizard with glued-on frills and plates
• Unspecified carnivorous dinosaur---portrayed by a baby alligator with glued-on horns and fins
• Fire Monster (only named in trailer, maybe it's an adult Tyrannosaurus or Spinosaurus)---portrayed by a monitor lizard with glued-on horns and fins
• Giant Spider---portrayed by a Mexican redknee tarantula
• Giant Carnivourous Vines
• Baby Tyrannosaurus---portrayed by a Tokay Gecko with glued-on horns and sails. (The arrangement of added features is similar to those on the Fire Monster, a possible indication that the larger animal was an adult Tyrannosaurus)

Legacy

Irwin Allen utilized stock footage from this film for episodes of his various TV series, including Land of the Giants, Lost in Space, Time Tunnel, and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (TV series). In 1966, Irwin Allen even tried to sell a TV series based on the film as he had done with Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea but was unsuccessful.

External links

• The Lost World (1960) at the Internet Movie Database.