The People That Time Forgot

With a plot like this one, it's hard to go wrong. A post WWI expedition sails to the Antarctic to try tofind a lost man in a prehistoric land tucked between the high icy mountains. Prehistoric dinosaurs keep popping up throughout the film. Then there's always the evil tribe of bad guys causing plenty of trouble. I can't forget to mention the scantily clad cave girl. I doubt if prehistoric women ever looked like this. Throw in a volcano and you have an adventure movie called 'The People That Time Forgot'. The characters and situations are not entirely believable or realistic and the dinosaurs could have used more work on them, but all in all, it was a pretty good, fun movie that's worth watching.

I remembered horrible performances, cheap sets, and a contrived storyline. It's amazing I bothered with this one again, but I'm glad I did. While this is no masterpiece, it is actually much better than I remembered. Continuing forward from the original installment, "The Land That Time Forgot," picks up the Bowen Tyler (Doug McClure) character after having been left behind by the crew of his original mission, and discovers what has happened in his life since his isolation began.

While this IS horribly dated, Patrick Wayne is actually quite good. You may remember Patrick Wayne from Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger. He is also John Wayne's son, who was offered the role as Superman in the original movie, but turned it down due to his father's accelerating cancer.

The sets were not as bad as I thought I remembered, either, but the dialog delivery is still pretty false and unnatural.

All in all? As a "B" flick, this isn't bad for a rainy day diversion. It's still not a masterpiece and is RIPE for a remake, but there is some entertainment to be derived from this work.

It rates a 4.7/10 from...

the Fiend :.

THE LAND THAT TIME FORGOT was supposed to have a happy ending. It wasn't happy but then again, it wasn't altogether sad either. It was an agonizing wait for this, the sequel, THE PEOPLE THAT TIME FORGOT.

Patrick Wayne is a big name and worthy as the brother of the Doug McClure character; however, they gave him the whole show. It was 40-45 minutes before we see Doug, then 10 minutes later he's gone. He gets to make a last statement and I hope to understand its actual meaning someday, if there is one, but right now I'm just trying to get over the shock. Yeah, we waited for the sequel why? Hoped for a better outcome the first movie and expected what outcome now? Why can't the ending of at least one dinosaur movie be pithy and predictable? The rest of it was fun, but you don't leave the theater with that feeling- it's ruined by the ending. Again.

American International made four low budget films starring Doug McClure based on books by Edgar Rice Burroughs, the author of the Tarzan books. THE LAND THAT TIME FORGOT and it's sequel THE PEOPLE THAT TIME FORGOT borrowed heavily from Arthur Conan Doyle's THE LOST WORLD but added it's own twists and turns. THE LAND THAT TIME FORGOT is a non-stop adventure in the Indiana Jones mode with Major Ben McBride (Patrick Wayne, son of the Duke) out to rescue shipwrecked Bowen Tyler (Doug McClure from the first film). Among those along for the adventure is Lady Charlotte Cunningham played by a beautiful Sarah Douglas (SUPERMAN II). Despite Amelia Earhart attire she is definately hot. She reminded me of Francesca Hunt in THE SECRET ADVENTURES OF JULES VERNE on the Sci-Fi Network. Along the way they meet Ajor (Dana Gillespie) friend of Bowen Tyler, who looks and dresses like Xena, Warrior Princess (so this is where Xena got that look). Dana Gillespie is stunning and like Xena and Sheena makes a great Jungle Girl (strong, smart, gorgeous, sexy...hey what else could one ask for?) Lady Charlotte and Major Ben create a romantic tension but when Ajor enters the scene Major Ben has eyes for Ajor and Lady Charlotte just goes with the flow chumming up with Ajor as well. I found that refreshing and glad to see the women in this film be more than just damsels in distress (there is a little of that toward the end but it all evens out with everyone being able to do something heroic). Jungle Girl films have been around for a long time (check out the serials!) and I truly love them because they show women to have strength, beauty, and brains. This film is a worthy member of that genre. Like the rest of the series the special effects are uneven but always entertaining (the vehicles and sets are always stunning but these guys never did know how to make a monster). The violence is very very low key, the frights are made funny by rubber puppets, and there is no swearing. Appropriate for the entire family for those into Xena and The Lost World.

Not bad at all, despite the flat performances by some members of an attractive cast and the familiarity of it all. "This island never sleeps," says the full-figured DANA GILLESPIE to PATRICK WAYNE...especially when it's crawling with prehistoric creatures. She's clad in an outfit that looks as though Frederick of Hollywood had a hand in the costuming.

Photographed in Spain, the color photography is excellent, the creatures look fairly realistic, and the opening sequence with the plane being attacked by a huge bird is bound to hook you into the story. It's rather like a poor man's "Jurassic Park", but it has its moments.

John Wayne's son, PATRICK WAYNE, is certainly a handsome male lead but has all the animation of one of the dinosaurs, never making us believe he's the leader of the dangerous expedition. Others in the largely unknown cast are pretty good and John Scott's music is effective in creating the necessary suspense.

It's a diverting enough adventure, very watchable and suitable for family viewing.

Summing up: Not bad at all, the sort of film that kiddie matinees were all about.

Best line after a native attack: "I'm sick and tired of running away from those dreadful people!"