ALL SCI-FI

[Bud Brewster]

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This is an enjoyable video in which an actual palenontologiest examines the dinosaurs in many Hollywood productions.

I'm going to post this in other movies which feature dinosaurs.

___ Paleontologist Reviews Dinosaur Movie Scenes


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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Pow]

Keep Watching the Skies!

The Land Unknown is a humdrum adventure with dinosaurs. For an "action picture," The Land Unknown has remarkably little action.

The prehistoric sets are elaborate and impressive, and there are several good matte paintings. The dinosaurs are pathetic. Tyrannosaurus Rex is played by a man in a dinosaur suit. The Elasmosaur is a large, poorly sculpted model: it has a perpetual sneer. It is inexpressive, lifeless, and lethargic, completely unconvincing as a real animal. There is a long, savage battle between the photographically-enlarged lizards playing other prehistoric creatures. There is a long, savage battle between the two of them that is depressing and irritating, because it seems that the animals are really injuring each other.

For the most part, the optical effects are very good. The compositing of the miniature helicopter into the stock Antarctic footage is believable, and a few matte shots of people running from an impossibly-large Tyrannosaur are quite good. The matte paintings are convincing, and the set design is interesting.

Universal-International tried to insist that The Land Unknown was "science fact," not science fiction. This is a claim often heard when producers are afraid that if they call their film science fiction it will keep away certain members of the audience.

Virgil Vogel's limp, unexciting direction, the draggy, contrived script by Laszlo Gorog and Fred MacDowell's slow-paced editing would doom the film even if the storyline wasn't already so familiar. The Land Unknown is the movie conventional.

I'm giving author Bill Warren two thumbs on his review for this film. As he points out, the optical effects, matte paintings, and jungle sets are all handsomely done. I also thought the deadly plant was also a pretty nifty looking prop. The performances were all decent enough while the story was okay but hardly outstanding.

So that leaves us with the wretched looking dinosaurs that are laughable looking. That is what sinks this film, reducing it to a disappointing "B" feature film. Had the dinos all been done with the expertise and care of a Willis O'Brien or Ray Harryhausen, we could have had a marvelous movie that could proudly stand next to Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, or 20,000,000 Miles to Earth. Instead, we get an "almost was."

[Bud Brewster]

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Mike, you know I understand and respect the criticisms you've made concerning The Land Unknown, and I know you respect my fondness for the movie, which I love — lizards, warts, and all.

But I've disagreed strongly with some of the things Bill Warren has stated in his book. For example, here's one statement that's relevant to this discussion.

[Bud Brewster]

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Gentlemen, I'm proud to announce that I found the Dell comic that was sold in 1957 to promote this movie! The entire comic is offered at a site called Hairy Green Eyeball 2, and the images are absolutely beautiful!

The artwork by famous artist Alex Toth is pretty good.

Mr. Harry Lee Green is the site's web host, and here's what he has to say about the comic.
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THE LAND UNKNOWN, a comic book adaptation of a science fiction lost world movie of the '50s, is another of my favorite silver age comic books. The movie may be "B", but the comic book is "A", based on artwork by Alex Toth.

Dell's Movie Comics were produced well ahead of a movie's release, so writers usually worked from an early version of the script. I don't remember the movie so I can't tell you any differences in the story. The most noticeable is that Toth didn't attempt to draw the actors' faces.
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Enjoy The Land Unknown!

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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Maurice]

Neat! But the pages aren't in the correct order.
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"The absence of limitations is the enemy of art."
― Orson Welles

[Bud Brewster]

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Maurize, thanks for the kind words!

Thanks even more for alerting me to the fact that I couldn't have gotten the order of the images more scrambled up if I'd tried!

I can't imagine how I managed to screw up so badly. It took me an hour to straighten out the mess. But if you discover any errors in the current order, please don't hesitate to tell me.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Pow]

Thanks Bud, I really enjoyed seeing the Dell comic book of TLU. Alex Toth was highly regarded artist who worked for Dell, Gold Key, DC, and Marvel comics, as well as projects outside the industry. He was the Art Director for the Space Angel animated series. He created Space Ghost, The Herculoids, Birdman & the Galaxy Trio, and Dino Boy in the Lost Valley for Hanna-Barbera TV. He was a major talent and remains so to this very day.