Sunday, August 21, 2022

Sven- The Land Unknown (1957)

 

An expedition is sent to the Antarctic to investigate water that is warmer than it should be.  Suddenly, a storm happens and the helicopter with its crew of four runs into it.  They don't have enough fuel to return to the ship, and also run into a strange pterosauroid.  This creature damages the copter and they crash into this strange, savage land filled with large lizards and two other prehistoric animals.  There is also a survivor of a crash from 1947, and he has turned into a caveman of sorts. Hunter (how apt) knows where the spare parts to fix the helicopter are, but wants to keep Maggie there in the lost land.  After much ado, everyone gets rescued.  Including the yet unborn baby!

This is such a fun adventure movie.  Sure the Tyrannosaurus rex and the Elasmosaurus are not in the least convincing, but I have seen worse, I think.  The characters are all very much of their time, the macho man commander, the reporter woman, etc.  Hunter gets the most characterization, and even gets redeemed in the end.  I was a little surprised about Maggie saying the baby would be born before they could come back to this savage land, since they were in no way married.

Next- The Killer Shrews

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