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The Lost Continent (1968)

Country of Origin: UK
Year of Production: 1968
Running Times: 89m/98m
Length:
Format: 35mm
Colour Format: Technicolor
Ratio: 1.78:1
Sound: mono

DIRECTOR

Directed by: Michael Carreras; Leslie Norman [original director - uncredited]

PRODUCTION
Copyright: © MCMLXVIII Hammer Film Productions Limited
Production Companies: A Seven Arts-Hammer Films production/Associated British Pathe Limited
Produced by: Michael Carreras
Associate Producer: Peter Manley

SCRIPT
Screenplay by: Michael Nash [real name: Michael Carreras]
From the novel "Uncharted Seas" by Dennis Wheatley

DIRECTION
Assistant Director: Dominic Fulford
Continuity: Doreen Soan

PHOTOGRAPHY
Director of Photography: Paul Beeson
Camera Operator: Russell Thompson

EDITING AND POST-PRODUCTION
Supervising Editor: James Needs
Editor: Chris Barnes
Colour by: De Luxe

MUSIC
Music Composed by: Gerard Schürmann
Musical Supervisor: Philip Martell

SONGS AND ADDITIONAL MUSIC
Songs by Roy Phillips
Sung by The Peddlers

SOUND
Sound Mixer: Dennis Whitlock
Recording Supervisor: A.W. Lumkin
Sound Editor: Roy Baker
RCA Sound Recording

COSTUMES AND MAKE-UP
Costume Designer: Carl Toms
Wardrobe: Mary Gibson
Make-up: George Partleton
Hairdresser: Elsie Alder

SPECIAL EFFECTS
Special Effects by: Robert A. Mattey
Special Effects: Cliff Richardson
[Special Effects] Consultant: Arthur Hayward
Modeller: Arthur Fehr

DESIGN AND SET CONSTRUCTION
Art Director: Arthur Lawson
Assistant Art Director: Don Picton

LOCATIONS
Locations: Elstree Studios, Herts, England, UK

CASTING
Casting: Irene Lamb

CAST

Starring
Eric Porter (Captain Lansen)
Hildegard Knef (Eva)
Suzanna Leigh (Unity)
Tony Beckley (Tyler)

also starring
Nigel Stock (Webster)
Neil Mccallum (Hemmings)
Benito Carruthers (Ricaldi)
Jimmy Hanley (Pat)

with
James Cossins (Chief)
Dana Gillespie (Sarah)
Victor Maddern (Mate)
Reg Lye (helmsman)
Norman Eshley (Jonathan)
Michael Ripper (sea lawyer)

Donald Sumpter (Sparks)
Alf Joint (Jason)
Charles Houston (Braemar)
Shivendra Sinha (Hurri Curri)
Darryl Read (El Diablo)
Eddie Powell (Inquisitor)
Frank Hayden (Sergeant)
Mark Heath, Horace James (customs men)

PLOT SUMMARY

A group of passengers and crew on board a chartered cargo ship find themselves stranded when the explosives the ship is carrying detonates. They are cast adrift in a spooky part of the Sargasso Sea where they are beset by man-eating seaweed, giant crabs and a tribe of bloodthirsty Spanish conquistadors.

Very far from Hammer's best, this is a bizarre and unlikable oddity stuffed full of clichéd characters and situations. The unconvincing monsters, unpredictable character motivations and atrocious score make it virtually unwatchable though the cast struggle gamely with terrible dialogue and a script that seems to cram in a good half dozen undercooked plots. Worth avoiding unless you're a die-hard Hammer devotee.

UK
Theatrical Distributor: Warner-Pathe Distributors Limited

USA
Theatrical Distributor: 20th Century Fox Film Corporation
Video Distributor: Anchor Bay Entertainment Inc
Laserdisc Distributor: Elite (EE 5678)
DVD Distributor: Anchor Bay (DV 10675)

Finland
Rating: banned in 1968

Sweden
Rating: 15

UK
Rating: X

USA
Rating: G
MPAA: 21828

1968
June
19: USA - copyrighted (no. LP359445); theatrical release

July
27: UK - theatrical release

December
16: Sweden - theatrical release

1998
February
24: USA - laserdisc release (Elite (EE 5678))

1999
November
16: USA - DVD release (Anchor Bay (DV 10675))

A living land that time forgot!

Bestien lauern vor Caracas - German title
Dying Sea, The
Lost Island
Nebbia degli orrori, La - Italian title
People of Abrimes, The
Salainen manner - Finnish title
Skräckens ö - Swedish title

PERIODICALS

Daily Cinema no.9538 (21 June 1968) p.8 (UK)
review

Hollywood Reporter vol.198 no.14 (3 November 1967) p.10 (USA)
credits

The House That Hammer Built no.6 (December 1997) pp.335-338 (UK)
illustrated credits, synopsis, review

Kine Weekly no.3138 (2 December 1967) p.10 (UK)
credits

Kine Weekly no.3167 (22 June 1968) p.11 (UK)
review

Little Shoppe of Horrors no.12 (April 1994) pp.55-65 (USA)
illustrated credits, production notes

Monthly Film Bulletin vol.35 no.415 (August 1968) pp.119-120
credits, synopsis, review

Variety 3 July 1968 p.26 (USA)
credits, review

BOOKS

British National Film Catalogue vol.6 (1968) (UK)
credits, synopsis

OTHER SOURCES

screen
credits

KEYWORDS

films based on books, lost worlds, monsters, seaweed, ships

Last Updated: 22 April, 2010