The Land Unknown in '50s Horror and Sci-Fi Forum

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The Land Unknown

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Rakshasa	The Land Unknown	Lead	[-]
Mar 19 05 6:40 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	First off, forgive my obscene number of posts, but I'm new here and these boards are like a dream come true. I don't have any friends that share my love of old scare films. OK, I don't have any friends, period. The Land Unknown I first saw at my cousin's house in Suffern, NY (along with Curse Of The Cat People) when I was very young in the 1970's. A few years back I snagged the VHS the day it was released, and I still love it as much as I did as a kid. Sure, the dinosaurs are not exactly Jurassic Park quality, but they have a lot of personality. Almost dreamlike in their phoniness. I love the premise, that a Jurassic oasis exists in a deep volcanic valley of the Antarctic. So cool how the pterodactyl crashes into the helicopter, sending our heroes into The Land Unknown. It's my favorite movie for a Saturday night with a few beers and a Domino's thin crust pizza. Any thoughts? Any fans? Thank You, Doug
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paleoguy	Re: The Land Unknown	#1	[-]
Mar 20 05 1:02 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Put me down as a true fan of this one. I actually prefer THE LAND UNKNOWN over JURASSIC PARK, mainly as, at least in my opinion, it has a better story and more interesting characters. Martin
TomWeaver999	Re: The Land Unknown	#2	[-]
Mar 20 05 2:01 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	<< I actually prefer THE LAND UNKNOWN over JURASSIC PARK, mainly as, at least in my opinion, it has a better story and more interesting characters. << The characters in LAND UNKNOWN probably are NOT very interesting, if you take a step back and really look at 'em ... but they ARE nevertheless more interesting than the characters in JURASSIC PARK, I agree! And JURASSIC PARK really HAD no story -- it was just "see the dinosaur, see Laura run, see ANOTHER dinosaur, see JEFF run" for two hours -- quite boring after a while, except for admiring some of the FX.
paleoguy	Re: The Land Unknown	#3	[-]
Mar 20 05 9:21 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	And JURASSIC PARK really HAD no story Totally agree, Tom. Besides...I think I saw that story before in WESTWORLD, only with robots instead of dinosaurs. ;) One thing JURASSIC PARK does have (which actually makes me prefer THE LAND UNKNOWN even more) is some really bad science. I know it might sound petty of me, but the featured cloning technology was so wrong that I simply couldn't suspend disbelief. The film's esteemed author/screenplay writer should have known better. Very cool looking dinosaurs, though. Martin
Rakshasa	Re: The Land Unknown	#4	[-]
Mar 20 05 10:16 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	You know, I sort of agree with the Jurassic Park criticisms, but I have a soft spot in my heart for the JP trilogy. I really enjoy them. I forgot to mention, I love the way the T-Rex in The Land Unknown drools as he stalks through the jungle. Think I'll pop The Land Unknown in the old VCR on this rainy Sunday morning!
Michael Brunas	Re: The Land Unknown	#5	[-]
Mar 20 05 10:32 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I happen to like LAND UNKNOWN for a bunch of reasons but character development sure isn't one of them (nor is the acting!). One thing it does have in its favor is that it dispenses with child characters which has been the bane of many a dino movie (DINOSAURUS, BEAST OF HOLLOW MOUNTAIN, GORGO come to mind).
Rakshasa	Re: The Land Unknown	#6	[-]
Mar 20 05 11:07 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I'm with ya there. In general, I prefer the absence on kids in these films (Jeff G's daughter in The Lost World annoyed me to no end. Her dialog was awful. Too sassy/cutsie for my blood). The guy who I really like in The Land Unknown is William Reynolds. He's always been a favorite of mine. Reynolds also turns up in Cult Of The Cobra, and gives a chilling performance in one of my favorite Twilight Zones, "The Purple Testament". Cool actor. This is funny: As a kid, I thought Jock Mahoney and Hugh Beaumont were the same guy! "Look Dad, it's Mr. Cleaver in The Land Unknown!". I was a dumb kid...
luluthebeast	Re: The Land Unknown	#7	[-]
Mar 20 05 11:46 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I liked this movie as well, besides, how many movies had the beastie duke it out with a helicopter?
Rakshasa	Re: The Land Unknown	#8	[-]
Mar 20 05 11:55 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Ah-Haha! YES! Or an Elasmasaurus that eats giant flaming toothpicks!
TomWeaver999	Re: The Land Unknown	#9	[-]
Mar 20 05 1:58 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	When I interviewed the T.Rex (yes, I really did), he said that a long hose was attached to his suit, and that they were going to pump air through it so that he could breathe inside the suit. Well, it turns out that the most recent time that hose was used, it was filled with white powder which was blown out under high pressure to help simulate a big explosion -- and nobody cleaned it out afterwards. When they turned on the air to the hermetically sealed T. Rex suit, it was instantly filled with all this powder, and the guy couldn't breathe at ALL. As he choked inside, the FX crew struggled to open it up and get him out of there!
Rakshasa	Re: The Land Unknown	#10	[-]
Mar 20 05 2:06 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	First of all, I had to laugh out loud when I read the following words: "When I interviewed the T-Rex.." hahaha Only Tom Weaver! WOW! Great story Tom. Who the heck played the T-Rex(?!), and where can I find that interview?! I've never read that one before. Doug
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DrPaulArmstrong	Re: The Land Unknown	#11	[-]
Mar 20 05 6:20 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	My first dino movie so I have a real soft spot for this. I like that it created an entire artificial studio "world" in the same way KONG did. Plus the T-Rex looked just like the old Marx figure I had. And I thought Mahoney was always cool; whether a cowboy buffoon with the Three Stooges or a slimy villain in TARZAN THE MAGNIFICENT. An underrated actor.
Rakshasa	Re: The Land Unknown	#12	[-]
Mar 20 05 6:55 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Larry, There was a Marx figure of The Land Unknown T-Rex? I want one! I know exactly what you mean about them creating "a studio world, like the one in Kong". Something very dream-like about The Land Unknown set.
TomWeaver999	Re: The Land Unknown	#13	[-]
Mar 20 05 7:19 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	The interview quotes I got from the T. Rex are being saved for UNIVERSAL HORRORS--THE 1950s. I've even got a nice photo of the T. Rex sitting down reading a newspaper on the set.
Rakshasa	Re: The Land Unknown	#14	[-]
Mar 20 05 7:39 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Is this an upcoming book Tom? If so, I'll be first in line to buy a copy.
paleoguy	Re: The Land Unknown	#15	[-]
Mar 20 05 10:16 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	You guys probably already know this, but the head of the LAND UNKNOWN Tyrannosaur was also used as the prop for "Spot", Eddie's fire-breathing pet on THE MUNSTERS. Martin
Rakshasa	Re: The Land Unknown	#16	[-]
Mar 21 05 6:18 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Martin, I did NOT know that! How cool. Makes sense, Universal Studios and all. Now that I think about it, Spot's roar on The Munsters is the same roar as the T-Rex from Land Unknown too! I can hear it in my head, I know it so well. Thanks for the cool factoid, Doug
Rakshasa	Re: The Land Unknown	#17	[-]
Mar 21 05 3:26 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	One more Land Unknown T-Rex factoid (which you all may know): Steven Spielberg used the roar sound effect of "an old B-dinosaur movie" in both DUAL and JAWS. You hear it in DUAL as the truck goes over the cliff at the end. You hear it in JAWS as the blown-up shark slowly sinks down underwater. I've never heard Spielberg say that it was The Land Unknown T-Rex roar, but it sure sounds like it to me. Of course this would make sense, seeing as all these films were Universal pictures. Pretty cool.
paleoguy	Re: The Land Unknown	#18	[-]
Mar 21 05 3:33 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	That is pretty cool. Now if only Spielberg would make another picture as good as DUEL or JAWS (or, heck, even as good as THE LAND UNKNOWN would be a plus). He's a very gifted filmmaker, but I'm losing faith in him regarding genre material. Hopefully, WAR OF THE WORLDS will be an exception...but somehow I just can't get excited about it. Martin
DrPaulArmstrong	Re: The Land Unknown	#19	[-]
Mar 21 05 4:09 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	<<There was a Marx figure of The Land Unknown T-Rex? I want one!>> Doug, I just meant to me as a kid it looked similar. Hey, what'd I know? Martin, I didn't know that about the T-Rex being "Spot"--pretty funny.
Rakshasa	Re: The Land Unknown	#20	[-]
Mar 21 05 5:11 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	That's OK Larry, I think my mother-in-law looks like the T-Rex from The Land Unknown....
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