In the 8th Jungle Jim installation, Johnny Weissmuller tries his best not to hunt down a “missing link” species of giant ape-men, while battling a plush panther and stock footage. It’s a clunky, but entertaining and well-acted juvenile potboiler. 4/10
A ragtag team led by Cesar Romero searches for a lost missile and finds a radioactive island filled with dinosaurs in what may be Sam Newfield’s finest film. Despite its MST3K-tarnished reputation and a whole lot of padding, it’s well worth a look. 5/10.
In 1950 former ballet master and style adviser to Mae West, Boris Petroff, produced a bewildering mishmash of pirates, Australian farm romance, western action and slurpasaurs starring later TV star James Arness. Two Lost Worlds is a low-budget patch job with new dialogue scenes edited to fit action sequences from at least three other movies. 1/10
Often cited as the worst dinosaur movie ever made, Unknown Island from 1948 is the first Lost World film in colour. A good cast spearheaded by SF star Richard Denning, nice atmosphere and a decent script balance out the wobbly dino costumes and elevate this one above its shoddy reputation. 5/10
Borrowing the name of Jules Verne’s bestseller, this problem-ridden 1926-1929 production features good acting, some remarkable special effects and a solid-ish script, but alas, the schizophrenic semi-talkie-semi-silent film is just as equally horrible in many ways, with toy submarines and crocodiles substituting for dinos. (4/10)
The original dinosaur blockbuster was released in 1925 by First National Pictures. With stop-motion animation by legendary Willis O’Brien and cinematography by multiple Oscar nominee Arthur Edeson, the film is a beauty to behold, even if the plot and pacing suffers from director Harry Hoyt’s determination to get as much dino action into the picture as possible. (8/10)
∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗ (6/10) This 1918 short by stop-motion wizard Willis O’Brien and Herbert M. Dawley is probably the first film to describe time travel, and is a showcase for their marvellous […]
