THE LAND UNKNOWN Classic Sci-Fi Ultimate Collection

U.S.A. | 1957 Directed by Virgil Vogel Starring Jock Mahoney Shawn Smith William Reynolds B&W | Not Rated | 78 Min. Format: DVD (R1 - NTSC | 6-disc set) Universal Home Video

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		Review by Brian Lindsey

6     8   10 = Highest Rating

• A film from the Classic Sci-Fi Ultimate Collection • DVD Rating is for entire 6-disc set

In 2006-7 Universal FINALLY got its corporate butt in gear and released on DVD some of the studio's most requested science fiction catalog titles. Problem was, both multi-disc volumes of the Classic Sci-Fi Ultimate Collection were issued as Best Buy "exclusives" available only via that particular retail chain. Once BB's supply was gone the sets started going for ludicrously high prices on eBay and the like... Some people were actually paying north of $100 for a single set! I really feel sorry for those folks now that, as of this month (May 2008), Universal has reissued both volumes bundled together in a 6-disc combo package made widely available. The old maxim "good things come to those who wait" was never more applicable — at least where fans of golden age SF flicks are concerned.     Some of the ten films in the collection have already been covered by EC, so to mark its re-release I'm taking a look at one we hadn't yet reviewed: 1957's The Land Unknown, an entertaining "lost world"-type adventure.     Following up on Admiral Byrd's famous survey of the previous decade, a joint military/civilian mission to Antarctica is organized by the U.S. Navy to gather meteorological and geographical data. Joining the expedition is journalist Maggie Hathaway (Shawn Smith), who'll be the first woman to ever reach the South Pole. During a flight over the polar ice the helicopter she's riding in is struck by something unseen in the fog — a bat-winged Pterodactyl! Damaged, the chopper goes down in an uncharted volcanic crater 3,000 feet below sea level. Maggie and the three Navy men with her — Commander Hal Roberts (Jock Mahoney), Lt. Jack Carmen (William Reynolds), the pilot, and mechanic Steve Miller (Phil Harvey) — aren't injured, but nonetheless find themselves in very deep doodoo. Warmed by geothermal forces and kept hidden from aerial observation by a perpetual cloud of steam, the jungle floor of the crater is teeming with giant prehistoric monsters.     The chopper can't be repaired for lack of a crucial part. Radio signals won't penetrate the cloud layer above. Emergency supplies will last for six weeks, but by that time the ships of the polar expedition will have to depart lest they become trapped in the ice pack. The situation looks bleak, if not completely hopeless. Then the quartet discovers that they aren't the only humans in the crater. Dr. Carl Hunter (Henry Brandon) is the sole survivor of a plane crash 10 years earlier. Surprisingly, he isn't overjoyed to see other people. Living like a caveman, the marooned scientist has gone crazy and now claims to rule the crater as his private domain. He tells them that the helicopter can be repaired using a part cannibalized from the wreck of his plane. But Hunter won't reveal the wreck's location unless the Navy men agree to leave Maggie behind when they fly out...     Much of the film's budget obviously went into the elaborate sets and special effects. These positively creak by modern standards but for the "I like Ike!" era they're fairly impressive. Except for stop-motion, every major FX technique of the day was employed to depict the monsters. The Pterodactyl, man-eating plant and aquatic Elasmosaur are animatronic puppets; a pair of monitor lizards wrestle on a diorama in the obligatory 'live-animals-used-as-dinosaurs' scene. (At least it's not that familiar footage of an iguana — floppy rubber fin glued to its hide — battling a young alligator, a sequence used in God knows how many movies.) The T-Rex is a guy in a bulky monster suit, stomping around on a well-detailed miniature 'forest primeval' set. The suit's forelegs don't function but at least the head and eyes are articulated. (I've seen much worse, believe me.) Model work is above par for the period, even if one can occasionally glimpse the wires holding up the helicopter. That the movie was shot in widescreen CinemaScope helps negate the cheap look and cramped feel typically associated with completely stage-bound productions (regardless of their actual cost or how well photographed they might be).     Although it can't escape the clichés and conventions of both its genre and the time it was made, The Land Unknown at least benefits from brisk pacing and good performances. Henry Brandon (The Drums of Fu Manchu, The Searchers) stands out among the cast, effective as the scientist driven to madness by years of isolation in a harsh, hostile environment. As played by athletic Jock Mahoney (Tarzan Goes To India), the Roberts character — while afflicted with the terminal blandness of so many '50s sci-fi heroes — is exactly the kind of guy you'd want in charge during a crisis. He's a quick-thinking man of action but not brashly gung ho, tempering logic with empathy and compassion. (When Miller, backed by Carmen, tries to torture Hunter into revealing the location of the wreck, Roberts pulls a gun and makes them stop. "We're not gonna dig our way out of here through human flesh," he calmly asserts.) Typical for pre-Women's Lib fare, sole female cast member Shawn Smith (It! The Terror from Beyond Space) is on hand mainly to scream and wear progressively skimpier clothing.     Perhaps I'm being a tad generous with my Film Rating score... But anyone who appreciates '50s sci-fi, or just digs dinosaur movies in general, should have a decent time with this film. It certainly beats the hell out of similar, albeit laughable, Z-budget fare such as Lost Continent (1951) and King Dinosaur (1955). If you liked The Land That Time Forgot — made nearly 20 years later but with no appreciable improvement in special effects — you'll definitely enjoy it. (Can't abide antiquated FX? Best to pass.)

As of this writing, the Classic Sci-Fi Ultimate Collection combo set is going for around $45 (new) on Amazon... At a little more than four bucks per movie it's an excellent value. Volume 1 contains Tarantula, The Mole People, The Incredible Shrinking Man, The Monolith Monsters and Monster on the Campus. In addition to The Land Unknown, Volume 2 consists of Dr. Cyclops, Cult of the Cobra, The Deadly Mantis and The Leech Woman. Titles are paired two per disc except for Monster on the Campus and Leech Woman, which are each afforded a DVD all their own. (Given my druthers I would've put Shrinking Man and Tarantula on the solo discs.) The films look and sound as good as one could realistically hope for (i.e., clean, undamaged prints with strong, clear mono audio tracks), with only a few minor hiccups. (Deadly Mantis, for some reason, is presented fullframe instead of its proper 1.85 aspect ratio.) Expect varying degrees of graininess, which is perfectly natural given the vintage of these movies and their general penchant for stock footage. Each title is supplemented with its original theatrical trailer as well as optional subtitles.     Land Unknown is one of the best-looking movies in the set, boasting an excellent widescreen anamorphic transfer in the film's original 2.35 AR. 5/30/08

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