The Lost World (1925)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Harry O. Hoyt

Writers:

Arthur Conan Doyle (novel)
Marion Fairfax (screenplay)

Release Date:

22 June 1925 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Fantasy | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's stupendous story!

Plot:

The first film adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's classic novel about a land where prehistoric creatures still roam.

Plot Keywords:

Professor | Expedition | Prehistoric | Reporter | Dinosaur

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Bessie Love	...	Miss Paula White (as Miss Bessie Love)
Lewis Stone	...	Sir John Roxton (as Mr. Lewis Stone)
Wallace Beery	...	Prof. Challenger (as Mr. Wallace Beery)
Lloyd Hughes	...	Edward E. Malone (as Mr. Lloyd Hughes)
Alma Bennett	...	Gladys Hungerford (as Miss Alma Bennett)
Arthur Hoyt	...	Prof. Summerlee (as Mr. Arthur Hoyt)
Margaret McWade	...	Mrs. Challenger (as Miss Margaret McWade)
Bull Montana	...	Ape-Man (as Mr. Bull Montana)
Frank Finch Smiles	...	Austin (Challenger's butler) (as Mr. Frank Smiles)
Jules Cowles	...	Zambo (Roxton's servant) (as Mr. Jules Cowles)
George Bunny	...	Colin McArdle (as Mr. George Bunny)
Charles Wellesley	...	Maj. Hibbard (as Mr. Charles Wellesley)
Jocko the Monkey	...	Jocko
Arthur Conan Doyle	...	Himself
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Mary the Chimpanzee	...	Herself (uncredited)
Virginia Brown Faire	...	Marquette (half-caste girl) (uncredited)
Nelson McDowell	...	Lawyer advising the editor (uncredited)
Gilbert Roland	...	Extra (uncredited)
Leo White	...	Percy Potts (uncredited)

Directed by
Harry O. Hoyt

Writing credits
Arthur Conan Doyle		(novel "The Lost World")
Marion Fairfax		(screenplay)

Produced by
Serge Bromberg	....	producer (2000 alternate version)
Scott MacQueen	....	producer (1991 alternate version)
David H. Shepard	....	producer (2000 alternate version)
Jamie White	....	executive producer
Earl Hudson	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Robert Israel		(2000 New Score)
R.J. Miller		(1991)

Cinematography by
Arthur Edeson

Film Editing by
George McGuire

Set Decoration by
Milton Menasco		(settings)

Makeup Department
Perc Westmore	....	makeup supervisor
Cecil Holland	....	makeup artist: ape-man (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Milton Menasco	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Milton Menasco	....	architecture

Special Effects by
Marcel Delgado	....	model construction (uncredited)
Willis H. O'Brien	....	special effects (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Marcel Delgado	....	associate technical director
Ralph Hammeras	....	associate technical director

Music Department
Robert Israel	....	music compiler and director: 2000 alternate version
Frank S. Truda	....	musical director (uncredited)

Other crew
Marcel Delgado	....	associate researcher
Mathieu Dubosq	....	restoration editor: 2000 alternate version
Marion Fairfax	....	editorial direction
Ralph Hammeras	....	associate researcher
Earl Hudson	....	supervisor
Fred Jackman	....	chief technician (as Fred W. Jackman)
Devereaux Jennings	....	technical staffer (as J. Devereaux Jennings)
Hans F. Koenekamp	....	technical staffer (as Hans Koenekamp)
Willis H. O'Brien	....	researcher
Willis H. O'Brien	....	technical director
Watterson Rothacker	....	by arrangement with (as Watterson R. Rothacker)
Homer Scott	....	technical staffer
Vernon L. Walker	....	technical staffer
William Dowling	....	additional director (uncredited)
Colby Harriman	....	director of presentation (uncredited)

Production Companies

• First National Pictures

Distributors

• First National Pictures (1925) (USA) (theatrical)
• Universum Film (UFA) (1926) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Lumivision (1991) (USA) (VHS)
• Lumivision (1991) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Milestone Film & Video (1991) (USA) (VHS) (alternate version)
• Timeless Multimedia (1994) (USA) (VHS)
• Lumivision (1997) (USA) (DVD)
• E-Realbiz.com (1999) (USA) (DVD)
• Lumivision (1999) (USA) (DVD)
• SlingShot Entertainment (1999) (USA) (DVD)
• Image Entertainment (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• Alpha Video Distributors (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Gotham Distribution (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Navarre Entertainment (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Divisa Home Video (2003) (Spain) (DVD)
• Alpha Video Distributors (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Reel Media International (2004) (worldwide) (VHS)
• Reel Media International (2005) (worldwide) (TV)
• Living Colour Entertainment (2007) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Reel Media International (2007) (worldwide) (all media)
• Continental Home Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Film Classics Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Grapevine Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Nostalgia Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Punto Zero (2007) (Italy) (DVD)
• Unknown Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Video Yesteryear (????) (USA) (VHS)

Runtime:

USA:64 min (1991 alternate version) | USA:93 min (2000 alternate version) | USA:64 min (Kodascope Version) | USA:106 min (original version) | 100 min (1998 George Eastman House Restoration)

Country:

USA

Color:

Black and White | Color (hand-colored) | Color (tinted and toned)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Certification:

Spain:T | USA:Unrated

Company:

First National Pictures

Trivia:

The original 35mm ten-reel print was destroyed in a fire at Universal Studios.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The Plateau in the film has been described as a world that is "cut off from evolutionary development." If that were true then dinosaurs from different eras would not be in the same place, nor would there be any ape-men or humanoids.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Making of 'Jurassic Park' (1995) (V)

Soundtrack:

The Lost World

Pretty Awesome for It's Time

This was the first movie I ever taped when I got my first VCR back in the 1980's. I saw it was going to be on at 3:00 a.m., so I decided to try the programming to see it it worked. It did. I was so excited. The movie is so much fun. It has Wallace Beery as a borderline madman scientist leading an expedition to a far off island to find dinosaurs. There is a subplot of a reporter who is trying to talk him into letting him go along. There are scenes where Professor Challenger (Beery) chases and assaults this man because he hates reporters. Of course, we all know the story. They do bring back a dinosaur and it gets loose (ala King Kong) and leaves a path of destruction. The special effects are like Claymation, but one could only wonder how exciting and impressive these things were in their time. As a period piece, I urge people to see this. There are full length prints of it, not just the one some have commented on, which only shows the dinosaur scenes. If you have an open mind, you will have a lot of fun.