THE LOST WORLD (1925)

A Dated but Delightful Adventure from the Silent Era

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Grade: B+

**Please Note: There are multiple versions of The Lost World which vary in length, depending on the footage that could be found. The version seen prior to this review was 92 minutes long. Also, Spoiler Alert!**

In many ways, the origins of the giant monster film can be traced back to the silent classic The Lost World. Not only does it have the first ever giant monster rampage through a big city (in this case, a Brontosaurus in London), but it features stop-motion animated dinosaurs by special effects artist Willis O’Brien, who would later direct the effects for the masterpiece King Kong (1933). Based upon a novel by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who is most famous for his creation of Sherlock Holmes, The Lost World is an exciting adventure and a pioneer of special effects. Although parts of it seem dated in the nearly 100 years since its release, it is still an impressive and entertaining feature today.

The Lost World follows an expedition led by Professor Challenger to a plateau in South America where dinosaurs still live. While the novel focuses heavily on a conflict between two races of primitive man on the plateau and only features three species of actual dinosaur, the film features numerous kinds of dinosaurs which take center stage. After several adventures in the lost world, including an attack by a vicious Allosaurus and a violent volcanic eruption, the explorers escape and capture an incapacitated Brontosaurus, which had fallen off the plateau and into a large mud pit. Challenger has it shipped back to London for display, but it escapes and tears through the city. If this plot seems somewhat familiar, it is because King Kong and The Lost World share more than just the same animator: they share some of the same story elements, too.

The main attraction to The Lost World is obviously the dinosaurs. In the modern age, when movie audiences can be taken to other worlds by computer generated imagery, it is easy to dismiss The Lost World’s stop-motion effects as a mere relic. And this reviewer has to concede that parts of it haven’t aged well. Specifically, many of the dinosaurs’ movements seem slow and jerky. But at this point, Willis O’Brien was still perfecting his craft; eight years later, the creatures in King Kong would have much more fluid movements. And when one considers how many dinosaurs are featured, sometimes within the same shot (in addition to the above-mentioned ones, we have a herd of Triceratops, a Tyrannosaurus, a Stegosaurus, and others), and how many movements must be made to the dinosaur models in stop-motion animation, it is still quite impressive.

Another impressive thing is the care and detail that went into these dinosaurs, from their breathing and tail-twitching to their saliva. There are also some genuinely exciting and shocking moments, such as a vicious attack by a Tyrannosaurus on a ceratopsian “Agathaumas” (which had previously disemboweled another predator with its horns) and the menacing, glowing eyes of the Allosaurus as it approaches the camp. From a storytelling standpoint, though, the latter scene would have been even more thrilling if it had been the Allosaurus’s first appearance; instead, it had previously attacked a duckbill dinosaur in full view of the expedition.

In addition to the dinosaurs, The Lost World sports some likeable characters and outstanding production design. Today the landscape of the prehistoric plateau can clearly be seen as a painting, but as with the dinosaurs, much care had been taken to make it look truly primordial. Some parts of it are laughable, though, such as an ape-man stalking the expedition who is clearly a man in a suit with fake fangs. Another thing that could have used more care is the out-of-nowhere love story between Ed Malone and Paula White, the daughter of an explorer who had previously gone missing on the plateau. Still, the cast puts on great performances, making the human side of the story as essential as the dinosaurs.

The Lost World doesn’t hold up as well as some other classic monster movies with the jerky movements of the dinosaurs and the forced love story between Malone and White. But it is still hugely entertaining and well-made. And it would ultimately help pave the way for one of the greatest monster movies of all time.

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Director: Harry O. Hoyt

Producer: Earl Hudson

Screenplay: Marion Fairfax (Based upon the novel by Arthur Conan Doyle)

Cast: Bessie Love (Paula White), Lewis Stone (Sir John Roxton), Lloyd Hughes (Ed Malone), Wallace Beery (Professor Challenger), Arthur Hoyt (Professor Summerlee), Alma Bennett (Gladys Hungerford)