ATLANTIS, THE LOST CONTINENT (1961). Director: George Pal.
Although this film certainly has its detractors, I confess it has remained quite enjoyable to me over the years. Demetrios (Anthony Hall aka Sal Ponti) and his father are out fishing when they come upon a young woman, Antillia (Joyce Taylor) afloat in the sea, who insists that she is not only a princess but that she comes from a great land beyond the pillars of Hercules, where the known world ends. Demetrios winds up taking her home with the understanding that if they don't come upon this mystical land in a number of days, they will return to Greece and Antillia must marry him. Instead they wind up on the fabled continent of Atlantis, where Antillia's father, the king, wears a hollow crown and the evil Zaren (John Dall) is the true ruler. Atlantis enslaves every foreigner who lands on its shores, even Demetrios, and is planning to attack other nations with deadly weapons. Although the oh-so-pious character of Azor (Ed Platt) is a bit of a killjoy, Atlantis is still a lot of fun, especially the Ordeal of Fire and Water in which Demetrios wins his freedom, Platt and Dall having a battle, the bull-men in their cells lorded over by Surgeon (Berry Kroeger -- yes it's Berry not Barry), and the whole climax with the effective sinking of Atlantis and the running-wild "beta disintegrator" or whatzis that Zaren tries to vaporize half the city with. Wild! Hall is fine; Taylor, who could give some bad performances, is quite good as the haughty princess; and Dall of Rope fame is sneering perfection. [Dall offered a more sympathetic portrayal and was excellent in The Corn is Green.) To my astonishment I only realized on this viewing that the character of Xandros, the Greek slave befriended by Demetrios, is played by Great Old Movies' old friend, the wonderful Jay Novello, another example of how this fine actor could lose himself in a characterization. Ed Platt, of course, appeared to great advantage on the show Get Smart.
Verdict: No, it's not Pal's The War of the Worlds, but it's fun! ***.
5 comments:
ankssc583I'm looking for an old movie ... one that someone else recalls (I read online) about Atlantis using a huge crystal to beam and melt things ... hasto be before the 60s and 50s .. ever hear or see it?
it's the 1961 version...
Yes, this is the movie. The beam that disintegrates everything is from a giant crystal. "Atlantis, the Lost Continent" is the movie,
Okay, wow--this is another review I really like because it gives this (I feel) unfairly maligned movie a little respect. This is another one I saw on the big screen as a kid, as well as another George Pal film (man, he really was a big part of my movie-going childhood!), and it was obviously aimed squarely at kids, but like you, I don't think it's nearly as bad as its critical reputation suggests. For me, this was an amazing, exotic spectacle of jaw-dropping proportions and certainly a LOT more than I'd dare hope for in a day at the movies in the early 1960s. That crystal death ray machine is a vivid image solidly burned into my cortex and I still love its design (and dearly wish some quixotic modelling company would produce a model kit of it). I loved the Atlantian submarine's appearance from the early scenes, too--and though the climactic sinking of the city looked a little like table-top plywood sections with buildings glued to them being tumped into the drink, I simply didn't care and was even properly wowed by the spectacle of it all. I mean, that fiery volcanic eruption was from a classically attractive, cone-shaped volcano, too! Well done, George! And thank you very much!
And thank you sir, for another insightful review!
--Mark
Thank you, Mark! I also saw this picture in the theater when I was a kid, loved it, and have loved it ever since. I've never understood why people think it's just terrible, when there's so much to recommend in it. I think your description of the closing scenes when Atlantis sinks is accurate, but somehow it just looks powerful and impressive in spite of it -- I love the sound effects at that point.
Glad somebody else enjoys this movie!
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