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The People That Time Forgot (film)

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The People That Time Forgot
U.S. theatrical release poster
Directed byKevin Connor
Screenplay byPatrick Tilley
Based onThe People That Time Forgot
by Edgar Rice Burroughs
Produced byMax Rosenberg
StarringPatrick Wayne
Sarah Douglas
Thorley Walters
Dana Gillespie
Shane Rimmer
Doug McClure
CinematographyAlan Hume
Edited byJohn Ireland
Barry Peters
Music byJohn Scott
Production
company
Distributed byAmerican International Pictures
Release date
  • 27 August 1977 (1977-08-27)
Running time
91 minutes
CountriesUnited Kingdom[1]
United States[1]
LanguageEnglish
Budget$400,000-$500,000[2]
Box office$3 million[3]

The People That Time Forgot is a 1977 adventure fantasy film based on the novel The People That Time Forgot (1963) and Out of Time's Abyss (1963) by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Filmed in Technicolor, it was produced by Britain's Amicus Productions and directed by Kevin Connor. Like Connor's other two Burroughs-derived films, The Land That Time Forgot and At the Earth's Core, the film was distributed in the United States by American International Pictures. It is the last film made by Amicus before the production company folded.

The film is a direct sequel to The Land That Time Forgot, which initiated the series in 1974. The story follows a rescue expedition, led by Patrick Wayne in search of his friend, played by Doug McClure, who had vanished many years before. The expedition lands on Caprona, the same fantastic prehistoric land where dinosaurs and barbarian tribes of men co-exist.

Plot

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Major Ben McBride (Patrick Wayne) organises a mission to the Antarctic wastes to search for his friend Bowen Tyler (Doug McClure) who has been missing in the region for several years. A British naval survey ship takes them to Caprona. McBride's party: the paleontologist Norfolk (Thorley Walters), gunner and mechanic Hogan (Shane Rimmer) and photographer Lady Charlotte 'Charlie' Cunningham (Sarah Douglas) fly over the mountain wall of Caprona in an amphibious aircraft, but are attacked by a fierce giant pterodactylus and forced down.

They find themselves in a world populated by primitive warriors and prehistoric creatures, all of whom they must evade in order to get back safely to their ship. They meet a cave-girl, Ajor (Dana Gillespie), who can speak English (she was taught by Tyler); she leads them to the land of a race of samurai-like warriors called the Nargas, who are keeping Tyler prisoner. When the volcano that the Nargas worship erupts, they must escape the cataclysm engulfing the land. Tyler sacrifices himself to cover their retreat.

Cast

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Production

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  • According to Kevin Connor, Amicus Productions wanted to follow At the Earth's Core with an adaptation of the John Carter of Mars stories, but could not afford the rights, so they made this sequel instead.[4]
  • Although the film was made by Amicus Productions, the company folded before it was released, meaning AIP took sole credit.[5]

Critical reception

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Time Out commented: "A lame sequel to Connor's earlier Edgar Rice Burroughs adaptation, The Land That Time Forgot, which was at least occasionally lively";[6] the Radio Times called it an "OK sequel," but a "constipated confection" with "ludicrous mechanised dinosaurs and hopeless acting from an interesting cast." The reviewer however, found that "A few shots, composed around celebrated fantasy illustrations, compensate for all the film's shortcomings";[7] and critic Derek Winnert similarly opined "the monsters and special effects are below par," but "there are effective moments, and there is some curiosity value in seeing singer Dana Gillespie playing Ajor";[8] while Blu-ray.com thought the film "may not be the most polished effort around, but there's fun to be had with its crazy dino encounters."[9]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "The People That Time Forgot (1977)". BFI. Archived from the original on 12 July 2012. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
  2. ^ "Exclusive Interview With Legendary Director Kevin Connor". Horror Channel. 7 August 2012.
  3. ^ Donahue, Suzanne Mary (1987). American film distribution : the changing marketplace. UMI Research Press. p. 300. ISBN 9780835717762. Please note figures are for rentals in US and Canada
  4. ^ "An Interview with Kevin Connor". Flickfeast. 10 August 2012.
  5. ^ Ed. Allan Bryce, Amicus: The Studio That Dripped Blood, Stray Cat Publishing, 2000, p. 150
  6. ^ "The People That Time Forgot - Movie Reviews - Rotten Tomatoes". www.rottentomatoes.com.
  7. ^ "The People That Time Forgot – review - cast and crew, movie star rating and where to watch film on TV and online". Radio Times.
  8. ^ "The People that Time Forgot ** (1977, Doug McClure, Patrick Wayne, Sarah Douglas) – Classic Movie Review 6223 - Derek Winnert". www.derekwinnert.com. 10 November 2017.
  9. ^ "The People That Time Forgot Blu-ray".
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