The Land Unknown (1957)

• Directed by Virgil W. Vogel
• Written by Laszlo Gorog, William N. Robson, Charles Palmer
• Stars Jock Mahoney, Shirley Patterson, William Reynolds, Henry Brandon
• Run Time: 1 Hour, 18 Minutes
• Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltNMWNjB8GE

Spoiler-Free Judgment Zone

It’s a small group of sweaty survivors struggling in a tropical zone in Antarctica inhabited by dinosaurs that never went extinct. One has to take the age of it into account, and when one does, it’s surprisingly entertaining. The story, acting, direction, and effects are all decent enough. Overall we enjoyed it.

Synopsis

We open in a military briefing about a mission to Antarctica, and we’re told about Admiral Byrd. They’ve found warm water and animal bones there, which they weren’t expecting. 

Captain Burnham welcomes journalist Margaret Hathaway, and he warns her about being alone with 800 men. She seems smart, capable, and used to dealing with misogyny. He introduces her to Commander Alan Roberts and Lt. Jack Carmen. She’s going along to document their exploration. He shows us footage of what appears to be actual Antarctica footage. Not long after, everyone boards big ships and heads south. 

On the boat, Alan and Margaret flirt awkwardly. They get there after several weeks, and Jack takes off in the helicopter with Steve, Margaret, and Alan. They see seals and penguins and Mt. Erebus, a dormant volcano. They arrive at the warm-water region, but they get a call that bad weather is coming, so they need to return to base. They can’t fly around the storm, so they have to set down before the storm hits. 

A huge flying bird swoops out of nowhere and damages something, so they have to land, right now. They drop below sea level somehow and notice that the temperature is going up. It’s 91 degrees. They find the bottom and hit pretty hard. Mechanic Steve says it’s not a hard repair, but it’ll take some time. 

Alan says there’s volcanic activity here, which is why it’s so hot. We get glimpses of monsters and weirdness in the background, but none of the characters see anything. Steve comes back and says he can’t fix the copter after all – a part is broken – so they’ll have to hope for a rescue. Jack gets on the radio to call for help, but he runs the battery down. 

Another of those birds flies over, and they all see that it’s a pterodactyl, not a bird. Alan says the warmth is trapped here, so evolution has no reason to advance; there’s no telling what kind of ancient creatures might live here. Soon, they see a couple of giant lizards battling it out in the distance. Then a T-Rex shows up, They turn on the helicopter blade, which chops it a bit until it backs away. 

They soon find some of their food eaten and missing. Something opened cans, and it wasn’t the T-Rex. There must be something intelligent out there. Alan reminds everyone that the main expedition will be leaving in 25 days, and they’ll be stuck here forever if that happens. 

Alan explains the evolution of the monkeys, and the others have never heard such a crazy thing. Monsters attack, and someone carries Maggie away into a little boat. Alan finds the “man’s” footprints, and the three men pursue on foot. 

Maggie wakes up,  and there’s a strange man there who offers her something to drink– in English. He’s Dr. Carl Hunter, the only survivor from a previous expedition; he’s not even sure how many years it’s been. He’s got a big shell that he uses as a horn to scare away the dinosaurs. Alan, Jack, and Steve come in with their guns drawn, and Hunter tells his story. 

Hunter offers to give them the missing part from his helicopter in exchange for leaving Maggie there with him. He’s mostly insane at this point after being there for so long. 

Maggie’s grabbed by a creature with tentacles, and Hunter saves her this time. She thinks the guys should take Hunter’s deal and leave her there. She steals the boat and heads to Hunter’s cave. A sea monster intercepts her little boat, but Hunter is there with some huge torches and a horn that he has sort of conditioned the animals to avoid. This one is really persistent, but he eventually beats the creature. 

Steve follows them, and the two men fight. Steve tortures Hunter for the location of the copter parts, but Alan charges in and stops him. Hunter gives them a map to the wreck; all he really wants is to be left alone. 

The guys get the missing replacement part and fix the helicopter. A dino knocks out Maggie, and Hunter could keep her in his cave, but he does the right thing and carries her to the waiting copter. The T-Rex shows up again, and the three men take off in the helicopter before it gets them. 

They lower a winch to get Maggie, and Hunter helps her into it. Hunter rows off into the fog, alone, and we see the water dinosaur from before following him. It capsizes his boat and smashes him while the others watch from above. 

They shoot the dino with a flare gun, and Alan jumps in to save Hunter. They’re all going home! They’re within sight of the boats when they run out of fuel and do a water landing. Still, they all survive. Alan says there’ll probably be another expedition next year, and invites Maggie to go along… for their honeymoon!

Commentary

Dinosaurs in Antarctica? Why not? The hardest thing to believe is that that little helicopter had that much fuel. 

The dinosaurs are pretty well done for the time. The T-Rex was a guy in a suit, but we’ve seen worse. Kevin noticed the T-Rex was drooling, which was a nice touch. Some of the giant lizards were real lizards in extreme close-ups. 

The cast is small, and the acting is decent. Considering the age of the film and the limited effects, it’s really pretty well done.