★ 6 / 10
Incontinent or Lost Continent? It's a George Pal
John Chard
Incontinent or Lost Continent? It's a George Pal film, who around this time in his career was playing fun with fantasy adventure films, even bringing some…
Incontinent or Lost Continent?
It's a George Pal film, who around this time in his career was playing fun with fantasy adventure films, even bringing some cartoonery and science into his equations. Atlantis, the Lost Continent is not a particularly good film, but it is a fun one if you have any sort of idea what to expect from this sort of production.
Plot basically pitches a Greek fisherman to the task of bringing an Atlantean princess back to the supposed mythical city of Atlantis. He does, and soon wishes he hadn't since he is not welcomed and Atlantis might be coming to the end of its existence.
It starts off pretty badly, cheese acting and scenes looking dreadfully cheap. Yet once we get to Atlantis things perk up, with an array of weird inhabitants and nutty religion marrying up with some nutty science. It's colourful, while the effects work ranges wildly from good to bad; which is the same as the screenplay come to think of it (studio interference and writers strikes hamstrung Pal no doubt). It's more "Z" grade than "B" schlock grade, and as has been noted by critics, it does indeed look like a cheap Roman adventure dressed up under a mythical name. Yet it is still pleasant enough of a viewing experience, with some nifty action scenes and the brisk finale ensuring that is the case. 6/10
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★ 7 / 10
"Do not touch me. You smell of fish."
Hey_Sweden
Although not one of producer / sometime director George Pals' finest efforts, "Atlantis: The Lost Continent" offers adequate entertainment for any fan of the…
Although not one of producer / sometime director George Pals' finest efforts, "Atlantis: The Lost Continent" offers adequate entertainment for any fan of the fantasy genre. Plus, it comes complete with a theme about mankind's penchant for technological advancement in the name of conquest. Yes, it does lean heavily on stock footage, but the sets, costumes, and music are all just fine, and the performances are all appropriate to the genre.
Sal Ponti a.k.a. Anthony Hall (the later screenwriter of "Doctor Death, Seeker of Souls") stars as Demetrios, a studly young fisherman in the days of Ancient Greece. He and his father (Wolfe Barzell, "Frankenstein's Daughter") discover a lovely young woman, Antillia (Joyce Taylor, "Twice-Told Tales") adrift in the ocean, and rescue her. She's a real ingrate for a while, and in fact hightails it out of the fishing village to make it back to her home land of Atlantis. Demetrios agrees to help her get back there, and soon they have arrived. But the locals are as ungrateful as she was at the start, casting him into slavery. He earns his freedom, but will have to combat power-mad Atlantian Zaren (John Dall, "Gun Crazy") who dominates the weak king (Edgar Stehli, "4D Man"), and who wants to conquer the rest of Earth.
All in all, this is good fun, at least if one is partial to this sort of entertainment. It has an amusing script (by Daniel Mainwaring, who'd adapted the original screen version of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers"), with some choice lines here and there. Ponti is the kind of stiff, jut-jawed hero you expect to find in such a film. Taylor is lovely: a hoot in her earlier scenes when she's required to be snooty, and more endearing as time goes on. The supporting cast also consists of iconic screen tough guy William Smith (actually rather wasted as a Captain of the Guards who doesn't get much to do), Frank DeKova ("Teenage Cave Man") as evil astrologer Sonoy, Berry Kroeger ("Demon Seed") as a maniacal surgeon who turns slaves into half-animal abominations (the makeup effects here are pretty good), and Jay Novello ("The Mad Magician") as a put-upon Greek slave named Xandros. The great Paul Frees does the narration. But the best performance has to be the one by Edward Platt (The Chief on 'Get Smart') as a High Priest who offers valuable assistance. Often, in low-rent genre fare, this kind of character would be a villain of some sort, but here he's the voice of reason.
One hilarious touch is the chant uttered by the slaves when they are turning a massive drill to speed up a volcanic explosion. It just comes out of nowhere.
And the climactic sinking of the continent is still a pretty good effect almost 60 years later.
Seven out of 10.
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5.5/10
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