The Lost World from 1925 is arguably the most important Dinosaur film of all time. While not as famous as say, King Kong (1933), all of the elements that make Kong so iconic were pioneered with this film. The film is based upon the 1912 novel of the same name by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (who briefly appears in The Lost World, depending on which cut of the film you are viewing). Doyle is better known for his truly historic character Sherlock Holmes, but his work in The Lost World is just as important. In fact, the characters created for The Lost World would be revisited quite a few times in the subsequent years. Throughout the history of film, there are three literary names that had an indelible influence on the adventure film. The aforementioned Doyle, Edgar Rice Burroughs, and Jules Verne. Of the three titans, The Lost World has the best framework to work with as its characters have depth and growth. Doyle captured the idea of dinosaurs excellently but he never forgot about the humans who drive the plot.
Aside from its literary origins, the special effects are what really marks this film as something truly special. This is the cinematic debut of Willis O’Brien, the legendary special effects pioneer, who mastered the art of cinematic Stop-Motion and inspired generations to come. There were a number of short films by O’Brien before The Lost World such as R.F.D (1917) and The Ghost of Slumber Mountain (1918). However, this is the film that really showcased the refinement of his craft. The most recent and complete Blu-ray, which supplied the bulk of the information for this article, includes animation outtakes and it is truly remarkable how well even the outtakes hold up. It is important to note that O’Brien did not invent the concept of Stop Motion for FILM — it was around as early as 1895 in The Execution of Mary Stuart.
The other huge behind the scenes creative forces of 1925 The Lost World are Harry O. Hoyt and Marion Fairfax. Fairfax was a pioneer and playwright. She created her own company and created one film. Then she began to work for First National Pictures, leading to The Lost World. Hoyt was a screenwriter and playwright of his own. He directed 20 feature films, however The Lost World is easily his most notable film (his brother Arthur Hoyt plays Professor Summerlee in the film). These two creative forces are responsible for the film’s inexcusable blackface seen in the character of Zambo. In the original novel, Zambo is not a perfect character and is still emblematic of racist ideas from the time period but the character has plenty of heroism. The treatment of Black peoples was something Doyle took great interest in as he wrote a scathing non-fiction novel about the horrific Belgian exploitation of the Congolese. In the book, the character of Sir John Roxton has ties into this conflict and is staunchly against the slave trade. All of that is absent in the film adaptation.
The plot of The Lost World will again sound familiar to fans of King Kong; a group of adventures explores a world full of prehistoric beasts and they bring one back to the civilized world. In fact, one of the reasons people suspect that prints of The Lost World were ordered destroyed was due to the striking similarity of the then-upcoming 1933 version of Kong. Luckily, the film survives as it is now due to multiple reconstructions throughout the years. The version reviewed here is the 2016 print released by Flicker Alley. If you are able to track down this Blu-ray it is absolutely recommended. An insane amount of hard work went together in order to preserve this iconic film.
The Lost World is one of the final big silent pictures. Two years later in 1927, The Jazz Singer was released and this undoubtedly affected the longevity of the film. Still, for a movie made in 1925, it is paced extremely well and I’d watch it over The Jazz Singer any day of the week. There is a constant sense of adventure onscreen every minute and many sequences are absolutely stunning. Willis O’Brien gives each creature a tremendous sense of character. The film does the smart thing of not limiting the antagonists to the dinosaurs as we have some human-sized villains in the Ape Men. Played by the amazingly named Bull Montana, the Ape Man is truly terrifying. The suit looks better than 90% of ape suits I’ve seen throughout cinema history and as such it delivers a very thrilling enemy for our human characters to combat. In most films of this ilk, the human adventurers would eventually have a schism leading to intense human conflict. This trope is a bit overplayed so it is a welcome addition to have the human elements be more cohesive.
Roxton and Challenger stand out as the clear winners in the character department. Roxton who is brilliantly acted by Lewis Stone is the losing end of a love triangle and instead of becoming an evil villain shows compassion. This happens so rarely for life stories in any genre that it is a welcome change. Professor Challenger on the other end is an absolute madman. He will fight anyone and has no issue facing his criticism head-on… usually with his fists. Challenger really leads the first half of the picture with his bombastic attitude. Actor Wallace Beery truly created a brilliant character with his manic persona and brilliantly messy hairdo. The rest of the cast are serviceable asides from the racist Zambo. Main character Ed Malone is a bit boring and is not given much outside of his romantic despair. Same goes for Paula who joins in on the expedition but makes very little impact.
The Lost World is an important entry of dinosaur cinema. This is a truly wonderful showcase of Willis O’Brien’s wonderful special effects. The dated aspects must be noted and the horrific racism of Zambo is inexcusable during any time period. That does not lower the film from its historical status or its cinematic importance.
Resources http://silentmoviemonsters.tripod.com/TheLostWorld/LWOBIE.html https://wfpp.columbia.edu/pioneer/ccp-marion-fairfax/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Execution_of_Mary_Stuart https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agathaumas
