The Land That Time Forgot - The film that remakes forgot

I used to watch this with my friends when it was on TV in the eighties. I’d seen a fair few war films and, back then, the prospect of Germans and Allied forces teaming up seemed pretty freaky and intriguing to me.

'The Land That Time Forgot' follows the exploits of a German U-boat crew who get overpowered by a lifeboat full of civilians who they actually just sank (no, seriously they do… just go with it – it’s worth it). Anyway, the U-boat gets lost and ends up in a secret land of dinosaurs and cavemen. There, they must work together to escape.

 I’d forgotten how much of the film actually takes place before they arrive on the island. Maybe I only watched the second half with the dinosaurs? But it doesn’t matter. It sets the scene perfectly – displaying the tensions between the two crews.

Then they get to the island and generally ravaged by dinosaurs. Only they’re not really dinosaurs, they’re large rubbery monsters. Hey, it was pre-CGI and 'Jurassic Park' – what do you expect? But, again, don’t let that put you off. If you can get past the dodgy special effects and just immerse yourself in the story, you’ll find that it’s actually quite a tight and tense little number.

When the special effects are that bad (even for 1974!) the film needs something to elevate it and, in this case, that special something is the cast.  Yes, it's a Doug McClure film.  He's the American hero who brings everyone together.  I'd be lying if I said he was anything more than 'functional' as the leading man.  And his 'love interest' (Susan Penhaligon) is equally passible.  The 'scene-stealer' is John McEnery who plays the German U-boat captain who, despite - technically - be 'the bad guy' brings more dimensions to his character than just your typical faceless Nazi who normally appears in these sorts of 'period' films.

What with all the films of the seventies being remade and Hollywood working its way through the latter end of the eighties and even into the nineties, I’m surprised this one never got the remake treatment. It’s probably ripe for one, but, once again, that’s not a detraction from the original. If you have a couple of hours to kill and can forgive a little bit of ham, just go with it. There’s worse about, even with realistic dinosaurs!

7/10 if I woke up on Groundhog Day and had to watch this again, I could live with that