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The Land Unknown

Play trailer Poster for The Land Unknown 1957 1h 18m Sci-Fi Play Trailer Watchlist
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Tomatometer 3 Reviews 28% Popcornmeter 250+ Ratings
A Navy scientist (Jock Mahoney), a newswoman (Shawn Smith) and a helicopter pilot (William Reynolds) find dinosaurs and humidity at the South Pole.

Critics Reviews

View All (3) Critics Reviews
Matt Brunson Film Frenzy A lesser entry in Universal's robust run of 50s sci-fi flicks. Rated: 2/4 Apr 24, 2019 Full Review Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews Despite its obvious flaws, it was mildly effective in its imaginative and realistic treatment of a pre-historic lost valley. Rated: B- Feb 10, 2008 Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Rated: 2/5 Aug 12, 2005 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (40) audience reviews
Audience Member I’d watch this with a double feature with the cyclops! But it does rip off the cyclops a little bit because this movie came out just a day before Halloween and the cyclops came out in July. I love the dinosaurs and creatures and actors. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 08/22/24 Full Review georgan g This adventure film had a ridiculous plot and such a low-budget for special effects that you'll see a man in a dinosaur suit, puppets and monitor lizards standing in for dinosaurs. Somehow it held my interest. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Before there was "The Land of the Lost", there was "The Land Unknown". This 1957 science fiction adventure is not perfect (How ridiculous does that Tyrannosaurus Rex costume look?) and the special effects are not the best I have ever seen, but I still could not help but like the movie at least a little. I was never bored and as I said previously the special effects are not that good, but at the same time they are not terrible. To be fair the producers did not have much of a budget to work with. The movie was supposed to be filmed in color and the special effects were supposed to be more elaborate but Universal made several budget cuts which forced changes. The original director of the movie quit out of protest of the budget cuts. What made me enjoy the movie to a certain extent is the main cast. I think they all do a very good job in their respective roles. The late Jock Mahoney and the late Shirley Patterson (Billed as Shawn Smith.) had good chemistry together. Also, I think "The Land Unknown" is a good length in that it was not too long. The movie took just the right amount of time to tell its story (Something Judd Apatow needs to learn.). So in the end, for all of its flaws, "The Land Unknown" is good entertainment. The movie may not have a lasting impression on you (As it may have on Sid and Marty Kroft.), but I think you will enjoy it for what it's worth. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/22/23 Full Review Audience Member On an expedition to the Antarctic an airplane carrying three men and one female crash-land in a strangely-warm deep crater which contains a prehistoric world. For weeks they avoid the dinosaurs only to discover a savage man who has mastered life among the ginormous beasts. The wildman wants the female to himself which causes all sorts of drama. Slow at times, but the story really picks up with the introduction of the wodewose. Dinos: 2/10 Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/02/23 Full Review Audience Member This is a very good Dinosaur movie......Great script, great basic idea, great matte painting backgrounds....the only real bad thing is the T-rex....Man-in-a-suit Dino but so poorly done (Although the eye-blinking gives me chills) The tech discussion about the Helo is very good, and the idea of dropping thousands of feet BELOW sea-level in the antarctic leading to a warm, geothermal-heated valley is smart. I especially like that they found the dead Pterodactyl but never realized it's significance, and also liked that they found a small mammal. The marine reptile is a Plesiosaur and substantially better than Rex. And yes, the woman does scream too much! Give it a chance (While realizing the budget was cut after script, Matte paintings and helo special effects were completed...That is why Rex looks so....BAD!) Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/21/23 Full Review joe m I watch "The Land Unknown" on Svengoolie so that made it slightly more palatable. The movie is one of those B movies that only holds up over time for the cheesy nature of the filming, the acting and the special effects all with a plot that is totally preposterous, thus making it the type of film ideal for Svengoolie or MST3K. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Land Unknown

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Cast & Crew

Movie Info

Synopsis A Navy scientist (Jock Mahoney), a newswoman (Shawn Smith) and a helicopter pilot (William Reynolds) find dinosaurs and humidity at the South Pole.
Director
Virgil Vogel
Producer
William Alland
Genre
Sci-Fi
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Jan 13, 2017
Runtime
1h 18m