The Lost World | |
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Original 1960 theatrical poster
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Directed by | Irwin Allen |
Produced by | Irwin Allen Cliff Reid |
Screenplay by | Irwin Allen Charles Bennett |
Based on |
The Lost World by Arthur Conan Doyle |
Starring |
Michael Rennie Jill St. John David Hedison Claude Rains Fernando Lamas |
Music by |
Paul Sawtell Bert Shefter |
Cinematography | Winton C. Hoch |
Edited by | Hugh S. Fowler |
Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
Release date
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July 13, 1960 (U.S.) |
Running time
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97 min. |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $1,515,000 |
Box office | $2,500,000 (US/ Canada) |
The Lost World is a 1960 De Luxe Color and a CinemaScope fantasy adventure film loosely based on the novel of the same name by Arthur Conan Doyle and directed by Irwin Allen. The plot of the film revolves around the exploration of a flat mountain in Venezuela inhabited by cannibals, dinosaurs, carnivorous plants, and giant spiders. The cast includes Claude Rains, David Hedison, Fernando Lamas, Jill St. John, and Michael Rennie.
Professor Challenger (Claude Rains), a famed biologist and anthropologist, reports to the London Zoological Society that he has discovered living specimens of supposedly extinct animals, including dinosaurs, on an expedition to the Amazon Basin. When his colleagues dismiss his claims, he challenges the Society to mount another expedition to verify his story. Challenger and his companions travel to an isolated plateau, where they encounter prehistoric creatures and other hazards, and discover the legacy of a previous explorer that reveals the hidden past of one of their team. During a volcanic eruption, they escape from the plateau carrying the egg of a Tyrannosaurus rex. The egg hatches when it is dropped by accident, and Professor Challenger decides to take the infant dinosaur back to London with them.