Classic Cinema: The Lost World (1925)

Love and Dinosaurs

With Willis H. O’Brien providing dazzling special effects, First National Pictures released what is considered to be the first full length feature film featuring stop-motion animation, 1925’s The Lost World. The silent film, directed by Harry O. Hoyt and adapted from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s book of the same name by Marion Fairfax, is also considered to be one of the last major silent films to be released before “talkies” began dominating the big screen. The film starred Bessie Love as Paula White, Lloyd Hughes as Edward Malone, Lewis Stone as Sir John Roxton, and the grizzly Wallace Beery as Professor George Edward Challenger. Also featured in the film are Bull Montana as Ape Man, Jocko the monkey as himself, and Mary the chimpanzee as herself.

In the film, Paula White brings her father’s journal to Professor Challenger. In it he finds sketches and drawings of what appear to be dinosaurs. Convinced that they still exist but ridiculed by his contemporaries, Challenger forms a new expedition to seek out this “lost world,” prove the existence of the dinosaurs, and hopefully find Paula’s father still alive. With no one willing to pay for the expedition, Challenger accepts the assistance of a newspaper reporter, Malone, whose employers will finance the expedition if Malone can tag along with the group. Also joining the expedition is the famous big game hunter, Sir John Roxton, who has a secret love for Paula White. Malone goes on the expedition not only as a reporter, but to impress his fiancee, Gladys Hungerford (Alma Bennett), who believes that she can’t marry a man who has never had a dangerous assignment.

Once they arrive in the “lost world,” which is apparently on a high plateau that borders Peru, Brazil, and Colombia, the group encounters a number of dangers. An Ape Man and his chimpanzee friend throw a giant rock at the expedition. After felling a lone tree to make a bridge to reach the plateau, the group is trapped on the plateau whenever a brontosaurus knocks the tree into the river below. They see a number of dinosaurs battle one another and are attacked by an Allosaurus. Sir Roxton manages to find the remains of Paula’s father, Maple White. A volcano erupts causing chaos on the plateau and the group look for a way to escape. Eventually the group manage to be rescued by two members of the expedition, Austin and Zambo, who stayed at the initial campsite across from the plateau. They fashion a rope ladder out of hammocks and have Jocko, Paula’s pet monkey, crawl up the sheer wall of the plateau to save the group. They are attacked once again by the Ape Man and his chimpanzee friend but manage to escape. Then they are found by British military forces who assist them in bringing a captive brontosaurus back to London. With proof on the way to the London docks, Professor Challenger appears before his contemporaries once more. The dinosaur manages to break free from its cage, however, and goes on a rampage through the streets of London. What happens next? Watch The Lost World to find out!

It’s no surprise that this is a very solid film considering its source material. The story features tons of action and features an excellent subplot involving a love triangle. Sir John Roxton is secretly in love with Paula White and while on the expedition, Edward Malone falls for her as well. Lewis Stone is simply wonderful in his execution of his role as Roxton. He gives some amazingly subtle cues to show his affection for White whereas Malone is something of a goofy love interest. Also worth mentioning is the wild performance of Wallace Beery as Challenger. At times he comes across as a madman literally willing to punch his way out of any situation. The special effects are amazing as well and hint at the brilliance that would come from Willis H. O’Brien in his later films, most notably King Kong (1933). The film holds up extremely well to this day.

There have been a number of restorations and releases of this film over the years. The movie was almost completely lost when RKO Studios tried to have all copies of the film destroyed so that King Kong would appear to be the greatest stop-motion spectacle of its time. Most restorations run just over sixty minutes, with the character of Gladys completely omitted from the film other than being mentioned by name. Flicker Alley and Lobster Films released what they call the complete film on Blu-ray in 2017. I hope to obtain a copy of that restoration in the near future.

This film is amazing. It would go on to inspire works such as King Kong, Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park novels and their subsequent films, and numerous other adventure novels, films, and television shows. It’s hard to find any flaws in the film itself other than the fact that one character, Zambo, is portrayed by a white actor, Jules Cowles, in blackface. Other than that one miscue that can be attributed to the days in which it was made, The Lost World is a hit and arguably one of the first big popcorn flicks ever created.

Thanks for checking out my post. I have two events coming up in the next two months. CyPhaCon at the end of March and the Fouke Monster Festival at the end of April. If you attend either of these events, please come by and say hello!