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The People That Time Forgot

(1977)

Good old fashioned Saturday morning at the movies action adventure fun. Following on from the earlier made The Land That Time Forgot (1975), Colonel Ben McBride (Patrick Wayne) heads up an expedition in search of his friend Bowen Tyler (Doug McClure), a fellow officer lost at sea in an uncharted area during world war I. Several years have gone by, and the war is at an end, but Tyler’s notes have been retrieved from the ocean, and they tell tale of an incredible lost world. One where caveman fights to survive in a prehistoric land, dominated by dinosaurs !.

Lady Charlotte ‘Charly’ Cunningham (Sarah Douglas), is a newspaper writer and photographer, who joins the exploration, and hopeful rescue party, due to her rich uncle financing the enterprise. Norfolk (Thorley Walters) and Hogan (Shane Rimmer) complete the team as resident scientist, and trusted war comrade. Together they journey as far as they are able by ship to the Antartic, and then fly into the anachronistic region where time has virtually stood still for hundreds of thousands of years.

The small parties first encounter with the creatures that Tyler describes in his retrieved journal is a run in, amongst the clouds, with an attacking Pterodactyl !. The creature does enough damage to force the aircraft down, with a hefty bump. Colonel McBride has no choice but to leave Hogan to make repair to the plane, whilst he, Norfolk and Charly head off into the island in search of Tyler.

It’s not long before the outsiders encounter the humongous prehistoric wildlife, and are beset upon by an indigenous tribe who seek to offer them as sacrifice to one of the carnivorous creatures.They are aided by a friendly native girl named Ajor (Dana Gillespie), a buxom beauty clad in a revealing tan leather, figure hugging costume. She speaks the language of the outsiders, and reveals that she was taught their ways by Tyler !. Ajor informs McBride and the others that she fears Tyler is dead, or still captive of the superior tribe that rule the island. When Tyler helped Ajor and her people to cultivate the land, and learn new skills, this more aggressive tribe destroyed everything that they worked for, and killed most of the people.

The dominant tribe are a hideous race, covering their faces with masks, curiously akin in both their tribal attire and characteristics to a clan of Japanese samurai. Resplendent in battle gear, bearing swords and wielding spears, and riding horses. A curious mix of cultures and time periods, oddly placed in a prehistoric environment !?. Their threat to the island populace, and indeed to McBride and his people, is none the less most evident.

It’s all silly family fun that plays out entertainingly enough right through to the volcanic explosive finale. Doug McClure makes his guest star appearance midway through proceedings as the captive Bowen Tyler, and Patrick Wayne gets to play the hero well enough. Both men were popular matinee fantasy film stars during this period. Patrick Wayne played Sinbad in Sinbad And The Eye Of The Tiger (1977), and also starred in the action fantasy Beyond Atlantis (1973). Doug McClure starred in a whole host of fantasy adventure flicks during the seventies such as, The Land That Time Forgot (1975), At The Earth’s Core (1976) and Warlords Of Atlantis (1978), before moving into more mature variations on the theme with the equally enjoyable likes of, Humanoids From The Deep (1980) and The House Where Evil Dwells (1982).

The People That Time Forgot delivers a reasonably expansive exterior location shoot, and does its best to create the illusion of a prehistoric environment with matte effects and old style hand built monsters. Some of the creatures up close show up their artisan engineered shortcomings, and a couple of digitised scenery effects are woeful, but the miniature work is well realised, and over all it is in keeping with the entertainment value of what is effectively a reasonably budgeted ‘B’ movie. More dinosaurs would have been welcomed, but overall its good old fashioned general audience entertainment value for money.

Yet another cleaned up print of a twenty five plus year old movie, given the high definition treatment, and shown on the MGM HD Channel. Enjoyable hi-jinks monster action fare to colourfully dazzle your HD home cinema system as never before.