The Lost World - 1925 - Celluloid Dinosaurs - The Dinosaur Interplanetary Gazette

Credits

Early Reviews

The Lost World, Premiere Programme, New York City 1925

The cover of the Prgramme from the premiere of The Lost World, 1925 at the Astor Theatre, New York City, New York, United States.

Dinosaurs

Allosaurus
Apatosaurus
Brachiosaurus
Brontosaurus (Apatosaurus)
Hadrosaurs
Pteranodon
Triceratops

Cast
Bessie Love .... Paula White
Lewis Stone .... Sir John Roxton Wallace Beery .... Professor Challenger
Virginia Browne Faire ... ???
Lloyd Hughes .... Edward Malone
Alma Bennett .... Gladys Hungerford
Arthur Hoyt .... Professor Summerlee
Margaret McWade .... Mrs. Challenger
Bull Montana .... Ape-man
Jocko ... Himself
Frank Finch Smiles .... Austin (Challenger's butler)
Jules Cowles .... Zambo
George Bunny .... Colin McArdle
Charles Wellesley ... Major Hibbard
rest of cast listed alphabetically
Arthur Conan Doyle .... Himself (uncredited)
Nelson McDowell .... Newspaper man (uncredited)
Gilbert Roland .... Extra (uncredited)
Leo White .... Percy (uncredited)

Filmmakers
Director -- Harry Hoyt

Produced under the sueprvision of Earl Hudson

Stop Motion Animation Special Effects, Research and Technical
Direction -- Willis O'Brien

Writing credits
adapted by Marion Fairfax from the novel by Arthur Conan Doyle

Cinematography byArthur Edeson
J. Devereaux Jennings
Homer Scott

Film Editing by George McGuire

Makeup Department
Cecil Holland .... makeup artist

Assistant Director, director of settings and architecture ... Milton Menasco

Art Department
Marcel Delgado .... model construction
Ralph Hammeras ... Special Effects

Other crew
Chief technician ... Fred W. Jackman

Watterson R. Rothacker .... by arrangement with Watterson R. Rothacker

Production Companies
First National Pictures Inc./ Watterson R. Rothacker

Distributors
First National Pictures Inc. [US Theatrical]
Kodascope Pictures (US Non-Theatrical)
IMAGE Entertainment (DVD)
Lumivision (laser disc)
Film Classics Video (video)
Nostalgia Video (video)
Video Yesteryear [us] (video)

Runtimes:
USA Theatrical reported variously at 101-106 Minutes
[The variations may have to do with projection speed -- anywhere from 18-21 frames per second -- and the length of the actual intertitles)
USA:
100 minutes (restored version)
101 (restored version)
Kodascope and most Video versions of the Kodascope prints USA: 63 minutes
Black and White with Tints.
(most video versions do not have the tinting)
Sound: Silent film with Composed Score (restored on Shepard/IMAGE DVD)

Known scores have been composed or improvised by:

Alloy Orchestra - (short version) 1990's
Philip Carli - (GEH Restoration) 1997, piano
??? James - 2000, organ
Robert Israel Orchestra, (GEH Restoration) - Sept 15, 2000
Alloy Orchestra (Shepard Restoration) - 2000

The following review appeared in Argentina in 1927. A rough translation follows.

LA PRENSA, jueves 16 de junio de 1927

EL MUNDO PERDIDO

De la novela de Conan Doyle - vigorosa maginación servida por claridad narrativa - ha hecho la
cinematogrografía americana un original, valiosa y pintoresca versión. Ofrecía mayúsculas dificultades la traslación de tan singular asunto. Una de las jornadas, la más importante, comprendía la evocación de la época prehistórica, curiosa visión de fantasía creadora, que el novelista describe con extraordinario lujo de detalles. Ha vencido la cámara, si no total, definitivamente, por lo menos en gran parte, ese obstáculo. La película comporta, en este sentido, un esfuerzo de reconstrucción, tanto más significativo cuanto que lo informan antecedentes científicos, utilizados con especial cuidado en la presentación de monstruos y animales prehistóricos.

"El mundo perdido" mantiene latente la atención del espectador. Se evoca una existencia hoy sólo recordada por piezas de museo. Cierto es que en la reconstrucción escénica, que acredita, sin duda, valores notables, no se han cuidado uno que otro detalle. Pero, en conjunto, la obra satisface como versión de una de las novelas más difíciles de trasladar a la pantalla. Son discretos intérpretes de "El mundo perdido", Lloyd Hughes, Bessie Love, Lewis Stone y Wallace Beery.

Translation
(it's pretty rough. Can you help us out?)

Based on the novel by Conan Doyle -

Vigorous imagination served by narrative clarity has made
this American film an original, valuable and colorful version.

Transfering of this unique subject matter offered great difficulties. One of the most important, included the evocación of the prehistoric times, and the peculiar vision of creative fantasy that the novelist describes with an extraordinary luxury of details. The camera has, at least to a
large extent, overcome that obstacle. The film uses the reconstructive efforts of scientists in the special care with which the montsters and preshistoric animals are reconstructed and presented. " The Lost World " fully absorbs the attention of the spectator.

A world only evidenced by museum pieces is evoked today. While the scenic reconstruction has remarkable value, there are other details of the book that are not handled quite as well.. But, altogether, the work satisfies
like other novels that are difficult to transfer to the screen. The actors give fine performances in " The Lost World " Lloyd Hughes, Bessie Love, Lewis Stone and Wallace Beery.

According to J. Finkielman

"First National Pictures never distributed its productions in
Argentina. After the mid 20s' Max Glücksmann distributed almost all of their films, including this one, while a few where shown under the MGM banner."

D.I.G. would like to acknowledge the help of Jorge Finkielman, a film scholar from Argentina for finding this review.