I was too young to see 'The Land That Time Forgot' when it originally premiered in the cinemas in 1975 but I saw it several times growing up and loved it. It had everything that a young boy/teenager wanted in a fantasy movie - gargantuan monsters, pre-historic tribes, active volcanoes, punch ups and a sense of wonder and amazement.
Putting aside the rubbery monsters and glaring plot holes, ''The Land That Time Forgot' is an enjoyable romp that keeps your attention from start to finish. It takes you on a thrilling ride of danger and excitement with a potent sense of fantasy. The film doesn't overstay its welcome at a running time of 91 minutes and at no point loses it's way. It also takes some time to develop some semblance of a story before arriving at Caprona, the land that time forgot, whereas other movies would have got you there as quickly as possible. This helps to add just a little extra anticipation.
Many of the characters are there to add to the bodycount, which is high, but some of the leading characters add a little more depth. Doug McClure's hardman Bowen Tyler shows surprising pathos in one of the film's later scenes whilst John McEnery's Captain Von Schoenwarts inverts the usual German stereotype to play a fair minded man with an interest in the origins and development of life. Considering this is a British made film with an almost entirely British cast (the exception being American Doug McClure), made thirty years after WW2 ended (this is set during WW1 though), there are surprisingly good sentiments towards the Germans, although there is still room for Anthony Ainley's duplicitous Dietz to give us someone to be wary of other than the monsters and pre-historic tribes.
The film's unusual ending also gives the audience a welcome change from the banal endings that usually conclude most movies and it allows that childlike sense of wonder and amazement to stay awake a whole lot longer.
