The People That Time Forgot (1977)

The People That Time Forgot (1977)
American International Pictures

Directed By: Kevin Connor
Written By: Edgar Rice Burroughs & Patrick Tilley

Cast:
Patrick Wayne as Ben McBride
Doug McClure as Bowen Tyler
Sarah Douglas as Charlotte Cunningham
Dana Gillespie as Ajor
Thorley Walters as Dr. Edwin Norfolk
Shane Rimmer as Hogan
Tony Britton as Capt. Lawton
John Hallam as Chung-Sha
David Prowse as Executioner
Milton Reid as Sabbala
Kiran Shah as Bolum
Richard LeParmentier as Lt. Whitby
Jimmy Ray as Lt. Graham
Tony McHale as Telegraphist

Runtime: 90 Minutes
Country: UK
Language: English
Color: Color
Sound: Mono


Review By: Ken Hulsey

The People That Time Forgot is the sequel to The Land That Time Forgot and one of several Edgar Rice Burroughs novels that were made into successive films by Kevin Conner between 1975 and 1978. The other two being the less popular At The Earth's Core (Adapted from Tarzan At The Earth's Core) and Warlords of Atlantis.

This film like it's predessessor featured both a great adventure story and excellent miniature special effect work. However I couldn't get past the fact that the story was very similar to that of the Planet of the Apes sequel Beneath the Planet of the Apes. Which brings up the question whether The People That Time Forgot was altered to be more like the "Apes" sequel? Or was Beneath the Planet of the Apes inspired by the Edgar Rice Burroughs novel? It all may be a coincidence, but there are too many similarities to get into here. Fans who have seen both films should be able to pick them out rather easily.

The film features enough dinosaurs and attractive women to have kept any 70s teen boy on the edge of his seat for the full 90 minutes. Any sci-fi buff would have been satisfied with the cool dinosaur scenes, but the "jiggle factor" didn't hurt the films appeal. Don't get me wrong. The film has a lot more to offer then "eye candy", but if you could keep your eyes off Dana Gillespie (Ajor) for more than a minute you would be a stronger man than me.

The heroines of the film are not just for show. The are both strong and sexy at the same time. In fact probably stronger and smarter than the male characters. Attributes many female fans may find very liberating in a 1970s film aimed at a male audience.


The story starts off shortly after the events of The Land That Time Forgot. The message that Bowen Tyler cast into the see has been discovered and has made it into the hands of his comrad Ben McBride who has assembled a team to search for the fabled island of Caprona.

The team follows Tyler's instructions and Caprona is located. A small group consisting of McBride, Lady Charlotte Cunningham (Who's father fronted the money for the expedition), Dr. Edwin Norfolk (A paleontologist) and Hogan (Pilot) take flight aboard a seaplane in hopes of flying over the islands mountain peaks in an attempt to find Tyler's prehistoric oasis. Their flight however is interrupted by a menacing Terradactyl who buzzes the plane several times before crashing into the propeller breaking it into several pieces. The team is forced to land on a very rocky hilltop.

No worse for ware the group decides to press on with the search for Tyler while Hogan remained behind to fix the plane. Their trek through jungles of Caprona produce several hair raising dinosaur encounters and one English speaking cave women, Ajor, who befriended Tyler before he was captured by an advanced race known as "The Skulls".

The Skulls, who are clad in Samurai armor, capture the group and take the women to be used as a sacrifice for the Volcano God. Through some trickery and handy sword fighting the men manage to find Tyler, rescue the women and escape the monster filled catacombs.

The Volcano God becomes angry that it did not receive it's sacrifice and begins to destroy the island with explosions and fountains of molten rock.

In the ensuing chase Tyler is killed by the Skulls who intern fall victim to the river of lava. The rest of the group, however, manages to get to the already repaired plane just in time to escape the destruction and return safely to the ship.

Trivia:

1. Frank Frazetta artwork was used to decorate the temple walls.

2. The film shares some amazing things in common with the movie Star Wars, which was also released in 1977. Lady Charlotte has the same "cinnamon bun on the sides" hair style that Princess Leia made famous. Also the films share two of the same actors. Richard LeParmentier played General Motti (the general Darth Vader uses the force to choke.) and David Prowse played Darth Vader. The fact that both actors were in the same scene in Star Wars was an even bigger coincidence, but The People That Time Forgot was a UK production and both actors were Brits.