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Topic: The Doug McClure/American International "B" Movie classics!
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Osi Osgood
Film God
Posts: 10204
From: Mountian Home, ID.
Registered: Jul 2005
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posted February 07, 2013 02:07 PM
The mid to late 70's were a golden time for kids! The advent of hi-tech special effects were upon us, and they most certainly wowed us ...
... but there was a lesser known company that has been around for years, a low budget company, that was more than content to release films with old fashioned but not always subpar special effects and they made four of these "B" movie beauties, all of them starring the matinee idol, Doug McClure!
Doug McClure was an action star that started out in films in the fifties, (he passed on in the early to mid 90's) but for the longest time, maintained a young athletic look, and he still had it when he starred in these four films, one after another for American International pictures ...
The Land That TIme Forgot At the Earth's Core The People that Time Forgot Warlords of Atlantis
We super 8 collectors are most fortunate that we can own all four films on Super 8! Two of the three in complete feature form, (the Land That Time Forgot, The People that Time Forgot, both Optical super 8 features), One in a slightly abridged form, (Warlords of Atlantis, 4X400ft Ivers print, only missing approx 15 to 20 minutes and that's just subplot, but you get all the monsters!) and one short digest of 16 minutes, (At the Earth's Core).
American International pictures wasn't trying to fool anybody. Though these films were not comedies, they didn't expect film goers to take them too seriously. They were made to be just what they turned out to be, Popcorn dreams!
The first was "The Land That Time Forgot". This film is one of the best of the four. the first thirty minutes alone are a rollicking U boat story, where both Germans and Englishmen co-exist most uncomfortably on the same boat. They are put off course purposefully by the Germans and end up lost, finding the lost continent of Caprona by accident, where almost all forms of primitive life still exists, both Dinosaur and Caveman. Long story short, Doug and his "girlfriend" get marooned there, which leads to the sequel ...
"The People That Time Forgot" (the third in the series of four A.I. films), in which another matinee idol of the 70's co-starred, Patrick Wayne, (also known for other "B" movie classics, such as "Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger"), though Doug only appears in approximately 20 minutes of it. This film didn't have as good of Dinosaur special effects, ("Land" felt better, However, some of the ariel battle between a Pytridactal and they're amphibious plane are good), but some of the film worked quite well and still, it was popcorn fun!
The next film was perhaps the worst, though having a great cast, "At The Earth's Core". The main fault of this film was that the creatures looked obviously like guys in rubber suits, which didn't help much, as well as a color scheme straight out of the 60's (it was the last 70's for pete's sake), however, it did have Peter Cushing, uttering that classic line, "You can't mezmerize me ... I'm British!" (and he is instantly mezmerized!). It also had another star of the "B" movies in it, along with Doug McClure, and that was Caroline Munro!
The last in the series is arguably the best, alongside 'Land" and that's 'Warlords of Atlantis". One of it's big plus's is that the creatures are much better realized. Gone are the guys in obvious rubber suits. In fact, the creatures that storm one of the Atlantean fortresses are downright awesome and are unlike any creatures seen, then or since. The two giant Octopus attacks are also very well done and quite believeable. The only downside to this film was the machine used to probe one of the scientists mind which shows us visibly, mere stock footage of disasters from the past.
One of the wonderful things about all four of these films is that they were pretty much the last of thier kind. By the 1980's, nearly every "B" movie would resort to lots of nudity and excessive gore and profanities in Lieu of good writing or storytelling. While "People" does curiously have some profanity in it, these films are old fashioned storytelling which, while mocked today, are refreshing as well. You don't have to worry about your children catching a lot of words you don't want to have to explain, or having to explain why some alien is devouring and sexing up some naked girl on screen.
In the case of the super 8 optical features, they are Gems, most notably "People", in that, it has multiple formats in one print, going from full frame to letterbox on and off, which you almost never get on DVD or otherwise. The Ivers print of "Warlords of Atlantis" is a nice theatrical letterbox and since it is so sharp, the letterbox does not distract in the slightest. "Core" was only offered in a 200ft and a 400ft digest format but, as I stated earlier, it was the weakest of the four and so one doesn't mind too much. (By the way, both "People" and "Land" were also offered in both 200ft and 400ft editions) All the film are in mono sound, but they were released that way.
So there you have it. Thank you Doug McClure and thank you American International pictures for these fun wonderful memories!
Long Live Super 8!
-------------------- "All these moments will be lost in time, just like ... tears, in the rain. "
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Hugh Thompson Scott
Film God
Posts: 3063
From: Gt. Clifton,Cumbria,England
Registered: Jan 2012
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posted February 08, 2013 02:34 PM
Doug McClure was one of the greats, a very ruggedly handsome man who first came to my attention as Trampas in TVs "The Virginian", any episodes that had McClure in were worth watching. His roles in the Amicus fantasies were made for him, I think he would have made a great "John Carter of Mars".My favourites are his "Land That Time Forgot" & "Warlords of Atlantis". Sadly I've just learned of the death of his co star Peter Gilmore, who was also known for TVs "Onedin Line". Peter was born in Leipzig, Germany, but came to Middlesbrough,England when he was six years old. He also had roles in the Carry ons and Dr Who he was 81 years old.R.I.P. Peter.
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