THE PEOPLE THAT TIME FORGOT

UK, 1977, 90 minutes, Colour.
Patrick Wayne, Doug Mc Clure, Sarah Douglas, Dana Gillespie, Thorley Walters, Shane Rimmer, Tony Britton.
Directed by Kevin Connor.

The People That Time Forgot is based on a novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs, the author of the Tarzan stories. It is a sequel to the popular The Land That Time Forgot and has the same star, Doug Mc Clure. He is joined by Patrick Wayne. However, the rest of the cast is British.

The film is a fantasy adventure, set after World War Two, with the group setting out to explore a lost world – only for their plane to be attacked by a pterodactyl and their landing on the island where they encounter strange people, strange creatures – and many special effects.

The film is entertainingly written and performed – and the two films provide entertainment in the Edgar Rice Burroughs tradition.

1. The appeal of science fiction, science fantasy? Strange worlds within this world? Strange peoples, animals, dangers and adventure? The nature of the appeal? The quality of this presentation?

2. Edgar Rice Burroughs and his imaginative world of stories? How appealing, for what audience?

3. This film as a sequel? How much did it presuppose of the original? A continuation of the same? Similar quality?

4. The importance of the barren locations, the artificial world in its colouring and landscapes, the decor, the special effects, the otherworldliness? The strange animals and peoples?

5. The importance of the British framework? The expeditions? The English tone given? Charlie and her father financing the expedition? The contrast with the Americans especially Mc Bride and Brogan? The tongue-in-cheek aspects of international relationships?

6. The very British nature of the Navy sequences and the decisions for going in and for going out? The contrast with the bland humour of the American pilot sequences, his being left alone, dangers and rescue?

7. The importance of the theme of the quest? Mc Bride and his personality, his attachment to Charlie and their clashes, seeking out Tyler, encountering the animals, the enemy, the deceptive Nargas? Could the audience identify with the quest, the dangers and the escape?

8. The types represented especially by Tyler and Mc Bride? Conventional film heroes?

9. The importance of the landscapes and the dangers, the final explosions?

10. The portrayal of strange peoples and the contrast with human expectations?

11. The effectiveness of the monster sequences, the sacrifice of Charlie and Ajor?

12. The vitality of the battles and their effect?

13. Ajor and Charlie as contrasting women?

14. The death of Tyler and its effect on the quest?

15. The purpose of this kind of entertainment? Escapism? Some kind of insight via science and fantasy?