At The Earth\u2019s Core<\/i><\/b><\/a>\u2019s Dia the Beautiful would make an appearance in Caprona for the first time. Ajor, played by folk singer-turned-actor Dana Gillespie, suffered an even skimpier outfit than her predecessor, indicating that while some of the titular peoples of Caprona struggled with fire and basic tools, the development of double-sided tape had reached an advanced state. Gillespie had already appeared in a \u2018lost world\u2019 movie, Hammer\u2019s The Lost Continent<\/i><\/b> (UK, Michael Carreras, 1968), so was in familiar territory.<\/p><\/p>
Susan Penhaligon would sadly not be returning, for reasons that were never explained. Penhaligon was simply not invited to return, unlike McClure, although it\u2019s clear that female roles throughout Amicus\u2019 adventure films developed away from Penhaligon\u2019s somewhat nuanced and realistic Lisa Clayton towards more colourful and stereotypical genre characters. The People That Time Forgot<\/i><\/b> would, however, have a dual female lead. In addition to Ajor, the character of Charly (properly Lady Charlotte) would be part of the rescue crew. An aristocratic journalist accompanying McBride and company at the behest of the expedition\u2019s funder, Charly was played by Sarah Douglas, who would soon be far better known through playing the villain Ursa in two Superman films. Charly is a reasonably strong character, an independent-minded and confident woman who can think for herself and is often ahead of the men in working out what\u2019s going on. Although hardly the most original character, she acts as something as a counterpoint to Ajor and arguably helped pave the way for characters like Marion Ravenwood, Eve Tozer and even Lara Croft.<\/p>
Two further members of the rescue party were played by Shane Rimmer (best known as the voice of Scott Tracy in Thunderbirds<\/i><\/b> (UK, Gerry Anderson, 1965-66), as mechanic Hogan, and Hammer stalwart Thorley Walters, playing standard-issue retired-Major-cum-palaeontologist, Norfolk.<\/p>
Special effects would once again be overseen by Ian Wingrove, returning from At The Earth\u2019s Core<\/i><\/b>. The monster work would be similar to that of the previous film, with mostly smaller, quadrupedal dinosaurs operated by stuntpeople and the possibility of interacting directly with the cast. In truth, there\u2019s somewhat less monster work than in the preceding two films \u2013 the real monsters are (mostly) human. There would be a couple of lengthy effects sequences involving miniatures, and also a full-scale replica of the Vickers Viking amphibian, for Wingrove to get his hands dirty with.<\/p>
Principal photography began on 24 January 1977. The increase in budget was such that location shooting took place in the Canary Islands, which was certainly a step up from the disused clay pit outside Reading where The Land That Time Forgot<\/i><\/b>\u2019s exteriors had been shot. Connor and his director of Photography Alan Hume made the most of the opportunity and the unique volcanic landscape is seen to advantage \u2013 though it lacks a little of the charm of the earlier film\u2019s reliance on miniature sets and matte painting.<\/p>
After four weeks of filming around Santa Cruz de la Palma, the production returned to Pinewood. Additional filming took place in the Bavarian Alps and around Loch A’an in Scotland \u2013 mostly aerial footage for the early sequences when the search party flies into the north of Caprona. This footage was hard won, as the helicopter crashed, injuring cameraman Peter Allwork and losing everything filmed up to that point.<\/p>
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Unlike The Land That Time Forgot<\/i><\/b>, which begins with a solid half-hour of straight war film, The People That Time Forgot<\/i><\/b> quickly launches into fantasy action. Soon after taking off and crossing Caprona\u2019s formidable barrier of cliffs, the rescue party\u2019s aircraft is attacked by a huge pterosaur, and a dogfight between monster and machine ensues. The pterosaur, it must be said, is significantly better executed than the first film\u2019s flying reptiles, which were entirely rigid with the exception of a hinged lower beak. This one does at least move its wings and head. A contretemps between the reptile\u2019s beak and the aircraft\u2019s propeller sees both tumbling to earth, and thereafter the story is not just about finding Tyler but escaping Caprona.<\/p>
Hogan remains to repair the aircraft while the rest proceed into the interior to find Tyler. Early on they meet Ajor (speaking English, having been taught by Tyler) who helps guide them to where Tyler is being held captive.<\/p>
Predictably, they have run-ins with dinosaurs and primitive peoples which really serve only as obstacles to overcome before the final confrontation with Tyler\u2019s captors, the sinister \u2018Nagas\u2019. In Burroughs\u2019 Caprona, all stages of evolution exist at once, and rather than species evolving across multiple generations, each organism eventually physically develops into the next stage, with those who survive long enough becoming hominids, then early humans, and eventually modern humans.<\/p>
At the midpoint, the film shifts rather dramatically away from the dinosaur-caveman epic when the Nagas make their first appearance. These are a mask-wearing (and as it turns out, deformed), Samurai-like cult who worship Nagramata, the island\u2019s volcano god from their \u2018mountain of skulls\u2019, a matte-painting realised temple carved into the form of vast human crania.<\/p>
This part of the story is loosely based on Out Of Time\u2019s Abyss<\/i>, with the Nagas taking the place of the book\u2019s winged \u2018Wieroo\u2019 who steal potentially fertile women to breed with. The Nagas, however, simply sacrifice their kidnapped maidens by throwing them into a volcano. Naturally, Ajor and Charly are considered prime subjects for this kind of deity appeasement, and the reunion with Tyler is complicated by the need to cheat David Prowse\u2019s burly executioner of his prizes.<\/p>
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The volcano is given something of a character of its own, in another departure from the book, with Tyler convinced that it is sentient and bent on preventing anyone from leaving, which ties into the first film\u2019s climax. With that in mind, the departure from Caprona seems disappointingly straightforward, though it is perhaps not too much of a spoiler to reveal that not everyone makes it out.<\/p>
Amicus itself would not survive Caprona either. The stuttering company wound up prior to The People That Time Forgot<\/i><\/b>\u2019s release, so the film was credited to American International Pictures, an arm of MGM, which had distributed the earlier films in the US. Possibly as a result the last Amicus adventure would be the only one whose soundtrack (by John Scott) was released \u2013 though of the four Connor-helmed, McClure-starring adventures, its score, while strong, is arguably the least memorable.<\/p>
The formula had proved a success, however, and the team that made the three Burroughs adaptations for Amicus would reassemble under EMI Films to make Warlords of Atlantis<\/i>, which is in every way apart from the studio a partner to the three earlier films. In many respects it was the best of the four, with a $2 million budget and many former cast and crew returning having learned plenty of lessons over the earlier films \u2013 Roger Dicken returned with some excellent creatures, Mike Vickers\u2019 thundering score was highly memorable, and Connor directed at a furious pace. By the late 70s, however, the Hollywood blockbuster had moved on light years. Jaws<\/i><\/b> (US, Steven Spielberg, 1975) and Star Wars<\/i><\/b> (US, George Lucas, 1977) had upped the game beyond what a hard-working British studio with a million or two dollars of US money could reasonably compete with. Ironically, many of the technical crew who honed their craft on the Amicus adventures would go on to play important roles in the groundbreaking blockbusters of the 80s and 90s.<\/p>
Considering that, Milton Subotsky\u2019s ambition to launch a series of effects-heavy adventures based on classic stories is to be applauded. The boost they gave to the careers of effects, design and photography crew is incalculable while the excitement and wonder of thousands of kids (and not a few adults) in the late 70s and 80s is beyond price.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t