The People That Time Forgot is a 1977 British fantasy/adventure monster film based on the novel The People That Time Forgot and Out of Time’s Abyss by Edgar Rice Burroughs. It was produced by Amicus Productions and directed by Kevin Connor (Motel Hell). Like Connor’s other two Burroughs-derived films, The Land That Time Forgot and At the Earth’s Core, the film was distributed in the United States by American International Pictures (AIP). It stars Patrick Wayne and Doug McClure (Humanoids from the Deep, The House Where Evil Dwells).
Plot teaser:
Major Ben McBride (Wayne) organises a mission to the Antarctic wastes to search for his friend Bowen Tyler (McClure) who has been missing for several years. A British naval survey ship takes McBride’s party: the paleontologist Norfolk (Thorley Walters), gunner Hogan (Shane Rimmer, Warlords of Atlantis) and photographer Lady Charlotte ‘Charlie’ Cunningham (Sarah Douglas) fly to Caprona in an amphibious aircraft, but are attacked by a pterodactyl and forced down.
They find themselves in a world populated by primitive warriors and terrifying prehistoric creatures, all of whom they must evade in order to get back safely to their ship. They meet a cave-girl, Ajor (Dana Gillespie), who leads them to the land of a race of samurai-like warriors called the Nargas…
Reviews:
As with the other AIP-Burroughs flicks, the budget just wasn’t there for state of the art effects or production design. The monsters are all unconvincing puppets with the exception of the pterodactyl, which comes off rather well despite barely ever flapping its wings. (It’s very adept at riding those Capronan air currents, apparently.) Model work is spotty, too; shots involving miniatures of the airplane range from very good to laughable. But location filming in the Canary Islands helps a great deal, providing a suitably primeval looking world for the characters to explore. (Thus People isn’t hamstrung by cheesy interior sets like At the Earth’s Core.) And the cast is game, not just going through the motions.” Brian Lindsey, Eccentric Cinema
” … sports a fine cast and well drawn characters that help enliven the action. There are less monsters on display here which should be a given considering the title. One of the creatures is borrowed from At the Earth’s Core (1976). Most of them are trotted out during the conclusion as the heroes are being “chased” by the volcano.” Cool Ass Cinema
“The effects are still more endearing than actually special but that’s a big part of the charm and a reason why these movies still have their fans. The script by Patrick Tilley is exactly what it should be and the direction from Kevin Connor keeps everything moving along nicely in between moments that put the main characters in peril or take time to show one of the many stop-motion creatures. This is no SFX extravaganza, but I sat there with a big smile on my face while watching a bunch of people try to use a dinosaur to tow an aircraft along the ground…” Kevin Matthews, FlickFeast
” … duplicates the damning structural flaw that so damaged its predecessor— putting the exciting part of the movie first, and ending with the dull part. It still comes out very slightly ahead of The Land that Time Forgot, in that the changeover from excitement to boredom happens significantly later in the film, but it still isn’t anywhere near as good as its best moments suggest it could have been.” 1000 Misspent Hours and Counting
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