Reviews (2)

The Beast Within.
Acquanetta carries on as the lady with a simian alter ego. Although Cheelah the gorilla was shot dead at the end of "Captive Wild Woman," the beast within still lives. A doctor (J. Carrol Naish), driven by scientific curiosity, salvages the body and revives the primate. After the recovered Cheelah disappears from the lab, the mysterious Paula Dupree appears at the country sanitarium where the good doctor carries on his tampering in God's domain. Her human hormones lead her to obsess over a young man engaged to another woman. Death and terror rule the night as Paula suffers "ape-woman" interludes sparked by her jealous rage. Brevity is a virtue realized in the tight 61 minute running time of this movie. The plot doesn't have time to go awry. Acquanetta's understated acting consists mostly of long silent stares that emphasize her deep dark eyes. Terror lurks in the trees, passes by windows, and drapes sinister shadows across one's path. Farm animals perish brutally by night. When the beast is ascendant, birds and other woodland creatures go berserk, to the consternation of those persons alone in the woods. Much is suggested, but little is displayed. The fright make-up only appears briefly in a flashback segment and again in the final scene. Perhaps this subtle terror method was done to emulate Val Lewton, as Mr. Maltin suggests. Regardless, it probably saved production costs. This is an entertaining albeit second-string entry from Universal's fright factory. It doesn't pretend to be more. Collector's of classic horror films need this movie for their personal collection. Others should adjust their expectations accordingly. ;-)

A dull, listless horror film.
Second of the Paula, the ape woman trilogy, this film plods along. Naish plays a well-intentioned scientist who comes across as a ninny (poorly written script) Acquanetta can't act. A dull film. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Remember: Never turn a killer orangutan into a woman
Okay, so Dr. Sigmund Walters (John Carradine) steals a killer orangutan brought back from the jungle who happens to be unusually intelligent and uses gland transplants, bizarre chemical injections and plastic surgery to turn the ape into a beautiful woman he names Paula Dupree (Acquanetta, "Tarzan and the Leopard Women"). Not that there is anything wrong with that. But, of course, Paula remains a beast at heart and all it takes is one emotional trauma and she is going to go back to her primal self and go on a rampage. So jilting her was probably not a good idea, you think? This movie is just a real Leonard Pith Carnel special, I can tell you that for sure. Believe it or not, "Captive Wild Woman" (1943) is the first in the Paul Dupree Ape Woman trilogy, followed by "Jungle Woman" (1944) and "Jungle Captive" (1945). What is interesting is that not only does Acquanetta never get anything remotely close to top billing in any of these films, she is replaced by Vicki Lane in the third one. I am horrified at the thought that these movies, produced during the Second World War, were shown to our troops in Pacific, since I seem to recall that orangutans are native to that part of the globe. Oh, that would just be so wrong on so many levels.

The Eternal Savage
A curious attempt to combine a horror movie and a circus adventure flick. A sinister doctor (John Carradine) surgically transforms a female gorilla into a mysterious woman named Paula Dupree (Acquanetta). She is attracted to animal trainer Fred Mason (Milburn Stone). Due to plot developments beyond our control, the surgery wears off and Paula undergoes an "ape-woman" transformation that is typical of the trademark horror movies of Universal Studio.

This film is both too much and too little. The running time is only 61 minutes. The scriptwriters made a noble effort to combine diverse plot elements within the time constraints, but the results are mixed. The convoluted plot goes off in different directions that don't always make sense. There seems to be an inordinate amount of time showing Clyde Beatty doubling for Fred as he whips the ferocious big cats into shape. Paula's emotions eventually trigger a response that tips her delicate glandular balance over the edge. Her devolution back to a gorilla is gradual and she initially changes into a murderous ape-woman creature, enhanced by Jack Pierce's makeup. This quasi-werewolf is the best part of this little movie, but the screen time given to this aspect of the story is too little. Perhaps one metamorphosis scene was all the budget could sustain. This reviewer was left wishing for more horror movie elements and less of the "let's train the big cats" segments. The climax of the movie is rushed and abrupt, as if the director was conscious of the clock ticking. The final fade-out pontificating on the danger of not reckoning on God is disjointed from the rest of the action.

This movie is described elsewhere as "camp" entertainment. Well, perhaps. As a modest budgeted suspense flick, it's okay, but it could be better. In the hierarchy of Universal's classic horror films, this one is in the minor leagues. To insure compliance with our "oath of office," dedicated collectors of classic horror films need this movie to complete one's video library. Other viewers should adjust their expectations accordingly. ;-)

Ankers/Acquanetta Fun!
For once, I agree with Leonard Maltin. This is a fun, campy masterpiece from the early 40s. We're introduced to young starlet, Acquanetta, who doesn't speak one line of dialogue. Her trim torso does all the acting, especially when she transforms from Cheela the Ape into Paul DuPree, the Ape Woman. Evelyn Ankers is, as usual, terrific and looks great in her fur hat and fur coat during the climax when the mad doctor, John Carradine, wants Cheela to kill Ankers and her sister. Carradine is unusually good as the sensual, intense doctor. Equally as good is underrated B-Actress, Fay Helm (who played Jenny in The Wolf Man and Margaret in the spooky Night Monster). She hasn't that many lines but as usual, Helm makes them sizzle. An off-beat, eerie chiller that any Ankers and Carradine fans should have on their video shelf.

Mediocre horror film with too many stock shots
Unlike Maltin I find this film no fun. It's too mechanical and riddled with cliches. It's as though some studio executive told a script writer to frame some cock and bull story around shots of Clyde Beatty doing his animal training acts in an old movie made in the thirties ... Read more

Reviews (10)

Good Fun
I have the video version of this film. The dialogue is suprisingly well written for a low budget movie, though attitudes toward women are old fashioned. Does anyone know if the scene with Sid Melton, after he is attacked by the triceratops, is in the DVD version? It was stupidly dropped from my video version which is in otherwise excellent shape. I don't want to purchase the DVD version if that scene is still missing.

Excellent for its time (1951)
Considering the time in which this movie was made (1951) and considering the limitations on budget, actors, special effects, etc., this film is probably one of the best science fiction films per cost that has ever been made.

Above-average Image DVD of crude, enjoyable dinosaur flick
Not the greatest Sid Melton science fiction movie (that would be The Atomic Submarine), Lost Continent is still lots of cheesy fun, one of those "cross-genre" flicks that should appeal to pretty much any B-movie fan. You get SF, war movie, and jungle adventure cliches neatly combined with some of the most pitiful stop-motion dinosaurs ever. The quintessential B-cast includes Cesar Romero (TV's Joker, Week-end in Havana, Captain from Castile), John Hoyt (When Worlds Collide, Attack of the Puppet People), Whit Bissell (Teenage Werewolf & Frankenstein, Time Tunnel), Hugh Beaumont (Ward Cleaver, Michael Shayne), Chick Chandler (Music Man, Blondie), and Sid Melton (Make Room for Daddy, Green Acres), with Acquanetta (Captive Wild Woman, Tarzan & the Leopard Woman) and second-billed Hillary Brooke (Ministry of Fear, Invaders from Mars) in cameos. To the movie's credit, the plot moves at a brisk pace (except during the seemingly interminable 'climbing scenes'), Romero and Chandler execute some great flyboy banter, and the earthquake stock footage from One Million B.C. is actually pretty well integrated into the movie, particularly during the surprisingly exciting (if rather implausible) climax. The script by Richard Landau (Girl in Black Stockings, TV's Wild Wild West) and direction by veteran PRC schlockmeister Sam Newfield (Nabonga, White Pongo, Flying Serpent) are also slightly above-average for this type of thing. Unfortunately, when we eventually encounter the extremely lame stop-motion brontosaurus, pterodactyl, and triceratops (and one live lizard for laughs), any semblance of credibility generated up to that point is completely destroyed, leaving the movie dangling on the edge of "so-bad-it's-good" rather than "really-not-half-bad". Still a great Saturday-afternoon time-waster for the low-budget cinema set. Serious stop-motion fans beware.
Image upgrades their typical DVD package a bit with this release (perhaps feeling the heat from Anchor Bay?). The disc comes in the superior 'keep case' box and the main menu is animated (not that I really care that much). Twelve chapter stops, five trailers in an Easter egg, and a very good-to-excellent if rather scratchy LC trailer are the usual extras, plus you get informative Tom Weaver liner notes, and an isolated music and effects track so you can listen to Paul Dunlap's rousing score minus the wisecracks. Source print quality is generally excellent with terrific grayscale, brightness, contrast, sharpness, and detail. There is some light speckling and blemishing (some sporadic horizontal 'banding' toward the beginning of the movie), but otherwise there is no major damage. The plateau scenes are tinted green as in the original release. While I commend Image for presenting the movie in its original format, these scenes are not as easy on the eyes as the crisp B&W of the rest of the movie. The only sour note in the whole shebang is the extremely hyperbolic commentary ("beautifully crafted," "excellent production values") by Wade Williams on the box. Pity the fool who purchases based on his glowing review. Overall a step up from Image's usual offerings and as close to a definitive release as this film is likely to see. Three stars for the movie, 4 or 5 for the DVD. Cheese-lovers, go for it.

Good stop motion includes Pterodactyl!!
Surprised to see a stop motion Pterodactyl in this one. Great scenes of attacking dinosaurs killed violently by bloodletting gunfire. I found the story to be boring but the dinosaur scenes were green tinted, exciting and also greatly scored. Not sure who did the music but it was first rate!! Better than 'Unknown Island' but I still prefer 'The Land Unknown' or 'The Land That Time Forgot' for a good, cheap dino-adventure. Gee Wally, that Eddie is such a creep...

Hey! Romero did a dinomovie!
This is a typical 50's atomic era adventure/sci-fi film. Ceasar Romero leads a military expedition toa ridiculously high mountaintop to find a lost rocket. And I do mean RIDICULOUSLY high. About 1/3 of this movie is footage of them climbing the mountain. Atop the escartment, they find a green-tinted world inhabited by play-doh dinosaurs. One of the few dinomovies not to have a predatory dinosaur. An entertaining movie nonetheless. ... Read more