I love this sort of movie, but in good conscience cannot give a it a score much higher than 3 because it really is a BAD movie. Enjoyable, yes...but also bad in many ways.
The film begins with a bazillion feet of often grainy stock footage of Antarctica--so much so that I swear that the movie would be 15 minutes shorter without it. A helicopter is dispatched from the military on some expedition. On the way, it develops engine trouble and is forced down--into a WARM region of Antarctica where dinosaurs rule!!! Yes, it's very like the stories by Jules Verne, "The Mysterious Island" or "Journey to the Center of the Earth". But set in the region surrounding the South Pole, this is definitely far-fetched. Believe it or not, the idea was inspired by a flight in 1947 by Admiral Byrd over the Antarctic in which a relatively warmer region (due, I supposed to geothermal activity) was discovered. The press reported (inaccurately) that Byrd had found an area with "land areas consisting of mountains, forests, green vegetation, lakes and rivers, and in the underbrush saw a strange animal resembling the mammoth"!
Given that it's the 1950s, what does a group of military men need in such a situation? Yep, you've guessed it--a hot babe who seems to have an amazing wardrobe. One minute, she's dressed for the Antarctic, the next she's wearing shorts and a skimpy blouse (where did she get these considering she was just along for a helicopter ride?!?!). She also, in true 1950s form, appeared to be narcoleptic, as she fainted on three occasions!! That's a lot even for a horror/sci-fi film! In this odd region, there are tyrannosaurs, pterodactyls and other primordial creatures--all bent on eating the four stranded travelers. Also, rather unexpectedly, they stumble upon another man here--a crazy Dr. Hunter who seems far less a man of science and more a really, really horny guy who is constantly trying to kidnap the lady.
With silly dinosaurs (sometimes consisting of a man in a rubber suit), monitor lizards and crazy sets, the whole thing is very silly but high on kitsch value. The cheesy dialog adds to the fun atmosphere of the film, but don't think that it's a good film. There are just too many silly clichés, costumes and a plot that makes you chuckle just thinking about it!
The film begins with a bazillion feet of often grainy stock footage of Antarctica--so much so that I swear that the movie would be 15 minutes shorter without it. A helicopter is dispatched from the military on some expedition. On the way, it develops engine trouble and is forced down--into a WARM region of Antarctica where dinosaurs rule!!! Yes, it's very like the stories by Jules Verne, "The Mysterious Island" or "Journey to the Center of the Earth". But set in the region surrounding the South Pole, this is definitely far-fetched. Believe it or not, the idea was inspired by a flight in 1947 by Admiral Byrd over the Antarctic in which a relatively warmer region (due, I supposed to geothermal activity) was discovered. The press reported (inaccurately) that Byrd had found an area with "land areas consisting of mountains, forests, green vegetation, lakes and rivers, and in the underbrush saw a strange animal resembling the mammoth"!
Given that it's the 1950s, what does a group of military men need in such a situation? Yep, you've guessed it--a hot babe who seems to have an amazing wardrobe. One minute, she's dressed for the Antarctic, the next she's wearing shorts and a skimpy blouse (where did she get these considering she was just along for a helicopter ride?!?!). She also, in true 1950s form, appeared to be narcoleptic, as she fainted on three occasions!! That's a lot even for a horror/sci-fi film! In this odd region, there are tyrannosaurs, pterodactyls and other primordial creatures--all bent on eating the four stranded travelers. Also, rather unexpectedly, they stumble upon another man here--a crazy Dr. Hunter who seems far less a man of science and more a really, really horny guy who is constantly trying to kidnap the lady.
With silly dinosaurs (sometimes consisting of a man in a rubber suit), monitor lizards and crazy sets, the whole thing is very silly but high on kitsch value. The cheesy dialog adds to the fun atmosphere of the film, but don't think that it's a good film. There are just too many silly clichés, costumes and a plot that makes you chuckle just thinking about it!