Dark tower reference
Heh, this movie is referenced in the dark tower VII. Thats it, thats the post.
shareLOL!
"Thats it, thats the post."
The best line I think I've ever read on here!
MovieChat Forums > Lost Continent (1951) Discussion > Dark tower reference
Just the facts mam as Jack Webb used to say!!!
shareHaha it's awesome that you made this thread, because that is literally why I'm here right now. I think Jake Chambers and Greta Shaw were probably two of about ten people who have ever seen this.
shareTen people??? This movie was shown all the time on local TV channels in the sixites and seventies!!!
shareReally? That's actually pretty cool, I'm sorry I didn't know that. I've only been on Earth since 1990, so I'm assuming you've seen it?
shareMany times. This was one the first sci fi movies I saw on television. It used to be shown in the early and mid sixties on WWOR-TV (actually it was just WOR TV then) in New York on a show called "Super Adventure Theater" hosted by Claude Kirchner. Then it was shown in the seventies along with a lot of Lippert films from the fifites like SPACEWAYS, PAID TO KILL and ROCKETSHIP XM on the late late show (WCBS TV) in the seventies. Then it turned up a lot late at night on the defunct cable channel CBN in the eighties which is where I first saw it again as an adult. When CBN showed it they edited out all the scences with Hillary Brooke to make it fit into a tight time slot. Incidently all the TV prints were 16mm prints entirely in Black and White, so TV viewers never got to see films with the tinted scences. Many black and white films with tinted scences or color sequences were always shown in total black and white. Although no else I know seems to remember, I do recall seeing DAY THE EARTH CAUGHT FIRE on WWOR TV in seventies or early eighties with the yellow tinting as was shown in 1962 in the theaters and an old silent film on PBS (its title escapes me) with tinted scences as well. I wish TMC would show NIGHTMARE ALLEY one of my favorite movies that was shot in black and white and included a tinted sequence. Many books that mention that film say the tinting was used to very good effect.
shareFritz Lang's "The Spiders" (1919 & 1920).
shareWas THE SPIDERS shown on PBS with tinting? Anyway it doesn't really matter since I remember nothing about the film except the tinting. I was probably flipping through the channels and the tinting caught my eye.
shareUntil my brother kindly sent me a copy of Fritz Lang's "The Spiders" I never knew of it. It has been a while since I've seen it -- it is a tad bit too long and slow between any real action -- but I remember the tinting and thought that maybe you could validate my memory of it. There is not reference to such a process on the IMDb listings but even that could not dissaude me. I'll have to watch it again and speed through it. I'll get back to you.
In a manner of speaking Sid Pink's "Angry Red Planet" was also tinted whenever the the Mars expedition party was outside of the spaceship, although I think there was some sort of film laboratory processing error involved. And wasn't "Rocketship X-M" also in Black & White with tinted sequences? Or was that only the Wade Williams version?
Wow -- I have a lot of homework to do!
Rocketship X-M : "When the film was originally released theatrically in 1950, the sequences on Mars were tinted red so as to impart a sense of the alien Red Planet into the black-and-white film. But subsequent TV prints did not reproduce this effect, and for decades the Martian scenes were shown only in black-and-white until the red tint was restored for home video in the early 1980s." (from IMDb Trivia page)
Angry Red Planet: "The scenes that take place on Earth or inside the ship were filmed in full color. All “outdoor” footage was shot in black and white, solarized, and tinted red or blue, depending on whether the scene takes place by day or night." (from www.1000misspenthours.com)
Fritz Lang's "The Spiders" is tinted from scene to scene for effect, but to answer the question "Was it shown on PBS?" I must say I do not know. Forgive my presumption.
Doing a little research on films that were tinted brought to light another title I was not familiar with: "Horror Of The Blood Monsters" (1970) which has an interesting back story. "The Filippino film "Tagani" which forms the basis of Adamson's film ("Horror Of The Blood Monsters") was made in black and white. As drive-ins at the time were clamoring for color features, the black and white footage was tinted using a process which was hyped as Spectrum X." (IMDb Trivia Page)
And apparently Willis O'Brien's "Mighty Joe Young" had some tint in the final reel and that was news to me.
In "Mighty Joe Young" (original), there is a red tint during the fire scene in which Joe and the others help rescue children from an orphanage(?). Forgive me for not being certain, as I haven't seen the film for a number of years. However, I do recall the tint, which is rather surprising since it's the sole usage.
I really need to watch it again! And, I'd love to see "Lost Continent", which I likely saw on TV waaaaay back in the days when the few channels there were had to find stuff with which to fill up their allotted time. Those were the days of test patterns (the Indian head~well~um~Native American to be PC), lots of snow, rabbit ears, and scarcely knowing when programs would air since "TV Guide" wasn't around till into the Sixties.
~~MystMoonstruck~~
Those days that you describe were fun days. TV watching was an "event". If you missed a show or a movie -- you missed it! Then you could only stand around and ask questions while your friends talked about it on the shcool yard the next day.
I haven't seen Mighty Joe Young(1949) in ages. I never saw the tinted scene you spoke of as we had a B&W Motorola back then. It wasn't until years later that I even found out that some movies I had grown to love were, in fact, color productions!
Oh, we never knew about the tinting in "MJY"! We didn't have a color TV till at least 1969 as I recall. In my original hometown, in those early days, we did try putting that three-strip cellophane on the screen. Remember those? They were supposed to suggest color. I think it was green on the bottom, yellowish in the middle and blue on top. Of course, that wasn't much help on indoor scenes and not much good any other time! *giggle* I remember operating a rotor, which would adjust the antenna on the roof then waggling the "rabbit ears" to bring in the signal even more.
They used to show movies many times during a week, everything from "King Kong" (1933) to "Donovan's Brain", from "The Giant Behemoth" to the somewhat similar "The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms". Unfortunately, they didn't haul out movies from the Thirties and Forties till into the Sixties, when more and more stations went on the air and especially when cable became available. I was in my teens when we were told about the next step in TV: "pay cable". I was a bit upset because I envisioned having to insert coins to watch a show. You see, while my father was undergoing training up north, we went to visit him, staying in a hotel where there was a coin-operated television. So, that's how I envisioned pay cable, which opened up a world of wonders to film buffs such as my father and me. Then came HBO! *gasp*
So, no, I didn't know about the tint, which was a big surprise to me when I finally saw that segment as it should be viewed.
How well I recall every made-for-TV movie being a big event, just as you said. If you missed a TV movie or a series episode then the rerun, it was devastating! Syndication was a long way off, as were VCRs. We could not imagine that someday just about any movie and TV series might be made available.
Who knows? Maybe someday TCM or another channel will air "Lost Continent", which was released the year I was born, the year sci fi made its big comeback with "The Day the Earth Stood Still", "When Worlds Collide", and "The Thing from Another World".
~~MystMoonstruck~~
I know this is off the subject -- my apologies to the original Poster -- but your recolletions are a hoot.
I, too, was apalled at the idea of "Pay TV" when I was about 8 years old. I asked my brother, who was a couple of years older, how it would work and he said he didn't know and he suggested that they might have a device added to the television set like those metal boxes on the sides of washing machines at the washateria. I was incensed!
Well, for all the silly trouble that TV was in those days, it was fun. I think somehting is lost in the ability to dial up any movie or TV show to view whenever you want to watch it.
People used to listen to orchestras and enjoy dance music and serendipity ruled and you were able to say, "They're playing our song!" And it was such a big deal. Later, the same excitment would come, when, late at night, listneing to the transistor radio pressed up to your ear at a low volume so the folks wouldn't hear, and the disc jockey would play your favorite song!
Yes, yes. I'm a coot.
I'm definitely an old coot, probably older than you are, so my cootishness might be more advanced.
I still have several stereos/record players and all of my albums and 45s. I still have at least one workable 8-track. I don't have a cellphone or any other tiny, expensive item, especially anything with which someone could contact me at any time. The telephone is bad enough.
I agree about people having everything readily available to them. It does take the specialness away. I answer questions at Yahoo!Answers Movies and am stunned that peopl have to ask identification for movies they saw very recently. Seeing one has no meaning or importance to them. They don't treasure what they're seeing. Back when I was in junior high, our school and the local movie theater offered an opportunity to buy a booklet of tickets to matinees all summer. They were so affordable that practically everyone was able to participate. I can remember so many of those movies vividly after all of these years. It was such a treat to do that for two summers. I saw so many now-obscure movies.
Now, we're inundated in movies. I still love them, and it's wonderful getting to see old favorites. However, as you say, if you grow up with them being available with no effort, there's no treat to it. I agree about the songs, too. I still listen to "golden oldies" stations, and it's such a kick when they play a song I haven't heard for many years. If I have them on hand all of the time, when would I squeal with delight and turn up the volume?! *giggle*
BTW: It's nice to hear that I wasn't alone in my concept of pay TV! We were so used to laundromats, vending machines, etc., that it's not wonder we pictured TVs the same way. I was worried that my very limited allowance wasn't going to buy me enough time to watch my favorites.
~~MystMoonstruck~~
You send 'em to school, you buy 'em books and what do you get? Ah, well, who listens...