Warlords of Atlantis [DVD]

I saw this back in the summer of 1978 at the height of the Star Wars craze and wondered sadly why no action figure was in the shops, or I couldn't buy a plastic kit of the octopus attacking the Texas Rose; it was great fun to watch, and the poster was thrilling too (reproduced on the DVD cover). Now I'm an old git, I know why - even if my attention has shifted to the beautiful bone structure of Lea Brodie (who appeared in North Sea Hijack and Space 1999 but alas little else) somewhat. Yes, Doug McClure may be a clunky choice of lead, but he's more fun than anyone seems to remember and even adds a kind of glum gravity to the far-fetched proceedings when he has to. Peter Gilmore and Ashley Knight were then in nautical BBC productions - The Onedin Line and Treasure Island and a handful of great character actors spice things up.
The effects are surprisingly decent, from the aforementioned octopus attack, to a gargly swamp monster (which eats one of the Irish builders from Fawlty Towers), and a nifty diving bell. OK, so the sets are plain in comparison, and mainly consist of bits of Gozo (what a nice holiday the cast and crew must have had - they were all at it in the 70's presumably for tax reasons.) but they work.
The script and direction are what makes this picture work best. There's a tautness which is often lacking in monster films, and a knowing humour (which was already in evidence in 'At the Earth's Core' from the same team). A good bit of exciting family entertainment, which I reckon still works despite all the CGI advancements.
It's something of a cult film I believe - so it's a pity the DVD couln't have had more extras, such as the little 'making of' segment from 'Clapperboard' and a gallery of suitably garish posters. But never mind, the film is satisfying enough!

I was loaned this DVD by a friend who described it as truly awful. Now having watched "At the Earth's Core" and "The People that Time Forgot", I was happy to watch it not just for the sake of politeness. I admit I am just a big kid at heart, because I actually really enjoyed this film. It did not take itself too seriously and gave me a good laugh. The acting was pleasantly tongue in cheek, and the imaginative world that producer John Dark and director Kevin Connor create is a highly original one. No, they didn't have CGI at their disposal, but the large models were creative and good fun. There was that fantastic rubber octopus, the bizarre creature that jumped out of the mud, and those huge armour plated Ankliosaurus looking monsters. Not to mention some funny jumping fish with big gnashers. One of the actors says in a very droll moment "I've got a mortal fear of monsters". Not surprising after what he is put through.

The film itself concerns an inventor played by Doug McClure and a scientist played by Peter Gilmore, of Oneiden Line fame, who take a diving bell to the seabed where they discover the lost world of Atlantis. I won't be giving too much of the plot away in mentioning this! They are joined by most of the ships crew who are kidnapped by a large octopus who kindly drops them off in Atlantis. This begins the excuse to unleash a whole world of weird and wonderful monsters. The warlords have plans to use Gilmore's brain for sinister motives, and turn the others into something nasty. Escape does not appear to be an option, or is it? The alternative of remaining and becoming a goldfish is not an attractive option.

There are a number of funny scenes including a "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance kid" style jump into frothing water, accompanied to some startling sound effects. One character captured by the warlords, complains when given food that `it doesn't have enough salt', which gave me a chuckle. Cyd Charisse strangely appears as a lady from Atlantis. You normally associate her in dance films with Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire. Cyd has just enough screen time to show that she still has the shapely dancer's legs of old. I recall those screen legends Henry Fonda and director John Huston also oddly appearing in the film "Tentacles", about another giant octopus. The things folk do to earn a crust! Doug McClure is from the Mount Rushmore school of acting. Not so much wooden, more like Purbeck marble. But so what, he was never going to get an Oscar, but at least old Trampas does have screen presence. The film has the same sort of charm that old episodes of "Doctor Who" and "Blakes Seven" had. Innovation and imagination triumph over a poverty of resources. Surely that deserves 3.7 rounded up to 4 stars.

In 1973, British director Kevin Connor made the tidy and undervalued horror film, From Beyond the Grave with Peter Cushing. But it was the film that he made in 1975 that would signal the start of four Z grade creature features that would make him known to the discerning creature feature fan. That film was The Land That Time Forgot, where he was paired with American beefcake actor Doug McClure, and the marker that culminated with Warlords of Atlantis in 1978 was well and truly set.

Here with this, in terms of fun arguably the second best film of the four after At The Earths Core, Connor and screenplay writer Brian Hayles send McClure, Peter Gilmore and a few rough neck sailor types under the ocean, to where the lost cities of Atlantis be. All of which is a plot perfectly designed to create monster mayhem and meetings with an unknown race that speak perfect English! Into the fray comes giant octopus, various reptilian sea monsters, The Mogdaan, Zaargs and an attack by flying piranha critters. Sure the effects are up and down, even shoddy and befitting the Z grade budget, but oh what fun it is.

The cast also contains John Ratzenberger, who would go on to be a household name playing Cliff Clavin in the long running show, Cheers. Another notable name on the cast list is Cyd Charisse who earlier in her career had appeared in Singing In The Rain and Brigadoon. But it's McClure who is always the main attraction in these pictures. Obviously brought in to keep the American audience in mind, it's some what inspiring watching Dougie manfully work thru the movie as if it's a masterpiece of the genre. That none of the Connor/McClure collaborations are genre high points is irrelevant, no amount of dopey effects and string assisted creatures can detract from the fact that ridiculous can sometimes be hugely entertaining. And that is exactly what Warlords Of Atlantis is. Now, where did I put my jar of pickles ? 7/10