This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

Yes, I also saw this film at age 10--first weekend of June, 1961---and I was thrilled by the brilliant, garish look and lurid content of the film.Clearly, the script needed a significant re-write. For instance, the "Dr. Moreau" element, which provides the most gruesome and disturbing elements of the film, has little point beyond its sensationalism. It would have been far more effective if it were really integrated into the plot and if the demise of Berry Kroeger's slimy character wasn't treated as such a casual throw-away. Poor plotting.I concur with most of the other reviewers: Sal and Joyce Taylor are pretty pathetic leads, Ed "The Chief" Platt manages to maintain his dignity despite the birthday cake headgear, etc, etc, and the pathos and sincerity that Jay Novello brings to his role blows away all of the other acting combined (but John Dall isn't as over-the-top as I remembered him, thankfully).The problem with the film, IMHO, is George Pal's severe lack of effectiveness as a director. Like "Brothers Grimm" and "Dr Lao", the actors have no real sense of poise and intensity, since they seem to have received NO help at all from Pal, other than their basic blocking. As any good actor will tell you, performers NEED a good director's help to achieve their true potential, and George Pal (like Nathan Juran) just didn't have it. Why, for instance, is John Dall such a dynamic screen presence in Joseph Lewis' "Gun Crazy", while here he seems uncomfortable and contrived? When good actors are hampered by lifeless direction, a weak, cliché-ridden script, and dull, non-rhythmic editing, things tend to head downward towards the level of high-school drama club stuff.Not to diminish George Pal's tremendous sense of striking visuals and brilliant flair for bringing the fantastic to life on the screen--but he continually undercuts the potential of his own grandiose, imaginative designs. For example, the terrific shots of the giant crystal being hauled by slaves through the tree-lined forest path are so brief that they barely have time to register; why go through the trouble of building the damn thing and staging that fabulous scene if your'e going to more-or-less toss it off? Sadly, I think George Pal was his own worst enemy when he directed his films. Byron Haskin gave "War of the Worlds" style and pace; "Dr Lao", "Atlantis" and "Brothers Grimm" could have been significantly improved had Pal served as producer and called in a skilled, dynamic director who could have taken Pal's visions and given them true cinematic legitimacy, as opposed to the limp, Saturday kiddie-matinée, cartoony feel that his films now have. Too bad. And, for God's sake, guys---buy a can of spackle and cover up the surgical saw-line on the John Dall skeleton for the big disintegration scene near the end.

I can't remember the last time I saw this film. Maybe when Bob Wilkins was still doing his thing on KTXL in Sacramento? I'm not sure, really. Regardless, it's not one of Pal's better works, but it entertains. I've given some very harsh reviews as of late to stuff that's more technically sound, and those films are far more sleek than Pal's whole hearted effort to bring the mythical ancient world to a then contemporary audience.And that's the thing I like about this movie. It's genuine. Oh sure, maybe there were some rate cards given to a test screen audience or two, but Pal made a solid film regardless. The acting is wooden but passable for the time, the costumes are actually okay, though some of the scene regarding peril of the characters seem somewhat stagey and perhaps erroneous. But for all that, the film has heart.Pal's movie starts off with some propositions for the audience's inner pseudo scientist, and builds on the premise that the lost continent of Atlantis must therefore have existed. We then embark on a drama regarding a young man born on the wrong side of the tracks falling for the uptown girl.The effects are what they are, primitive and unconvincing, but palpable all the same in a 1960s kind of way. Some stock footage from Quo Vadis is incorporated to populate the lost city, so we get a sense of the grandeur of Atlantis. It's a relatively moderately budgeted film, so makeup, props, sets and the rest fit within the scheme of things.Truth be told I've rarely seen this film. In fact I've heard and read about it more than I've actually seen it. But, thanks to the good people at Warner Home Video, I was able to purchase a DVD-R version of this film, and relived some of my earlier years all over again.The other truth about this film is that it's really only meant for a certain segment of the sci-fi audience from the 60's and 50's... maybe the 70's as well.It is vintage sci-fi, so try to view it in that light. Take it for what it is and enjoy it on its own level.

Producer/director had scored in the fifties and early sixties with the Oscar-winning, special effects-laden hits "When Worlds Collide," "The War of the Worlds," and "The Time Machine." It would seem fitting that his track record would continue with "Atlantis, the Lost Continent." Unfortunately, "Atlantis" didn't do as well commercially or critically, partially due in part to the weak leads. Though both stars Anthony Hall and Joyce Taylor are "good on the eyes," they are not quite up to par in the acting department. Both seem stiff and ill at ease with their respective parts of hero and heroine.The supporting players fare better. Jon Hall, who had starred in Hitchcock's "Rope" and Kubrick's "Spartacus" gets the chew scenery as the wicked "Zaren" while the future "Chief" from "Get Smart", Edward Platt, is sincere as "Azor the High Priest" and Taylor's father.Like any Pal film, much of the "star power" is in the special effects and the aquatic submersible and death ray provide just the right touch of then-state-of-the-art technology.The storyline is weak but for fans of the genre, this is not a bad way to spend an evening's viewing and comes mildly recommended.

I remember seeing this when it was first released many years ago & when George Pal was a household name. I recently had a chance to see it again on TCM and considering the time that has elapsed, some of the special effects still look OK.Being much older I now realize the acting skills of some of the players leave a lot to be desired but all in all it is still an enjoyable film despite the "steals" from Quo Vadis & elsewhere.When I was a kid the final destruction scene gripped me and I never forgot the "laser" gun frying the bad egg on the steps and the smiling skeleton dropping down. Funny now how I now notice the saw line around the head & thinking how is it the bones survived the blast on that occasion but when Zaran was picking off the boats it was complete disintegration. One can't be too picky though he must have had real good eyesight to catch sight of the hero & damsel in the teeming crowds, smoke and flames.