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Unknown Island

  • 1948
  • Approved
  • 1h 15m
IMDb RATING
5.0/10
849
YOUR RATING
Unknown Island (1948)
Dinosaur AdventureKaijuAdventureHorrorRomanceSci-Fi

An adventure seeker and his fiancée visit an uncharted island, only to find that it is inhabited by deadly dinosaurs and other creatures ready to attack.An adventure seeker and his fiancée visit an uncharted island, only to find that it is inhabited by deadly dinosaurs and other creatures ready to attack.An adventure seeker and his fiancée visit an uncharted island, only to find that it is inhabited by deadly dinosaurs and other creatures ready to attack.

  • Director
    • Jack Bernhard
  • Writers
    • Robert T. Shannon
    • Jack Harvey
  • Stars
    • Virginia Grey
    • Phillip Reed
    • Richard Denning
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    5.0/10
    849
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Jack Bernhard
    • Writers
      • Robert T. Shannon
      • Jack Harvey
    • Stars
      • Virginia Grey
      • Phillip Reed
      • Richard Denning
    • 43User reviews
    • 21Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Photos13

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    Top cast10

    Edit
    Virginia Grey
    Virginia Grey
    • Carole Lane
    Phillip Reed
    Phillip Reed
    • Ted Osborne
    • (as Philip Reed)
    Richard Denning
    Richard Denning
    • John Fairbanks
    Barton MacLane
    Barton MacLane
    • Capt. Tarnowski
    Dick Wessel
    Dick Wessel
    • Sanderson - 1st Mate
    • (as Richard Wessel)
    Dan White
    Dan White
    • Edwards - Crewman Edwards
    • (as Daniel White)
    Phil Nazir
    • Golab - Crewman
    • (as Philip Nazir)
    Ray Corrigan
    Ray Corrigan
    • Gorilla
    • (uncredited)
    'Snub' Pollard
    'Snub' Pollard
    • 'Dive' Patron Pointing Out Tarnowski
    • (uncredited)
    Harry Wilson
    Harry Wilson
    • Barfly
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Jack Bernhard
    • Writers
      • Robert T. Shannon
      • Jack Harvey
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews43

    5.0849
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    Featured reviews

    artzau

    Kinda Scary!

    Given the slick computer assisted graphics seen in Jurassic Park and the like, the sight of wobbly dinosaurs and a gorilla-like giant sloth will likely provoke more laughter than anxiety this days. But, the monsters gave me bad dreams for months-- nay, years!! after seeing this movie. A classic adventure tale of a lost island that has perserved a haven for dinosaurs. Pretty amazing stuff...for a kid in 1948.
    4planktonrules

    Interesting story with super-lame dinosaurs.

    "Unknown Island" is a horror/fantasy film made in Cinecolor. I mention this because Cinecolor is not a true color process but one made up of two colors instead of the three colors in Technicolor. The colors were much more garish and intense than Technicolor and over time, the films tended to look very orangy-red and greenish-blue....and many colors in the spectrum simply weren't present at all (such as yellows and purples). So why did folks use this inferior two-color process? Price! It was cheap to buy...about the same price as black & white film....whereas Technicolor was very expensive by comparison. I mention this because you might wonder why "Unknown Island" looks the way it does.

    The story begins in Singapore. A young couple (Phillip Reed and Virginia Grey) approach Captain Tarnowski (Barton MacLane) with a strange proposition. They want to hire him and his boat to take them to an island which supposedly has living dinosaurs!! Apparently, Ted (Reed) saw dinosaurs when he flew over the island during the war...and now he wants to return to capitalize on this. Naturally, bad things are gonna happen, as the story is quite similar to "King Kong"...and you know it's best they leave these creatures alone!

    So is it any good? Well, yes and no. The actors are quite good and the moments when they aren't encountering dinosaurs are also good. But the dinosaurs themselves are pretty limp. Many look like plastic dinosaurs and others are folks wearing clumsy dinosaur costumes...and they all look pretty bad. With a bigger budget might have come better looking creatures. Because of this, while the movie is worth seeing, the film is uneven and the dinosaurs pretty lame.

    By the way, early in the film a sailor points out Tarnowski for the couple. That sailor is played by Snub Pollard, a gifted silent comedian whose career changed dramatically when the sound era arrived. Now in the talkies, he was no longer a star or co-star but made a career out of playing various bit parts...possibly because he was an Aussie and perhaps his accent stood in his way...though when he spoke, I never noticed his accent being all that strong.
    5Space_Mafune

    OK Entertainment

    No this is no masterpiece, it isn't even all that good really. But it is entertaining enough to occupy 72 minutes of your time if you have some time to waste. The acting is fine and the special FX have a certain surprising charm except for the disappointing giant sloth. I enjoyed the romantic interest undertone of the film centering around Carole Lane(Virginia Grey) and the three men who desire her. All in all, this is a fun time waster.
    daba9615

    Great fun for fans of jungle adventure films

    Unknown Island is great fun for those of you who love the old jungle adventure films. It boasts classic Hollywood jungle sets, carnivorous dinosaurs (portrayed by men in rubber suits), a giant sloth (played by Ray "Crash" Corrigan of movie gorilla fame), and a few truly chilling moments. Although the special effects seem crude by today's standards, fans of classic jungle serials, old gorilla movies, or dinosaur films will not be disappointed with this fun to watch 1948 feature.
    onnanob2

    Dino adventure is fun, and good for laughs.

    Unknown Island is a low budget adventure-thriller in Cinecolor. The acting is creaky, and the prehistoric beasts look ridiculous. An engaged couple charter the ship of a salty captain to sail to a mysterious island rumored to have live dinosaurs. The man chartering the ship (Ted Osborne) says he only wants to take pictures of the beasts he once witnessed as he flew over the island in an airplane (we are then shown a hilarious "photograph" he took from the airplane of one of the dinosaurs), but we soon learn he is a selfish and slimy type of guy. His fiancee (Virginia Grey) is helping finance the expedition, and seems to want to only take a leisurely part in the trip. The salty captain of the ship (Barton MacLane) proves to be a masher to the lady, and a selfish jerk as he decides he wants one of the beasts to take back for the profit. His decision leaves everyone on the island longer, and in constant threat of danger from the wild, prehistoric beasts. Richard Denning has also once witnessed the horrible beasts of the island, and he plays an alcoholic who learns to sober up during the return to the island. A mutual interest becomes established between his character and the woman. Upon nearing the island we get to witness a brontosaurus pair, which are badly animated stop-motion models. The cast is "menaced" on the island by ridiculous carnivorous dinosaurs that make hilarious vocal noises, and by a sloth creature which is a man in a sloth suit (LOL.) There's even a rubber dimetrodon creeping around the island. The salty captain's workers don't always appear to be the ethnic types they're supposed to be, which is funny as a flub in the film. I will say the jungle setting does look nice, and the Cinecolor is interesting. Bad special effects, flubs, and a general ridiculousness make this movie somewhat laughable and fun to watch.

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    Related interests

    Sam Neill in Jurassic Park (1993)
    Dinosaur Adventure
    Haruo Nakajima in Godzilla (1954)
    Kaiju
    Still frame
    Adventure
    Mia Farrow in Rosemary's Baby (1968)
    Horror
    Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca (1942)
    Romance
    James Earl Jones and David Prowse in Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
    Sci-Fi

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The two-legged dinosaurs (ceratosaurs) were rubber suits worn by actors in the desert of Palmdale, CA. When the explorers shoot grenades at them, one of the beasts falls down, apparently dead. The actor inside the suit had passed out and later died due to extreme heat exhaustion, and the director decided to use the footage of the actor collapsing to his death in the final film.
    • Quotes

      John Fairbanks: John Fairbanks, All-American Boy. That's me. Good to my parents, kind to animals, love children. Probably make some girl a fine husband.

    • Connections
      Edited into Not Tonight Henry (1960)

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    FAQ15

    • How long is Unknown Island?Powered by Alexa

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • October 15, 1948 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • La isla desconocida
    • Filming locations
      • Corriganville, Ray Corrigan Ranch, Simi Valley, California, USA
    • Production company
      • Albert Jay Cohen Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 15m(75 min)
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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