IMDb RATING
5.3/10
164
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A helicopter crashes in the desert, and the crew winds up in the underground city of Atlantis and get mixed up in a slave revolt.A helicopter crashes in the desert, and the crew winds up in the underground city of Atlantis and get mixed up in a slave revolt.A helicopter crashes in the desert, and the crew winds up in the underground city of Atlantis and get mixed up in a slave revolt.
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAccording to author Noah Isenberg in his book "Edgar G. Ulmer: A Filmmaker at the Margins", after production closed and the movie was released, Edgar G. Ulmer wrote to producer Ilse Lahn that "The making of this picture was a nightmare". Its first director, Frank Borzage, quit the movie after two days of work without shooting any footage of relevance and unable to deal with the pressures of the co-production (his ill health may also have been a contributing factor; he died the next year). Shirley Ulmer wrote to the publicity agent of the movie that they did not "want to say anything to hurt the guy, but he sure didn't know what to do--strange language and customs, perhaps". So Ulmer (who was initially producer, screenwriter and set designer) had to step in for Borzage. Isenberg adds that Ulmer had to share a co-director credit with Italian director Giuseppe Masini, who is said never to have set foot on the locations, ostensibly to appease the Italian government, which had helped subsidize the multinational co-production.
- Crazy creditsNoted Italian actor Gian Maria Volonte is listed in the credits as "Jean Maria Volonte".
- ConnectionsRemake of Missing Husbands (1921)
Featured review
Best version of the oft told tale of Atlantis under the desert and the Queen who rules there
The best version that I've seen of the story of a group of men who find Atlantis under the Sahara. Here the time is "now" and the men are flying in a helicopter across the desert when they are rerouted around an atomic test site. The copter is forced down by a terrible storm and they take refuge in the caves of some rocks. Eventually the end up in Atlantis where they get mixed up in court and romantic intrigue.
There are a bunch of versions of this story. I've seen a few of them and they are either hampered by bad dubbing into English or by really bad acting (the 1940's version has a Queen who just awful). Here the acting and the dubbing are fine. The story, which can be very soapy is handled nicely and you get a nice balance with the adventurous aspects of the tale. The look and the feel of the film is clearly similar to the sword and sandal films that were running rampant on the screens of the world at the time and it really works here, it gives Atlantis a nice feel.
Definitely worth a look see if you run across it, especially if you're a fan of the European adventure films of late 50's and early 60's.
There are a bunch of versions of this story. I've seen a few of them and they are either hampered by bad dubbing into English or by really bad acting (the 1940's version has a Queen who just awful). Here the acting and the dubbing are fine. The story, which can be very soapy is handled nicely and you get a nice balance with the adventurous aspects of the tale. The look and the feel of the film is clearly similar to the sword and sandal films that were running rampant on the screens of the world at the time and it really works here, it gives Atlantis a nice feel.
Definitely worth a look see if you run across it, especially if you're a fan of the European adventure films of late 50's and early 60's.
helpful•74
- dbborroughs
- Dec 4, 2006
Details
- Runtime1 hour 45 minutes
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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Top Gap
By what name was Journey Beneath the Desert (1961) officially released in Canada in English?
Answer