The Monstrous Movie Photo Of The Day: Deep In The Icy Antarctic ... A Paradise Of Hidden Terrors!

Written By: Ken Hulsey

I am so happy that everyone has been enjoying my movie photo and poster series. Since I first started doing these regular occurring features I have gotten nothing but positive feedback ... and I thank you. Today I decided to tweak things just a little bit by combining the photo and poster series. For the foreseeable future I won't be scouring the internet like I have been for images to share but pulling items from my own personal collection. Some of these images will be studio originals, others will be rare items, and yet others will be copies, that is to say images that aren't original studio photos but copies of said photos.

I've got a scanner and I'm not afraid to use it people!

For my fist image I have chosen a promo advert for the 1957 Universal International release "The Land Unknown". Now what sets this particular image apart from any other movie poster, magazine add, or lobby card is the simple fact that it wasn't produced for the general public to see. It was instead produced for theater owners via trade publications. The image, which I think is truly amazing, was produced on heavy stock paper to be stapled into a magazine and actually appeared on the back of a two-page (three out of four sides) promo for the release of "Run of the Arrow" a western.

I will be posting the image from "Arrow" sometime later on.

Many of you probably remember "The Land Unknown" and may or may not remember "Run of the Arrow", anyway back in the 1950s westerns were way more popular than dinosaur flicks so this advert got the butt end of the promotion.

I hate to admit it but I haven't seen "Run of the Arrow" but the poster has a beautiful Indian maiden on it ... plus the movie stars Rod Steiger, Brian Keith and Charles Bronson so I really should search it out.

As for as "The Land Unknown" goes ... well it wasn't exactly "Jurassic Park" then again what movie is?

Synopsis:

The Land Unknown (1957) is a sci-fi, CinemaScope adventure film about a naval expedition trapped in an Antarctic jungle. The story was allegedly inspired by the discovery of unusually warm water in Antarctica in 1947. It starred Jock Mahoney and Shirley Patterson and was directed by Virgil W. Vogel. The film is notable for its low-budget special effects, which include men in dinosaur suits, puppets and monitor lizards standing in for dinosaurs. William Reynolds recalled the studio spent so much money on their mechanical dinosaur that they couldn't afford to shoot the film in colour as they first planned.

In other words it was "The Land That Time Forgot" from a time forgotten.

This little gem is one of my favorites and I hope to have it framed and mounted on my wall for all to see very soon!

"Deep In The Icy Antarctic ... A Paradise Of Hidden Terrors!"

This one is a treasure just for that tag line ... "Paradise?" ... "Terrors?" One of these words is not like the other! Gotta love that!