The Lost Continent Revisited

While we're on the subject of unlikely theme songs in Hammer films, The Lost Continent's really has to be mentioned.  This was another late period Hammer movie I caught up with again over the weekend, (it was airing on Talking Pictures TV).  I've written about it before - it is completely and utterly barking mad, starting as a sea faring drama involving dangerous cargoes and mutinies, before taking a left turn into a weird lost world story, involving killer seaweed and giant crabs and scorpions.  The film apparently had a troubled production history, with original director Leslie Norman being fired early on and replaced by Michael Carreras.  Shooting reportedly overran the customary Hammer six week schedule and was curtailed, (as was Hammer's custom), which possibly explains why the actual 'lost continent' part of the story only kicks in two thirds of the way into the film and seems very hurried and under developed.  The original score, commissioned from Benjamin Frankel, (who had earlier scored Curse of the Werewolf for Hammer), was dropped and replaced by a score from Gerald Schumann.

This new score included songs by jazz/soul trio The Peddlers, a somewhat unusual choice for a film of this type.  Certainly, the song which plays over the titles isn't quite what one would expect from a film called The Lost Continent, although it isn't as jarring as 'Strange Love' in Lust For a Vampire. Still, The Peddlers were relatively popular at the time and director/producer Carreras' status a a jazz fan might have had something to do with their presence.  To be fair, their theme song adds to the already off-kilter nature of the film, which is hugely entertaining in its own bizarre way.  I must admit that I have a weakness for films which apparently start as one genre then abruptly turn into something else completely.  The Lost Continent is a fine example of such a film.  It really is worth catching, if nothing else for the sight of Eric Porter somehow keeping a straight face as the bizarre plot unfolds around him.  Oh, and Suzannah Leigh gets molested by a giant octopus.  What's not to like?