Unknown Island
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Jack Bernhard
Virginia Grey
Philip Reed
Richard Denning
Barton Maclane
Richard Wessel
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
In Singapore, Ted Osborne and his fiancée, Carol Lane, charter Captain Tarnowski's boat for an expedition to find and photograph the prehistoric creatures that Ted discovered on a remote island while he was a navy pilot in the South Pacific. Tarnowski suggests that they take along a local drunk, John Fairbanks, who claims to have been on the island. Fairbanks, however, does not want to return there as several of his shipmates were killed by the "monsters," but Tarnowski shanghais him. The steamer leaves and soon they are well beyond regular shipping lanes, a fact which causes dissension among the lascar crew. The expedition reaches the island and, through binoculars from the ship, sees a prehistoric creature. Ted, Carol, John, the Captain and a few others go ashore in a small boat, and as they move inland, they encounter dinosaurs. After they have made camp, one of the seamen is attacked by two of the creatures, and the captain is forced to shoot the man to spare him further agony. This incident provokes more unrest among the lascars, who want to leave and return to the ship. John also advises Ted to get everyone off the island before they are killed, but Ted refuses. A giant sloth-like creature then threatens the camp but is distracted by another beast. Life is further complicated when the lecherous Tarnowski grabs and kisses Carol and is threatened by Ted. Carol insists upon leaving, and although Ted wants more pictures of the giant sloth, he agrees to go the next day. However, Tarnowski refuses to leave until he captures one of the creatures alive. John leads the party farther inland, where they are confronted by several flesh-eating tyrannosauri. When first mate Sanderson tries to turn back, he and the captain begin to fight. One of the crew throws a knife, killing Sanderson, and is shot by the captain. The creatures move toward the party but are scared off by grenades the captain has brought. Later, Tarnowski suffers a recurrence of jungle fever. Although he allows Carol to return to the ship, he orders Ted and John to remain to help with the intended capture. Carol cannot leave, however, as the lascars have taken the small boat, leaving the others marooned on the island. The stranded crew attempt to build a raft, unaware that Tarnowski has found and concealed another small boat. The captain attacks Carol again, but is interrupted by a dinosaur, which he then kills with grenades. In the meantime, Carol has fainted and Tarnowski carries her off, planning to take her back to the ship and abandoning the others. When Ted refuses to look for Carol, John tells him he is a coward and sets off to find her himself. While Tarnowski is sleeping, Carol takes his gun, but is forced to use it on one of the creatures. John arrives in time to save Carol from Tarnowski, and they both return to the beach in time to see Tarnowski fall victim to the giant sloth. Later, as John and Carol look on, the sloth vanquishes a tyrannosaurus. Back on board the ship, Ted realizes that he has lost Carol to John.
Director
Jack Bernhard
Cast
Virginia Grey
Philip Reed
Richard Denning
Barton Maclane
Richard Wessel
Daniel White
Philip Nazir
Crew
R. E. Abel
Howard A. Anderson
Ellis Burman
Albert J. Cohen
Clarence Eurist
Harry Gerstad
Mary Gibsone
Milton Gold
Robert Gough
Jack Harvey
Max Hutchinson
Fred Jackman Jr.
John Livesley
Robert Priestly
Jerome Pycha Jr.
Harry Ross
Robert T. Shannon
Robert T. Shannon
Ralph Stanley
Henry J. Staudigl
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The film's working titles were The Unknown Continent and The Unbelievable. In a June 6, 1948 New York Times news item, producer Albert J. Cohen claimed that the film's budget was $450,000 and that about 35% of that figure had been spent on creating and photographing the prehistoric monsters. According to a April 20, 1949 Hollywood Reporter news item, "Unknown Island...looms as the highest grosser in Film Classics history, and May make record film marks compared to budget. Brought in at around $150,000 by director Jack Bernhard, the film is expected to bring to F-C and its production company a total of $850,000, more than five times its cost." Although some contemporary sources claim that the monsters were miniatures animated by single-frame photography, they were actually portrayed by actors in costumes. A modern source stated that actor and stunt man Ray "Crash" Corrigan, who frequently wore ape costumes onscreen, was inside one of the monster's costumes. The source added that some sequences were shot in Palmdale CA.
