It was just one week ago that I started and completed reading Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's 'The Lost World,' his stunning 1912 account of an expedition that discovers prehistoric life on an isolated South American plateau. The novel massively boosted my opinion of the great author – even after having read his entire collection of fascinating Sherlock Holmes stories (which took me a good six months) – and 'The Lost World' now ranks among my all-time favourites. There are, of course, countless film adaptations of the story, and, wasting no time, I quickly tracked down the very first of them – an old and rather battered VHS tape of 'The Lost World (1925),' directed by Harry O. Hoyt and featuring probably the finest visuals effects of its time.<br /><br />We are all, no doubt, completely aware of the great Professor Challenger (Wallace Beery), the bulky, quick-tempered scientist who arranges an expedition to discover the prehistoric plateau. The film's main character is clumsy London Gazette journalist Edward E. Malone (Lloyd Hughes), who is desperate for an adventure. Prof. Summerlee (Arthur Hoyt) is reserved and skeptical, and often becomes engaged in childish bickering with Professor Challenger over the authenticity of his fantastic claims. There is also the famed hunter Sir John Roxton (Lewis Stone), who is a flawless shot with the rifle and is never afraid to step into the very jaws of peril. Notably, Arthur Conan Doyle's original novel was very scarce on female characters – the only substantial example being Gladys Hungerford (played here by Alma Bennett), Malone's selfish fiancé who refuses to marry him unless he becomes a "real man." To counter this gender imbalance, screenwriter Marion Fairfax added Miss Paula White (Bessie Love), the adventurous daughter of Maple White, the doomed explorer who originally stumbled upon the plateau. This addition also allows for a (rather predictable) love story, since it's completely unreasonable for young Malone to conclude the film as a single man.<br /><br />Before I launch any further into my review of the film, it is worth noting that, over time, many portions of 'The Lost World' have gone missing. Whilst it originally ran at 106 minutes, the version that I watched was little over an hour in length, which is significant in that my main complaint with the film was how rushed it all seemed. Fortunately, more complete restorations are now available, and, in 2004, an incomplete tinted/toned/hand-coloured nitrate 35mm print of the original version was uncovered. Hopefully, as soon as I get my hands on a more definitive copy of 'The Lost World,' I'll be better able to appreciate it. In any case, the remainder of my review will, of course, concern only the shortened version.<br /><br />Without a doubt, it is the special effects that are the film's main assets. Willis H. O'Brien was largely responsible for the excellent stop-motion animation of the dinosaurs, and the experience was undoubtedly an essential warm-up for the iconic effects to be found in 'King Kong (1933),' directed by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack. The latter film was also certainly influenced by 'The Lost World' in several other ways, including the general "Lost World" theme and the destructive escape of the captured beast into a bustling city (notably, Steven Spielberg also pays tribute to this film in his underrated 1997 effort, 'The Lost World: Jurassic Park,' in which a Tyrannosaurus Rex escapes in San Diego). For this film, it is a Brontosaurus which wreaks havoc across London, a substantial departure from Conan Doyle's story (where it is merely a Pterodactyl).<br /><br />Up until the point where we get our first glimpse of the mighty dinosaurs, I had decided that the film was a very loyal adaptation. The opening scenes in London were very well handled, and served wonderfully to introduce all the characters and their intricacies. After an impressive canoe trip through the danger-ridden Amazon jungle, the enthusiastic adventurers ascend onto the plateau via a felled tree trunk, and this is excellently done, with no small thanks to some clever model work. However, despite the special effects, it is apparent that Hoyt was not overly experienced with creating suspense and wonder, the one thing that made Cooper and Schoedsack's 'King Kong' so memorable. There is no steady build-up towards our first sight of the mighty Brontosaurus; we merely cut to it out of nowhere, and you can't help but feel that the director is doing O'Brien's excellent work a disservice.<br /><br />Most of the scenes involving the dinosaurs are exciting to watch – particularly a nighttime assault from a hungry Allosaurus – but there just isn't enough interaction between the humans and the dinosaurs for it to be magnificent, though I'm aware that technical restrictions would most certainly have played a part in this. With the story focusing largely on the dinosaur, the plot completely excludes Doyle's primitive human population on the plateau, and there are only two of the dreaded ape-man "Missing Links" (Bull Montana, accompanied by a young chimpanzee). When the five adventurers suddenly discovered a means of escaping the plateau, I was convinced that it must be too soon for that, though, once again, this poor pacing might be attributed to the wealth of missing footage. Nevertheless, though the film as a whole might not be described as masterful, the visuals effects are nothing but, and its Jurassic creations are more than enough reason to give 'The Lost World' a try.