There’s something about Unknown World (1961) that ticks the right boxes for me. It has since I first stumbled upon it while channel surfing years ago. I get why it has the reputation for being dull: it’s an hollow earth story with no monsters or lost civilzations (or really antagonists of any kind), a lot of it takes place in the rather banal interior of the “cyclotram,” and Terry Morse’s direction lies at the intersection of workmanlike and pedestrian.
But I groove off its serious-minded commitment to tackling Big Ideas and an Epic Journey on a small budget. I love the design of the cyclotram. I’m a sucker for journeys to the centre of the Earth, so I’m happy to trudge along with the characters through the caves. And there is a chilly, bleak majesty to the underground world they do find.
And I‘d be lying if I said I wasn’t taken by surprise by some of the fates awaiting the characters.
So yeah, I’m very fond of this little film.
David Annandale