History Film / TheLostWorld

* PteroSoarer: The first prehistoric creature shown in the film is a massive ''Pteranodon'' that grabs a peccary and carries it to its perch to eat. On the other wing, the ''Pteranodon'' carries the peccary correctly with its beak instead of its feet.

* MisplacedWildlife: The plateau is in South America, but most of its inhabitants are species from across continents. Particularly the chimpanzee (though it's probably meant to be some sort of prehistoric ape, played by a chimp).

* MisplacedWildlife: Most of the plateau's inhabitants are species from outside of South America, particularly the chimpanzee (though it's probably meant to be some sort of prehistoric ape, played by a chimp).

* MisplacedWildlife: Most of the plateau's inhabitants are species from outside of South America, particularly the chimpanzee (though it's probably meant to be a prehistoric ape that's being played by a chimp).

* DumbDinos: Zig-zagged. Most of the dinos spend their screentime attacking and killing each other and humans, including the herbivorous ''Brontosaurus'' (though it only attacks humans during its rampage in London, which actually would be a realistic scenario for a large animal in a place it would find unsettling). The ''Allosaurus'', for example, goes on to attack a ''Triceratops'' (and gets injured in the process) immediately after it has killed and eaten a ''Trachodon''. However, the dinos are shown to be quite agile and lively, and a moment with a mother ''Triceratops'' and her young averts the trope, as the mother makes sure to hide the baby from the ''Allosaurus'' before confronting the predator.

Every movie featuring dinosaurs, from the Godzilla movies to ''Film/JurassicPark'' owes a nod to this film, as it was the TropeCodifier for dinosaurs as movie monsters. Even ''Film/KingKong1933'' can be seen as a remake of ''The Lost World'' with a giant ape instead of a brontosaurus.

* PteroSoarer: The first prehistoric creature shown in the film is a massive ''Pteranodon'' that grabs a peccary and carries it to its perch to eat.

The movie was produced by Creator/FirstNationalPictures, a large Hollywood studio at the time,[[note]]They eventually merged with Creator/WarnerBros[[/note]] and stars Creator/WallaceBeery as Literature/ProfessorChallenger. This version was directed by Harry O. Hoyt and featured pioneering stop motion special effects by Willis O'Brien (an invaluable warm up for his work on the original ''Film/KingKong1933'' directed by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack). Writer Doyle appears in a frontispiece to the film. In 1998, the film was deemed "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant" by the Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry, and can be seen [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qskrn2ZYNeM here]].

* DumbDinos: Most of the dinos spend their screentime attacking and killing each other and humans, including the herbivorous ''Brontosaurus'' (though it only attacks humans during its rampage in London, which actually would be a realistic scenario for a large animal in a place it would find unsettling). The ''Allosaurus'', for example, goes on to attack a ''Triceratops'' (and gets injured in the process) immediately after it has killed and eaten a ''Trachodon''. However, a moment with a mother ''Triceratops'' and her young averts the trope, as the mother makes sure to hide the baby from the ''Allosaurus'' before confronting the predator.

* PublicDomain: While certain restored versions of the movie are owned by the organizations that oversaw them, the heavily-edited 60-minute version is in the public domain and can be found for free in many places online, including {{Wiki/Wikipedia}} of all places, usually without color tinting and featuring generic music.

* StockDinosaurs: For sauropods we've got ''Brontosaurus'' and ''Brachiosaurus''. For predators we've got an ''Allosaurus'' and a ''Tyrannosaurus rex''. Other herbivores include ''Stegosaurus'', ''Triceratops'' and ''Trachodon'' (Now ''Edmontosaurus''). There's also the aforementioned ''Pteranodon''/"Pterodactyl". There's one non-stock dinosaur that deserves special note. ''Agathaumas'' today is a synonym for ''Triceratops'', but here it was a separate animal, using Creator/CharlesRKnight's illustration as a guide. It gets the big fight scenes against the two large predators rather than ''Triceratops''.

* StockDinosaurs: For sauropods we've got ''Brontosaurus'' and ''Brachiosaurus''. For predators we've got an ''Allosaurus'' and a ''Tyrannosaurus rex''. Other herbivores include ''Stegosaurus'', ''Triceratops'' and ''Trachodon'' (Now ''Edmontosaurus''). There's also the aforementioned ''Pteranodon''/"Pterodactyl". There's one non-stock dinosaur that deserves special note. ''Agathaumas'' today is a synonym for ''Triceratops'', but here it was a separate animal, using Charles R. Knight's illustration as a guide. It gets the big fight scenes against the two large predators rather than ''Triceratops''.

* PublicDomain: While certain restored versions of the movie are owned by the organizations that oversaw them, the heavily-edited 60-minute version is in the public domain and can be found for free in many places online, including {{Wikipedia}} of all places, usually without color tinting and featuring generic music.
* RoarBeforeBeating: In a silent film, no less! The ''Allosaurus'' is stalking a grazing ''Trachodon'', but instead of pouncing on it, it roars at it from behind, as if it was challenging it for a fight.

* LivingDinosaurs: Might be the first filmic example of this trope. Surviving dinosaurs are discovered in the eponymous LostWorld.

* PublicDomain: While certain restored versions of the movie are owned by the organizations that oversaw them, the heavily-edited 60-minute version is in the public domain and can be found for free in many places online, usually without color tinting and featuring generic music.

* TeamPet: Jocko is a pet capuchin monkey who accompanies the expedition.

[[caption-width-right:269: My brontosaurus has escaped. Keep off the streets until I recapture it.]]

Every movie featuring dinosaurs, from the Godzilla movies to ''Film/JurassicPark'' owes a nod to this film, as it was the TropeCodifier for dinosaurs as movie monsters. Even ''Film/KingKong1933'' can be seen as a remake of ''The Lost World''.

* EverythingsBetterWithMonkeys: The explorers have a cute capuchin monkey named Jocko, whereas the ape-man has a mischievous chimpanzee companion. The former even plays a crucial role in their escape from the plateau, by carrying up a rope ladder to Paula and Roxton.

* DumbDinos: Most of the dinos spend their screentime attacking and killing each other and humans, including the herbivorous ''Brontosaurus'' (though it only attacks humans during its rampage in London, which actually would be a realistic scenario for a large animal in a place it would find unsettling). The ''Allosaurus'', for example, goes on to kill a ''Triceratops'' immediately after it has killed and eaten a ''Trachodon''. However, a moment with a mother ''Triceratops'' and her young averts the trope, as the mother makes sure to hide the baby from the ''Allosaurus'' before confronting the predator.

* BehemothBattle: The film features plenty of stop motion dinosaur fights. An ''Allosaurus'' gets to fight a ''Trachodon'', a [[MamaBear mother]] ''Triceratops'' and an ''Agathaumas'' (which is treated as a separate species from ''Triceratops''). The last one kills the ''Allosaurus'', [[AlwaysABiggerFish only to be killed by an even bigger]] ''TyrannosaurusRex''.

* StockDinosaurs: For sauropods we've got ''Brontosaurus'' and ''Brachiosaurus''. For predators we've got an ''Allosaurus'' and a ''TyrannosaurusRex''. Other herbivores include ''Stegosaurus'', ''Triceratops'' and ''Trachodon'' (Now ''Edmontosaurus''). There's also the aforementioned ''Pteranodon''/"Pterodactyl". There's one non-stock dinosaur that deserves special note. ''Agathaumas'' today is a synonym for ''Triceratops'', but here it was a separate animal, using Charles R. Knight's illustration as a guide. It gets the big fight scenes against the two large predators rather than ''Triceratops''.
* TeamPet: Jocko is a pet capuchin monkey who accompanies the expedition.
* TyrannosaurusRex: Downplayed. While ''T. rex'' does appear, it's only for one short scene and never encounters the human characters. ''Allosaurus'' instead takes its place as the main threat.
----

The movie was produced by Creator/FirstNationalPictures, a large Hollywood studio at the time,[[note]]They eventually merged with Creator/WarnerBros[[/note]] and stars Creator/WallaceBeery as Literature/ProfessorChallenger. This version was directed by Harry O. Hoyt and featured pioneering stop motion special effects by Willis O'Brien (an invaluable warm up for his work on the original ''Film/KingKong1933'' directed by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack). Writer Doyle appears in a frontispiece to the film. In 1998, the film was deemed "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant" by the Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry. The film can be seen [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qskrn2ZYNeM here]].

* DumbDinos: Most of the dinosaurs spend their screentime attacking and killing each other and humans, including the herbivorous ''Brontosaurus'' (though it only attacks humans during its rampage in London, which actually would be a realistic scenario for a large animal in a place it would find unsettling). The ''Allosaurus'', for example, goes on to kill a ''Triceratops'' immediately after it has killed and eaten a ''Trachodon''. However, a moment with a parent ''Triceratops'' and its young averts the trope, as the mother hides the young from the ''Allosaurus'' before confronting the predator.

* FrazettaMan: The expedition is stalked by an ape-man portrayed by an actor in a furry suit and makeup, and his buddy who's just a normal chimpanzee.

* GentleGiantSauropod: Challenger describes the ''Brontosaurus'' as "perfectly harmless". Subverted later in the movie, as the ''Brontosaurus'', after taken to London, panics and goes on a [[EscapedAnimalRampage rampage]].

* ImprobableTaxonomySkills: The explorers are able to identify the dinosaurs to the precise genus all while looking at them from a distance, despite them only having seen dinosaur skeletons and so they should not know precisely what the real versions would look like—especially considering the millions of years of evolution in the interval, as well as the fact that only a handful of dinosaurs had been discovered back then anyway. ([[ScienceMarchesOn To say nothing of feathers]].)

* MamaBear: The mother ''Triceratops'' protects its calf from the ''Allosaurus''.

* PublicDomain: While certain restored version of the movie are owned by the organizations that oversaw them, the heavily-edited 60-minute version is in the public domain and can be found for free in many places online, usually without color tinting and featuring generic music.

* TyrannosaurusRex: Downplayed. While ''T. rex'' does appear, it's only for one short scene. ''Allosaurus'' instead takes its place as the main threat.

Not to be confused with the 1997 movie ''Film/TheLostWorldJurassicPark'', which borrows quite a few plot points to ''The Lost World'' nonetheless.

The movie was produced by Creator/FirstNationalPictures, a large Hollywood studio at the time,[[note]]They eventually merged with Creator/WarnerBros[[/note]] and stars Creator/WallaceBeery as Professor Challenger. This version was directed by Harry O. Hoyt and featured pioneering stop motion special effects by Willis O'Brien (an invaluable warm up for his work on the original ''Film/KingKong1933'' directed by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack). Writer Doyle appears in a frontispiece to the film. In 1998, the film was deemed "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant" by the Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry. The film can be seen [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qskrn2ZYNeM here]].

* GentlemanAdventurer: Lord John Roxton.

* EverythingsBetterWithMonkeys: The explorers have a cute capuchin monkey named Jocko, whereas the ape-man has a mischievous chimpanzee companion.

* CanonForeigner: Maple White was given a daughter, Paula, as a love interest for Roxton (and then Malone who unintentionally steals her from him). She contributes almost nothing else.

* IntrepidReporter: Edward Malone.

* DumbDinos: Most of the dinosaurs spend their screentime attacking and killing each other and humans, including the herbivorous ''Brontosaurus'' (though it only attacks humans during its rampage in London, which actually would be a realistic scenario for a large animal in a place it would find unsettling). However, a moment with a parent ''Triceratops'' and its young averts the trope.

* AnachronismStew: Various species of prehistoric animals from different periods.

* BeastMan: An ape-man that looks like a hairy human with sharp teeth stalks the expedition on the plateau and causes some trouble.