''At the Earth's Core'' is a 1976

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

science fiction film Science fiction (or sci-fi) is a film genre that uses Speculative fiction, speculative, fictional science-based depictions of phenomena that are not fully accepted by mainstream science, such as Extraterrestrial life in fiction, extraterrestria ...

produced by Britain's

Amicus Productions Amicus Productions was a Cinema of the United Kingdom, British film production company, based at Shepperton Studios, England, active between 1962 and 1977. It was founded by American producers and screenwriters Milton Subotsky and Max Rosenberg. ...

.Gary A. Smith, ''The American International Pictures Video Guide'', McFarland 2009 p 16 A British-American co-production, the film was directed by Kevin Connor and stars

Doug McClure Douglas Osborne McClure (May 11, 1935 – February 5, 1995) was an American actor whose career in film and television extended from the 1950s to the 1990s. He is best known for his role as the cowboy Trampas during the entire run from 1962 to 1 ...

Peter Cushing Peter Wilton Cushing (26 May 1913 – 11 August 1994) was an English actor. His acting career spanned over six decades and included appearances in more than 100 films, as well as many television, stage and radio roles. He achieved recognition f ...

and Caroline Munro. It was filmed in

Technicolor Technicolor is a family of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes. The first version, Process 1, was introduced in 1916, and improved versions followed over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black-and ...

, and is based on the 1914

novel '' At the Earth's Core'' by

Edgar Rice Burroughs Edgar Rice Burroughs (September 1, 1875 – March 19, 1950) was an American writer, best known for his prolific output in the adventure, science fiction, and fantasy genres. Best known for creating the characters Tarzan (who appeared in ...

, the first book of his

Pellucidar Pellucidar is the fictional internal surface of a Hollow Earth invented by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs for a series of action adventure stories. In a crossover event, Tarzan, who was also created by Burroughs, visits Pellucidar. The ...

series, in token of which the film is also known as ''Edgar Rice Burroughs' At the Earth's Core''.

Plot

Dr. Abner Perry, a British Victorian

scientist A scientist is a person who Scientific method, researches to advance knowledge in an Branches of science, area of the natural sciences. In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, philosophers engag ...

, and his US financier David Innes make a test run of their ''Iron Mole'' drilling machine in a Welsh mountain. While drilling underground, the extreme heat emanating from the magma around the Mole knocks the duo out and makes them temporarily lose control over where the machine is taking them. After it passes through the magma crust and gets closer to the Earth's core, the temperature inside the Mole starts to lower, and the duo regains consciousness. Perry and Innes eventually reach a surface where they can safely get out. The two notice they are in a strange land filled with the flora and fauna of prehistoric times. They are eventually captured by the Sagoths, ape-like creatures, who aim to enslave every human tribe there. The Sagoths are themselves ruled by a species of telepathic flying reptiles, the Mahars. The Mahars have the power of

mind control Mind control may refer to: Psychology and neurology * Brainwashing, the concept that the human mind can be altered or controlled by certain psychological techniques * Brain–computer interface * Hypnosis * Neuroprosthetics, the technology of cont ...

. David falls for the enslaved Princess Dia. She is eventually chosen as a sacrificial victim in the Mahar city, while David is put to work in the magma mines and Perry visits the library. Worried about Dia, David incites a riot within the mine and is captured with Ra, another rebellious slave. The two are sent to the arena where a crowd of slaves watch. The Mahars send a giant dinosaur to kill the duo, but with the help of Perry (who shouts about the creature's weak point from the crowd), David and Ra survive. They not only kill the dinosaur but an attacking Mahar as well, earning the respect of the slaves. David and Ra must rally the surviving human slaves to rebel and win their freedom. To achieve this, Innes, Ra and Dia organise the oppressed tribes and help them work together while Perry teaches them how to construct and use bows and arrows. Together, the humans manage to kill the Mahars and subdue their minions. After repairing the Mole, Perry and Innes prepare to go back to the surface with Dia. However, despite how much Dia loves Innes, she believes she will not fit in the surface world, like Innes does not fit in her own world. A hurt Innes accepts her reasoning and decides to return alone with Perry to the United Kingdom. However, a miscalculation results in the Iron Mole resurfacing outside the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

, much to the shock of two policemen standing guard there.

Cast

as David Innes *

as Dr. Abner Perry * Caroline Munro as Princess Dia *

Cy Grant Cyril Ewart Lionel Grant (8 November 1919 – 13 February 2010) was a Guyanese actor, musician, writer, poet and World War II veteran. In the 1950s, he became the first black person to be featured regularly on television in Britain, Gus Joh ...

as Ra * Godfrey James as Ghak the Ugly One * Sean Lynch as Hoojah * Keith Barron as Dowsett * Helen Gill as Maisie * Anthony Verner as Gadsby * Robert Gillespie as Photographer * Michael Crane as Jubal * Bobby Parr as Sagoth Chief *

Andee Cromarty Andee (born Andrée-Anne Leclerc on November 1, 1990) is a Canadian singer-songwriter from Saint-Jean-Chrysostome, Lévis, Quebec, Saint-Jean-Chrysostome, Quebec. She rose to fame as a finalist on the Quebecois singing competition ''Star Acad� ...

as Girl Slave

Production notes

The film was made following the success of '' The Land That Time Forgot'', using the same star, producer, director and writer.Ed. Allan Bryce, ''Amicus: The Studio That Dripped Blood'', Stray Cat Publishing, 2000 p 150 Director Kevin Connor said, "The script wasn’t the greatest but it had some fun sequences in it. Cushing and McClure were a delight as usual and enjoyed working with each other." Filming took place at Pinewood Studios in London. Kevin Connor recalled we devised a colour scheme for Pellucidar which was a mauve-orange backdrop. Most of the film was on one huge stage... and therefore the colour was very controllable." According to Connor, "we tried to get the beasts bigger so as to interact better with the actors – more one on one. We had a somewhat bigger budget thanks to the success of ''Land''. The beasts were specially designed so that small stunt guys could work inside the suits in a crouched position and on all-fours. Needless to say it was very cramped and the stunt guys had to take frequent breathers. Some worked better than others – but we were experimenting and trying something different." Connor added, "We had a lot of fire in that; we did have some small explosions on the set. We had those bubbling eggs blowing up in the bottom of the cauldron that covered the sound-stage floors in this goo."

Release

The film premiered at the Marble Arch Odeon in London on 15 July 1976.

Box office

The film was the 18th most popular British film of 1976. It made a profit. Amicus and Kevin Connor tried to follow the movie with an adaptation of the John Carter stories but the rights were too expensive so instead they made ''The People that Time Forgot''. After ''At the Earth's Core'' Subotsky and Rosenberg ended their partnership and John Dark, Kevin Connor and Rosenberg formed a company and made three more movies together.

Critical reception

''Cinefantastique'' called the film "just about rock bottom, making the most juvenile excesses of Toho and Daiei seem positively scintillating by comparison." ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' wrote: "All the money used to make 'At the Earth's Core' seems to have been spent on building monsters with parrotlike beaks that open, close, and emit a steady squawling as if someone were vacuuming next door. Close up, the monsters look like sections of rough concrete wall and the decision to film them in closeup is only one example of the total lack of talent or effort with which the picture is made ... the movie is a kind of no-talent competition in which the acting, the script, the direction and the camera-work vie for last place."

BFI Screenonline Screenonline is a website about the history of British film, television and social history as documented by film and television. The project has been developed by the British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and tele ...

said, "Extravagant, colourful and thoroughly preposterous, ''At the Earth's Core'' is utterly without pretension but has the exuberant charm of the best of its decade."

In popular culture

The film was featured in the season finale of the revived ''

Mystery Science Theater 3000 ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (abbreviated as ''MST3K'') is an American science fiction comedy television series created by Joel Hodgson. The show premiered on WUCW, KTMA-TV (now WUCW) in Saint Paul, Minnesota, on November 24, 1988. It then ...

'', the show's eleventh season overall, released on April 14, 2017, through Netflix.

References

External links

MGM – Official Site
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at

''At the Earth's Core''
at Letterbox DVD {{Kevin Connor 1970s British films 1970s English-language films 1970s fantasy adventure films 1976 films 1976 science fiction films American International Pictures films Amicus Productions films British fantasy adventure films British science fantasy films British science fiction films English-language fantasy adventure films English-language science fantasy films Films about dinosaurs Films about princesses Films about slavery Films about the Hollow Earth Films based on American novels Films based on works by Edgar Rice Burroughs Films directed by Kevin Connor Films scored by Mike Vickers Films set in the Victorian era Films set in Wales Films shot at Pinewood Studios Lost world films Pellucidar Travel to the Earth's center Mystery Science Theater 3000