One of numerous Amicus movies that I grew to love in my youth, this may not hold up very well when compared against any number of modern adventure movies stuffed full of great CGI but it still has a certain charm to it and benefits from a great cast.
It’s all about Dr. Abner Perry (played by Peter Cushing, my personal hero for anyone who doesn’t know by now) and his colleague David Innes (Doug McClure) setting off to explore the area underneath the surface of the Earth. Things don’t go according to plan, unfortunately for the two leading men, and their vehicle goes out of control, taking them deeper than any modern day man has ever gone before. Once in this strange environment, they find enslaved humans (including the gorgeous Caroline Munro), prehistoric birds ruling over everything and one or two other dangers.
Based on a novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs, this is the very epitome of a “ripping yarn”. With each year that passes it becomes harder and harder to suspend disbelief while men run from monsters that are created by a mix of models, projection effects and costumes but it also becomes easier, if you allow it, to be won over by this old-fashioned mix of spectacle and stupidity.
These movies remind me of my childhood, they were the films that were often scheduled to be shown on TV on a Sunday afternoon or at some time during the holidays and if it wasn’t gloriously sunny outside then I’d sit back and enjoy the adventures. I think that’s why, to this day, I feel that I have my best ever movie days when the weather is awful and I am just able to laze around indoors and select my viewings. It all goes back to the same factors that would present my younger self with a chance to escape to worlds created by the likes of Amicus, Hammer, Tigon and other British studios from that time period. My passion for movies was formed during those years and that was down to films like this one.
Doug McClure is a decent leading man from a time when movies were still being made, for the most part, with MEN in the lead roles (as opposed to boys/teens/etc – these movies were made during those transitional decades that saw the younger generations building up a stash of more disposable income than their elders). Peter Cushing is as brilliant as ever and, frankly, I feel a bit sorry for anyone who doesn’t appreciate the sheer greatness of the man. Then we have the gorgeous Caroline Munro being, well, the gorgeous Caroline Munro. Cy Grant and others make up the rest of the cast and they do their best amongst the rubber suits and fantastical set designs.
Director Kevin Connor, working from the script by Milton Subotsky, puts everything together capably enough and makes some interesting decisions (the sound design is certainl worthy of note) but things are hampered by a lack of any Harryhausen-type figure elevating everything onscreen. Ian Wingrove and Charles Staffell do what they can with what they have but their creations are just about able to impress very young viewers while anyone else watching has to make a considerable effort to allow their inner child to rise to the surface and enjoy some of the creatures.
Yet I still have a great affection for these movies, flaws and all, and I know that many other people of my age will feel the same way. Which is why I can’t bring myself to rate it below average, despite how unkind the passage of time has been to it.
At The Earth’s Core is released on shiny disc on Monday 30th July so you can pick it up then and see if you dig it.
DIRECTOR: KEVIN CONNOR
WRITER: MILTON SUBOTSKY (BASED ON THE NOVEL BY EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS)
STARS: DOUG MCCLURE, PETER CUSHING, CAROLINE MUNRO, CY GRANT
RUNTIME: 86 MINS APPROX
COUNTRY: UK/USA
Film Rating: 
