Warlords of Atlantis (1978)

The third of these Kevin Connor directed science-fiction outings for Doug McClure - this time as maritime explorers looking for the lost Atlantis. Peter Gilmore adds a little gravitas to this nautical yarn, as they descend to retrieve a golden statue from the depths and end up meeting a giant squid that gives them a bit more than they bargained for. They face lots of angry pre-historic beasties as they journey to meet the Atlantian illuminati - Cyd Charisse and Daniel Massey, no less. Yes, it is cheap - just like the other two, and the script was probably concocted on the back of a beer mat, but it is still a fun little diversion and the special effects are perfectly acceptable for the time.

**_Doug McClure’s fourth and final British adventure-fantasy flick_**

At the turn of the century in the Victorian Age, a British archaeologist & his son (Peter Gilmore) enlist a ship to take them to the general area of the Bermuda Islands, secretly in search of Atlantis. The designer of a state-of-the-art diving bell (McClure) is key to the mission’s success.

“Warlords of Atlantis” (1978) is also known as “Warlords of the Deep” in America, a change that was made due to the failure of the American TV show Man From Atlantis. It was the fourth and final Brit adventure/fantasy starring McClure and produced by the team of Kevin Connor & John Dark (the former also directing). The previous three films came out between 1974-1977: They were “The Land That Time Forgot,” “At the Earth’s Core” and “The People That Time Forgot.”

This was the only one not based on Edgar Rice Burroughs’ pulp yarns, but it’s cut from the same cloth and easily has the best creature effects. It’s not as good as the first movie, but it’s vastly superior to the lousy second one and a little better than “People.” The best part is the intriguing ideas concerning the origins of the Atlanteans and the impact they will have on human events in the 20th century. But the script focuses on a fast-moving story with lots of action, mostly involving attacks by colossal creatures.

As usual, McClure makes for a likable hero. Meanwhile Michael Gothard is notable as a regal Atlantean elitist while Lea Brodie and Cyd Charisse are appealing on the feminine front, but not enough is done with them.

Despite my lowkey criticisms, if you’re in the mood for a flick along the lines of “King Kong,” “Mysterious Island,” “She,” “The Vengeance of She,” “Captain Nemo and the Underwater City” and “The Island at the Top of the World,” this should fill the bill. It’s the least of these, though, except for the surprisingly dull “She.”

It runs 1 hour, 36 minutes, and was shot in Malta & Gozo (two Mediterranean islands 60 miles south of Sicily) with studio stuff done at Pinewood Studios in the London area.

GRADE: B-