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Lost Horizon Overview:

Lost Horizon (1937) was a Adventure - Drama Film directed by Frank Capra and produced by Frank Capra and Harry Cohn.

The film was based on the novel of the same name written by James Hilton published in 1933.

SYNOPSIS

Capra's version of James Hilton's book is as timeless as the inhabitants of his carefully created Shangri-La - and one of his most unusual films. Known for his depictions of the plucky heart of the little people, here Capra takes on a grand vision of a place beyond the reach of war, financial panic, and governments. British diplomat Colman rescues refugees from the revolution in China, and herds them into a plane that heads not for the West but to the top of the world, Tibet. When they crash-land, the part is met with guides and warm clothes for their trip to a beautiful valley of peace and calm where time has virtually stopped. Colman has been selected to take over for the head lama, and, seemingly, for romance with an ethereally beautiful Wyatt. When his buddy (Howard) convinces him to leave, Colman struggles back to England where he is haunted by his reveries of the idyllic valley and Wyatt. He mounts a dangerous expedition to return. The restored video version has 20 minutes of previously excised footage. Thrilling, fantastic entertainment.

(Source: available at Amazon AMC Classic Movie Companion).

Academy Awards 1937 --- Ceremony Number 10 (source: AMPAS)

AwardRecipientResult
Best Supporting ActorH. B. WarnerNominated
Best Art DirectionStephen GoossonWon
Best Film EditingGene Havlick, Gene MilfordWon
Best Music - ScoringColumbia Studio Music Department, Morris Stoloff, head of department (Score by Dimitri Tiomkin)Nominated
Best PictureColumbiaNominated
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Lost Horizon BlogHub Articles:

In Defense of the Musical Lost Horizon

By Rick29 on Apr 29, 2019 From Classic Film & TV Cafe

A glimpse of Shangri-La. It was a boxoffice bomb and savaged by critics. It barely recouped 25% of its budget, leading the movie industry to label it "The Lost Investment." Time hasn't been kind to it. Rather than becoming a cult film, it has been lambasted in books such as The Fifty Worst Films of... Read full article

PLANES, TRAINS, AND AUTOMOBILES: FRANK CAPRA'S "LOST HORIZON"

By The Lady Eve on Oct 20, 2015 From Lady Eve's Reel Life

Frank Capra's wistful 1937 fantasy, Lost Horizon, begins dramatically with a chaotic mob scene at an airfield in war-torn Baskul, China, highlighted by a spectacular explosion and fire. In the midst of the fray, British diplomat Robert Conway (Ronald Colman) is managing the evacuation of 90 Westerne... Read full article

PLANES, TRAINS, AND AUTOMOBILES: FRANK CAPRA'S "LOST HORIZON"

By The Lady Eve on Oct 20, 2015 From Lady Eve's Reel Life

Frank Capra's wistful 1937 fantasy Lost Horizon begins dramatically with a chaotic mob scene at an airfield in war-torn Baskul, China, highlighted by a spectacular explosion and fire. In the midst of the fray, British diplomat Robert Conway (Ronald Colman) is managing the evacuation of 90 Westerners... Read full article

PLANES, TRAINS, AND AUTOMOBILES: FRANK CAPRA'S "LOST HORIZON"

By The Lady Eve on Oct 20, 2015 From Lady Eve's Reel Life

Frank Capra's wistful 1937 fantasy, Lost Horizon, begins dramatically with a chaotic mob scene at an airfield in war-torn Baskul, China, highlighted by a spectacular explosion and fire. In the midst of the fray, British diplomat Robert Conway (Ronald Colman) is managing the evacuation of 90 Westerne... Read full article

Lost Horizon (1937)

By 4 Star Film Fan on Apr 14, 2015 From 4 Star Films

Certainly this is not the most well known or the best film of Capra. It is in fact quite different from a lot of his filmography. That is not to say that it is not an enjoyable film about a man who finds a little piece of Utopia called Shangri-La. Ronald Colman was certainly a likable fellow in the ... Read full article

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Lost Horizon Quotes:

Chang: Age is a limit we impose upon ourselves. You know, each time you Westerners celebrate your birthday, you build another fence around your minds.
Robert Conway: I think I'm going to like it here.
Robert Conway: George, didn't you ever want to know what's on the other side of the mountain?
High Lama: I wanted to meet the Conway who in one of his books said: "There are moments in every mans life, when he glimpses the eternal". That Conway seemed to belong here.
Robert Conway: Mr. Chang, if you don't mind, I think I'll go on being amazed - in moderation go course...
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Lost Horizon Facts
After initial reservations about Frank Capra's method of directing, Ronald Colman would eventually come to rely on him and the two would experiment with improvisations.
"Lux Radio Theater" broadcast a 60 minute radio adaptation of the movie on September 15, 1941 with Ronald Colman reprising his film role.
Studio head Harry Cohn didn't like Sam Jaffe's performance as the High Lama and insisted that Capra shoot it with another actor. Capra had to submit to this request and a test with Walter Connolly was made, with Cohn even insisting on an expensive new set being built specially for it. Despite loading the dice in Connolly's favor, the consensus was that his test wasn't anywhere near as good. So Jaffe won the part back, though he still had to re-shoot all his scenes as they were deemed to be far too lengthy and wordy.
The California State Censor Board insisted on having two signed affidavits from Columbia that the model doubling for Jane Wyatt in her nude bathing scene had her breasts covered. The affidavits were duly supplied though the model in question apparently was indeed bare-breasted, though as the scene is in long shot it's virtually impossible to tell.
Its budget was $1.5 million and the film ultimately cost almost twice as much as that, a sum significantly higher than most of Columbia's other output combined.
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