Lost Horizon (1937)
Director: Frank Capra
Starring: Ronald Colman, Jane Wyatt, Edward Everett
Synopsis:
A British diplomat and several other evacuees have their plane hijacked and they crash-land into the Himalayas, where they are taken to the mystical utopia of Shangri-La, but the paradise in the mountains may be nothing more than a gilded cage.
Impressions:
This isn't the sort of movie you'd expect from Frank Capra, but that was part of the reason he wanted to direct in the first place. Unfortunately, the film has been hacked apart over the years and even with the most diligent efforts of film restorers, some seven minutes of footage have been lost. Apparently the original cut was over six hours long and all of that is gone as well. (Personally, I don't know what they could've done with any six hours, but so it goes.) There's an interesting philosophical game with the protagonist's ideals and those of Shangri-La contrasted with the more worldly companions. As always, Ronald Colman is a treat as the lead and I also liked Thomas Mitchell as the mischievous Barnard, HB Warner as Chang, and Sam Jaffe as the High Lama. If you like stories about good deals that seem too good to be true, you should like this. Give this one a watch.
Watch It