Atlantis: The Lost Continent (1961)

A Greek fisherman named Demetrios (Sal Ponti, billed here as Anthony Hall)rescues a woman who turns out to be the Princess of Atlantis (Joyce Taylor). On the way to return her to her people, the two fall in love.

Arriving at the island of Atlantis, Demetrios is sent to be a slave in the pit by Zaren, the king’s evil adviser and right-hand man (John Dall), who is planning to become master of the world by using a crystal-powered death ray to destroy all other countries.

Demetrios survives various ordeals – including the efforts of a mad surgeon (Berry Kroeger) to transform him into an animal – before leading an escape from Atlantis, which is destroyed by a volcanic eruption.

It’s a disappointing comic strip fantasy from George Pal, who had directed the outstanding The Time Machine the previous year.

MGM gave him a tiny budget for this picture; hence, Pal reused sets from The Time Machine and much stock footage from the MGM epic Quo Vadis (1951).

Demetrios
Sal Ponti (as Anthony Hall)
Antillia
Joyce Taylor
Zaren
John Dall
Captain of the Guard
William Smith
Azor
Edward Platt
Sonoy
Frank DeKova
Surgeon
Berry Kroeger
King Kronas
Edgar Stehli
Petros
Wolfe Barzell
Xandros
Jay Novello
Narrator
Paul Frees

Director
George Pal