The Secret of the Loch | |
---|---|
Directed by | Milton Rosmer |
Written by | Charles Bennett Billie Bristow |
Produced by | Bray Wyndham |
Starring | Seymour Hicks |
Cinematography | James Wilson |
Edited by | David Lean |
Music by | Peter Mendoza |
Production company | Wyndham Productions |
Distributed by | Associated British |
Release date |
|
Running time | 78 minutes |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
The Secret of the Loch is a 1934 British film about the Loch Ness Monster. It is the first film made about the monster. [1] [2] [3] It was edited by David Lean.
Charles Bennett said the film was based on his original idea. He later admitted it was "terrible... but amusing". [4]
Professor Heggie is determined to prove to a sceptical scientific community the existence of a dinosaur living in Loch Ness. Young London reporter Jimmy Anderson believes him and offers to help. He also falls in love with Angela, the professor's granddaughter. Jimmy finally plucks up the courage to enter the Loch himself, where he comes face to face with the monster.
Actor | Role |
---|---|
Seymour Hicks | Professor Heggie |
Nancy O'Neil | Angela Heggie |
Gibson Gowland | Angus |
Frederick Peisley | Jimmy Anderson |
Eric Hales | Jack Campbell, the Diver |
Rosamund John | Maggie Fraser, the Barmaid |
Ben Field | Piermaster |
Robert Wilton | Reporter |
Hubert Harben | Professor Blenkinsop Fothergill |
Fewlass Llewellyn | Scientist at Meeting |
Stafford Hilliard | Macdonald |
D. J. Williams | Judge |
Clive Morton | Reporter/Photographer in Pub |
Cyril McLaglen | Mate |
The film was inspired by the success of King Kong. It was made by Bray Wyndham, an independent producer using Ealing’s studios and technicians while Basil Dean had a dispute with RKO. Prominent billing was given to Seymour Hicks. Director Milton Rosmer was borrowed from Gaumont, although George King was originally announced for the job. [5]
Charles Bennett and Billie Bristow visited Loch Ness in December 1933 to research the film. [6] Bennett later said "I went up to the Scottish highlands and searched out Loch Ness. I never met the monster, but I found a wonderful Scotch whiskey." [7]
The film was known as Sinister Deeps. [8]
The film was shot over four weeks. [9] In the film, the "monster" was portrayed by a young green iguana.
TV Guide called the film "a trite programmer which doesn't make one believe in the humans' actions, much less the sea serpent's"; [10] while Allmovie called it a "fairly amusing British monster movie...obscure but entertaining oddity"; [11] and Britmovie noted an "enjoyable comic romp." [12]
The Loch Ness Monster, also known as Nessie, is a mythical creature in Scottish folklore that is said to inhabit Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands. It is often described as large, long-necked, and with one or more humps protruding from the water. Popular interest and belief in the creature has varied since it was brought to worldwide attention in 1933. Evidence of its existence is anecdotal, with a number of disputed photographs and sonar readings.
Incident at Loch Ness is a 2004 mockumentary starring, produced by and written by Werner Herzog and Zak Penn, while also serving as the latter's directorial debut. The small cast film follows Herzog and his crew while working on the production of a movie project on the Loch Ness Monster titled Enigma of Loch Ness. Incident at Loch Ness won the New American Cinema Award at the 2004 Seattle International Film Festival.
The Family-Ness is a cartoon series from Scotland first produced in 1983. It was originally broadcast on BBC One from late 1984 to early 1985, with repeats airing throughout most of the 1990s and early 2000s, eventually ending with a short run on CBeebies on BBC Two between 11 and 22 February 2002. It was created by Peter Maddocks of Maddocks Cartoon Productions. Maddocks later went on to produce Penny Crayon and Jimbo and the Jet-Set in a similar style. Family-Ness was about the adventures of a family of Loch Ness Monsters and the MacToot family, particularly siblings Elspeth and Angus. The 'Nessies' could be called from the loch by the two children by means of their "thistle whistles".
Charles Alfred Selwyn Bennett was an English playwright, screenwriter and director probably best known for his work with Alfred Hitchcock.
The Loch Ness Monster is a creature from folklore that has appeared in popular culture in various genres since at least 1934. It is most often depicted as a relict dinosaur or similar, but other explanations for its existence such as being a shapeshifter or from outer space also appear. It is only occasionally portrayed as threatening, despite its name.
Roy P. Mackal was a University of Chicago biologist best known to the general public for his interest in cryptozoology.
A monster movie, monster film, creature feature or giant monster film is a film that focuses on one or more characters struggling to survive attacks by one or more antagonistic monsters, often abnormally large ones. The film may also fall under the horror, comedy, fantasy, or science fiction genres. Monster movies originated with adaptations of horror folklore and literature.
Loch Ness is a 1996 family drama film starring Ted Danson and Joely Richardson. It was written by John Fusco and directed by John Henderson.
Scooby-Doo! and the Loch Ness Monster is a 2004 direct-to-video animated comedy mystery film, and the seventh direct-to-video film based upon the Scooby-Doo Saturday morning cartoons. It was released on June 22, 2004, and it was produced by Warner Bros. Animation. Unlike the previous two films, it is not in the "classic format", and does not have the 1969 voice cast, and instead has Mystery Inc. voiced by their regular voice actors, and has them wearing their outfits from What's New, Scooby Doo?. It is also the first film to have Mindy Cohn voice Velma Dinkley, the What's New, Scooby Doo? theme song, and the film has Grey DeLisle returning to voice Daphne Blake since Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase.
The Giant Behemoth is a 1959 British-American monster film directed by Eugène Lourié, with special effects by Willis H. O'Brien, Pete Peterson, Irving Block, Jack Rabin, and Louis de Witt. The film stars Gene Evans and André Morell. The screenplay was written by blacklisted author Daniel Lewis James with director Lourié.
Timothy Kay Dinsdale was a British cryptozoologist who attempted to prove the existence of the Loch Ness Monster.
What a Whopper is a 1961 British comedy film directed by Gilbert Gunn and starring Adam Faith, Sid James and Carole Lesley. It was written by Terry Nation from an original script by Jeremy Lloyd.
The Loch Ness Horror is a 1981 independent monster movie directed by Larry Buchanan. The film was written by Buchanan and Lyn Schubert.
Dear Mr. Prohack is a 1949 British comedy film directed by Thornton Freeland and starring Cecil Parker, Glynis Johns and Dirk Bogarde. It is a modern-day version of Arnold Bennett's 1922 novel Mr Prohack, as adapted in the play by Edward Knoblock.
Cardboard Cavalier is a 1948 British historical comedy film directed by Walter Forde and starring Sid Field, Margaret Lockwood and Jerry Desmonde.
The Mysterious Monsters is a 1976 documentary film written and directed by Robert Guenette about the cryptids Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, and the Yeti. It contained content from Guenette’s made-for-TV movie Monsters! Mysteries or Myths? that aired on CBS on November 25, 1974. That version had been produced by David L. Wolper in cooperation with the Smithsonian Institution and was narrated by Rod Serling.
Marmaduke Arundel "Duke" Wetherell was a British–South African actor, screenwriter, producer, film director and big-game hunter. He was responsible for the hoax "surgeon's photograph" of the Loch Ness Monster.
The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep is a 2007 fantasy film directed by Jay Russell and written by Robert Nelson Jacobs, based on Dick King-Smith's children's novel The Water Horse. It stars Alex Etel as a young boy who discovers a mysterious egg and cares for what hatches out of it: a "water horse" which later becomes the fabled Loch Ness Monster. The film also stars Emily Watson, Ben Chaplin and David Morrissey.
Winifred Joyce "Winnie" Drinkwater was a pioneering Scottish aviator and aeroplane engineer. She was the first woman in the world to hold a commercial pilot's licence.