Unknown World (Blu-ray Review)
- Review Date: May 28, 2025
- Format: Blu-ray Disc
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Director
Terrell O. MorseRelease Date(s)
1951 (June 24, 2025)Studio(s)
Lippert Pictures (Severin Films)- Film/Program Grade: C+
- Video Grade: C+
- Audio Grade: B-
- Extras Grade: C+
Review
Poverty Row studio Lippert Pictures, which also released other science fiction and horror films, such as Scared to Death, Monster from the Ocean Floor, Rocketship X-M, Project Moonbase, and King Dinosaur, among others, produced and released Unknown World in 1951. Terrell O. Morse, mostly known as an editor for Warner Bros. at the time, prior to helming British Intelligence, Fog Island, and the US version of Godzilla: King of the Monsters!, took up directing duties, mainly because due to his ability of working well with stock footage and special effects, blending them in a way that was more believable than most other low budget filmmakers.
In the film, Dr. Morley (an uncredited Victor Kilian) fears the threat of nuclear annihilation during the early stages of the Cold War era, and the likely extinction of the human species. He and his fellow scientists (played by Marilyn Nash, Otto Waldis, Jim Bannon, Tom Handley, and Dick Cogan) develop the idea of exploring beneath the Earth’s surface with their newly-developed machine, the Cyclotram. If built, it could be used to transport them all and drill into the Earth, in the hopes of finding unknown underground areas in which humans could survive. They’re rejected for government funding, but the wealthy son of a newspaper organization (Bruce Kellogg) agrees to fully fund them, under the condition that he goes along with them. Despite their skepticism, they agree to his terms, and soon they all find themselves deep inside the Earth.
A little At the Earth’s Core and a little Journey to the Center of the Earth, Unknown World is not so much a monster movie as it is a hard science fiction drama. In fact, there are no monsters to be found, not even among the crew of the Cyclotram. The drama comes from the perils and pitfalls of their journey, as well as their willingness to co-operate with each other, even in the most dire of circumstances. Of course, the concept (core, if you will) that the center of the Earth could be a large, open space has been around since the 17th century. And because of the ongoing success of the original Jules Verne novel, television, and film versions of Journey to the Center of the Earth, the theory of “Hollow Earth” continues to be explored in science fiction media.
Unknown World was also among many films that special effects technicians Jack Rabin and Irving Block put into motion. Matte paintings, opticals, and miniature work are used to realize the story, and while the latter certainly doesn’t lend itself to modern effects work, there’s a charm to it in how well it’s executed for the time, and how it’s used in the storytelling. The story itself is mostly dry, aside from occasional interpersonal conflicts between characters, as well as the bombastic and dramatic conclusion, but monster movie kids of the 1950s and beyond were certainly unimpressed with it at the time. Many adults weren’t particularly enamored of it either, and outside of the occasional airing on TV, the film has mostly been forgotten. However, even as a fictionalized snapshot of a scientific theory put into practice because of a nation’s fears during the Cold War era, Unknown World winds up being a significant and valuable document.
Unknown World was shot by cinematographers Allen G. Siegler and Henry Freulich on 35mm black-and-white film with spherical lenses, finished photochemically, and presented in the aspect ratio of 1.33:1. Severin Films debuts the film on Blu-ray with a 4K scan of the protection internegative, (presumably all that remains of the film, though unconfirmed by this reviewer), encoded to a dual-layered BD-50. Seen over the years in substandard, low definition presentations of all sorts with varying amounts of footage, Unknown World has never had a solid home video presentation until now. It’s a much sharper and clearer presentation than ever before, but since it’s from a battered latter generation element, it’s certainly not perfect. It’s loaded with heavy grain, scratches, speckling, and some telecine wobble, not to mention the generational loss from opticals, stock footage, and artificial zooms. That said, all you need to do is pull up a random presentation of the film on Youtube to see how much more crisp and organic this presentation is. It offers decent contrast with some crushed blacks, but still higher levels of detail than previously seen. There are occasional moments when minor sections of footage are still missing, but they’ve been missing from the film for decades, and since this is likely the only source until a fully uncut print can be located (if one still exists), this is as good as it gets. Thankfully, it outperforms every previous presentation.
Audio is included in English 2.0 mono DTS-HD Master Audio with optional subtitles in English SDH. Hiss, mild crackle, and built-in sibilance are present, but dialogue exchanges are perfectly discernible. It’s sometimes crowded, especially when it comes to sound effects and score, but for what it is, it’s a fine track.
The Severin Films Blu-ray release of Unknown World sits in a black Amaray case with an insert that uses artwork from the film’s theatrical vertical insert poster. The following extras are included on the disc, all in HD:
- Audio Commentary with Stephen R. Bissette
- Victor Kilian: A Blacklist Legacy (21:40)
- The Unknown World of Terrell O. Morse (17:32)
- Special Effects Maestros of the 1950s with Stephen R. Bissette (22:11)
- Trailer (1:17)
The audio commentary features comic book artist and film writer Stephen R. Bissette, who highlights the film’s many positive aspects, with the caveat that even he was not a fan of it himself when he was a young monster kid. He takes a look the careers of those involved, while also examining the film’s place within science fiction films of the 1950s, its treatment of Cold War fears, and other literary and film-based projects of similar ilk. In A Blacklist Legacy, author and teacher Crawford Kilian, grandson of actor Victor Kilian, details his family’s history and its ties to socialism and communism, providing information about Victor, how his active political affiliations affected his career, his tragic end, and what his exposure to Hollywood did for him personally. In The Unknown World of Terrell O. Morse, author and film historian C. Courtney Joyner delves into the career of the titular editor and director. Special Effects Maestros of the 1950s is an examination by Stephen R. Bissette, covering the careers of special effects artists Jack Rabin and Irving A. Block, referencing the articles A Clever, Resourceful Special Effect Surprise by Glenn Erickson and Special Effects Design and Created by: Jack Rabin and Irving Block by Robert and Dennis Skotak, the latter published in FantaScene magazine from 1976. Last is the film’s “trailer”, which is more of an overview of the film’s plot using HD footage from the main presentation, meaning that the advertising materials are apparently lost.
If you’re a fan of science fiction-based storytelling and can look past the veneer of 1950s low budget filmmaking, much of which has been judged much too harshly over the years, then Unknown World will certainly appeal to you. Since most people could only find this film in poor quality on streaming and on DVD, this Blu-ray is a breath of fresh air. The presentation is as good as it’s gonna get, and compared to what’s come before, is most assuredly a step up.
- Tim Salmons
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