A Previous "Hosts's Choice" Presentation
at Friday Night Movies:

Lost Horizon

Friday the 11th of November at Bill's House
Pot luck supper @ 7pm, Movie @ 8pm

I think I'm going to like it here.
-- Robert Conway (Ronald Colman)

USA: 1937 -- Directed by Frank Capra
Written by Robert Riskin & Sidney Buchman, from the novel by James Hilton
Starring Ronald Colman, Jane Wyatt, H. B. Warner, Edward Everett Horton and Sam Jaffe

Gentlemen, I give you a toast. Here's my hope that Robert Conway will find his Shangri-La. Here's my hope that we all find our Shangri-La.
--Hugh Buckler as Lord Gainsford

British diplomat Robert Conway and a small group of civilians crash land in the Himalayas, and are rescued by the people of the mysterious, Eden-like valley of Shangri-la. Protected by the mountains from the world outside, where the clouds of World War II are gathering, Shangri-la provides a seductive escape for the world-weary Conway.

Hope to see you there. We'll save you an aisle seat and a Sherpa.

Awards

Won Oscar for Best Art Direction (Stephen Goosson) and Best Film Editing (Gene Havlick & Gene Milford

Nominated for Oscar for Best Picture (Frank Capra), Best Supporting Actor (H.B. Warner), Best Music, Score (Morris Stoloff, Score by Dimitri Tiomkin), Best Assistant Director (Charles C. Coleman) & Best Sound, Recording (John P. Livadary)

Memorable Quotes

Robert Conway: You know, when we were on that plane, I was fascinated by the way the shadow followed us. That silly shadow! Racing along over mountains and valleys, covering ten times the distance of the plane, and yet always there to greet us... with outstretched arms when we landed. And I've been thinking that, somehow, you're that plane, and I'm that silly shadow. That all my life I've been rushing up and down hills, leaping rivers, crashing over obstacles, never dreaming that one day that beautiful thing in flight would land on this earth and into my arms.

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Trivia

Frank Capra's first cut of the film ran for 6 hours.

Many scenes were shot at the Los Angeles Ice and Cold Storage Warehouse where Capra had 13,000 square feet of refrigerated space at his disposal.

Bleached corn flakes were used for the blizzard sequences.

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.

When shown on US television, the film's title was "Lost Horizon of Shangri-La".

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Goofs

Factual errors: When Bob, George and Maria are leaving Shangri-La, they pass to the right of a Tibetan stupa. As per religious custom (then and now), they should always walk to the left of the Stupa, and never to the right. It could be argued that they did so out of ignorance, but Sandra is chasing after Bob and commits the same error. Surely she has been in Tibet long enough to know of this ancient custom and would never make such a careless spiritual mistake.

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