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Lost Horizon

  • 19371937
  • ApprovedApproved
  • 2h 12m
IMDb RATING
7.6/10
13K
YOUR RATING
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
Ronald Colman in Lost Horizon (1937)
Official Trailer
Play trailer1:59
1 Video
66 Photos
  • Adventure
  • Drama
  • Fantasy

When a revered diplomat's plane is diverted and crashes in the peaks of Tibet, he and the other survivors are guided to an isolated monastery at Shangri-La, where they wrestle with the invit... Read allWhen a revered diplomat's plane is diverted and crashes in the peaks of Tibet, he and the other survivors are guided to an isolated monastery at Shangri-La, where they wrestle with the invitation to stay.When a revered diplomat's plane is diverted and crashes in the peaks of Tibet, he and the other survivors are guided to an isolated monastery at Shangri-La, where they wrestle with the invitation to stay.

IMDb RATING
7.6/10
13K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Frank Capra
  • Writers
    • Robert Riskin(screenplay)
    • James Hilton(novel)
    • Sidney Buchman(contributor to screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Ronald Colman
    • Jane Wyatt
    • Edward Everett Horton
Top credits
  • Director
    • Frank Capra
  • Writers
    • Robert Riskin(screenplay)
    • James Hilton(novel)
    • Sidney Buchman(contributor to screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Ronald Colman
    • Jane Wyatt
    • Edward Everett Horton
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 140User reviews
    • 45Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Won 2 Oscars
      • 3 wins & 6 nominations total

    Videos1

    Lost Horizon
    Trailer 1:59
    Lost Horizon

    Photos66

    Lost Horizon (1937)
    Ronald Colman and Jane Wyatt in Lost Horizon (1937)
    Edward Everett Horton, Ronald Colman, John Howard, Isabel Jewell, and Thomas Mitchell in Lost Horizon (1937)
    Ronald Colman and H.B. Warner in Lost Horizon (1937)
    Lost Horizon (1937)
    Ronald Colman and Jane Wyatt in Lost Horizon (1937)
    Edward Everett Horton, Ronald Colman, Isabel Jewell, Thomas Mitchell, and H.B. Warner in Lost Horizon (1937)
    Edward Everett Horton, Ronald Colman, John Howard, Isabel Jewell, Richard Master, and Thomas Mitchell in Lost Horizon (1937)
    Ronald Colman in Lost Horizon (1937)
    Ronald Colman and Val Duran in Lost Horizon (1937)
    Ronald Colman, Val Duran, and John Howard in Lost Horizon (1937)
    Ronald Colman and Jane Wyatt in Lost Horizon (1937)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Ronald Colman
    Ronald Colman
    • Robert Conwayas Robert Conway
    Jane Wyatt
    Jane Wyatt
    • Sondraas Sondra
    Edward Everett Horton
    Edward Everett Horton
    • Lovettas Lovett
    John Howard
    John Howard
    • George Conwayas George Conway
    Thomas Mitchell
    Thomas Mitchell
    • Barnardas Barnard
    Margo
    Margo
    • Mariaas Maria
    Isabel Jewell
    Isabel Jewell
    • Gloriaas Gloria
    H.B. Warner
    H.B. Warner
    • Changas Chang
    Sam Jaffe
    Sam Jaffe
    • High Lamaas High Lama
    Norman Ainsley
    • Embassy Club Stewardas Embassy Club Steward
    • (uncredited)
    Chief John Big Tree
    Chief John Big Tree
    • Porteras Porter
    • (uncredited)
    Wyrley Birch
    Wyrley Birch
    • Missionaryas Missionary
    • (uncredited)
    Beatrice Blinn
    Beatrice Blinn
    • Passengeras Passenger
    • (uncredited)
    Hugh Buckler
    • Lord Gainsfordas Lord Gainsford
    • (uncredited)
    Sonny Bupp
    Sonny Bupp
    • Boy Being Carried to Planeas Boy Being Carried to Plane
    • (unconfirmed)
    • (uncredited)
    John Burton
    • Wynantas Wynant
    • (uncredited)
    Tom Campbell
    • Porteras Porter
    • (uncredited)
    Matthew Carlton
    • Pottery Makeras Pottery Maker
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Frank Capra
    • Writers
      • Robert Riskin(screenplay)
      • James Hilton(novel)
      • Sidney Buchman(contributor to screenplay) (uncredited)
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
    • All cast & crew

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    Storyline

    Edit
    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. —Marg Baskin <marg@asd.raytheon.ca>
    • tibet
    • skinny dipping
    • swimming
    • national film registry
    • psychotronic film
    • 65 more
    • Plot summary
    • Add synopsis
    • Taglines
      • Frank Capra's Mightiest Production
    • Genres
      • Adventure
      • Drama
      • Fantasy
      • Mystery
    • Certificate
      • Approved
    • Parents guide

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The year after this film was released the owner of a prosperous theater chain hired an architect who designed a mansion that was inspired by the Shangri-La lamasery in this film. Located in Denver, Colorado, it still exists today.
    • Goofs
      Echoing the words of the critic, James Agate: 'The best film I've seen for ages, but will somebody please tell me how they got the grand piano along a footpath on which only one person can walk at a time with rope and pickaxe and with a sheer drop of three thousand feet or so?'
    • Quotes

      Chang: Age is a limit we impose upon ourselves. You know, each time you Westerners celebrate your birthday, you build another fence around your minds.

    • Crazy credits
      Bob Gitt of the UCLA Film & Television Archives claims the original opening sequence in 1937 had title cards "Conway has been sent to evacuate ninety white people before they're butchered in a local revolution" was changed in 1942 for a special reissue during WWII. The title cards read "before innocent Chinese people were butchered by Japanese hordes." This was to bolster propaganda against the Japanese.
    • Alternate versions
      Some of the music in the restored version is dubbed into different sections than the ones in the 118 minute cut version. For example, the moment in which Robert Conway ('Ronald Colman') discovers that the High Lama is really Father Perrault i accompanied by soft music in the cut version, while in the restored version this moment is played with no music.
    • Connections
      Edited from Storm Over Mont Blanc (1930)
    • Soundtracks
      Wiegenlied (Brahms' Lullaby), Op. 49, No. 4
      (1868) (uncredited)

      Music and Lyrics by Johannes Brahms

      English translator unknown

      Sung a cappella by children at Shangri-La

    User reviews140

    Review
    Top review
    For those who have not lost hope
    I watched this film for the first time as a 10 year old and its effects on my willingness to be a optimistic idealist have always been led by my memories of this hope inspiring tribute to the need for the human being to find Heaven in this life. Perhaps Lost Horizon could have been that spark that enabled me to find just that. Like all films from another era do not judge this film for its apparent imperfections, rather for what it offered the audiences of that time (1937), hope that all would be well when man would recognize that his time is always better spent broadening his horizons of understanding. Frank Capra's guides his audiences through danger and turmoil to that place which dreams are made of, when we all make the effort to make it happen.
    helpful•20
    1
    • alexander_caughey
    • Mar 30, 2004

    FAQ3

    • Why was Maria so anxious to leave Shangri La?
    • Why is Maria so anxious to leave Shangri La?
    • Is the version usually seen faithful to the director's intentions?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • September 1, 1937 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Official site
      • Sony Pictures
    • Languages
      • English
      • Mandarin
    • Also known as
      • Lost Horizon of Shangri-La
    • Filming locations
      • Ojai, California, USA
    • Production company
      • Columbia Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $4,000,000 (estimated)
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 12 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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