This 1973 musical take of Lost Horizon, James Hilton’s popular fantasy about Shangri-La, a peaceful Himalayan utopia whose residents appear to have eternal life was a big budget spectacular that failed to come alight.
The set-up is similar to Frank Capra’s 1937 original, with a handful of plane crash survivors finding their way to the mountain valley; once there, the impressive cast bursts into songs provided by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. The musical numbers were choreographed by the legendary Hermes Pan.
Jean Louis, costume designer for Lost Horizon, was an Academy Award-winning artist perhaps most celebrated for the unforgettable strapless gown he designed for Rita Hayworth’s Put the Blame on Mame’ number in Gilda (1946).’
production details
USA | Columbia | 143 minutes | 1973
Director: Charles Jarrott
Producer: Ross Hunter
Director of Photography: Robert Surtees
Editor: Dan Wallin, Maury Winetrobe
Composers: Burt Bacharach, Hal David
Screenwriter: Larry Kramer
cast
Peter Finch as Richard Conway
George Kennedy as Sam Cornelius
John Gielgud as Chang
James Shigeta as Brother To-Lenn
Liv Ullmann as Catherine
Sally Kellerman as Sally Hughes
Michael York as George Conway
Olivia Hussey as Maria
Bobby Van as Harry Lovett
Charles Boyer as The High Lama
Kent Smith as Bill Fergunson