Lost Horizon
Starring: Ronald Colman, Jane Wyatt, Sam Jaffe
Director: Frank Capra, Andrew Marton
Writer: Robert Riskin, James Hilton
Producer: Frank Capra
Lost Horizon (re-released in 1942 as The Lost Horizon of Shangri-La) is a 1937 American adventure drama fantasy film directed by Frank Capra. The screenplay by Robert Riskin is based on the 1933 novel of the same name by James Hilton. The film exceeded its original budget by more than $776,000 and took five years to earn back its cost.
Trivia
- Won the Academy Award for Best Film Editing.
- Won the Academy Award for Best Production Design.
- Also nominated for: Academy Award for Best Picture; Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor; Academy Award for Best Score, Adaptation or Treatment; Academy Award for Best Sound.
- Based on Lost Horizon (1933 novel by James Hilton).
- Frank Capra had read the James Hilton novel while filming It Happened One Night, and he intended to make Lost Horizon his next project.
- Harry Cohn authorized a budget of $1.25 million for the film, the largest amount ever allocated to a project up to that time.
- According to a 1986 Variety interview with Frank Capra Jr., his father had wanted to shoot the film in color, but because the only suitable stock footage he intended to incorporate into the film, such as scenes from a documentary about the Himalayas, was in black and white, he was forced to change his plans.
Filming Locations
- California
- Principal photography began on March 23, 1936, and by the time it was completed on July 17, the director had spent $1.6 million.
- Many exteriors were filmed on location in Palm Springs, Lucerne Valley, the Ojai Valley, the Mojave Desert, the Sierra Nevada Mountains, and in what is now Westlake Village, adding the cost of transporting cast, crew, and equipment to the swelling budget.
Previous Showings
13 Runs • 9 Festivals
All runs on record (13):
- February 16 - 18, 1990w/ The Bitter Tea of General Yen
- April 1 - 5, 1990w/ Lady for a Day
- July 18 - 19, 1996w/ Top Hat
- May 10 - 11, 1997w/ The Bitter Tea of General Yen
- September 17 - 19, 1999summer99w/ Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
- October 12 - 13, 2002Fall Folliesw/ Random Harvest
- April 12 - 14, 2006Ronald Colmanw/ Random Harvest
- July 2 - 7, 2006Summer 2006w/ The Rescue, Random Harvest
- November 24 - 27, 2007Fall 2007 The Films of Frank Capra, plus other favoritesw/ The Bitter Tea of General Yen
- November 1 - 2, 200920th Anniversary Festivalw/ Random Harvest
- November 12 - 13, 2011Fall 2011w/ Goodbye, Mr. Chips
- January 17 - 19, 2014Frank Capra Festivalw/ The Bitter Tea of General Yen
- January 10 - 12, 2025The Films of Frank Capraw/ The Bitter Tea of General Yen