‘Lost Horizon’ from 1937: A 1930s Utopian Film

Theatrical release poster for the 1937 film "Lost Horizon." (Public Domain)

Commentary

“In these days of wars and rumors of wars - haven’t you ever dreamed of a place where there was peace and security, where living was not a struggle but a lasting delight? Of course you have. So has every man since time began. Always the same dream. Sometimes he calls it Utopia - Sometimes the Fountain of Youth - Sometimes merely ‘that little chicken farm.’ One man had such a dream and saw it come true. He was Robert Conway - England’s ‘Man of the East’ - soldier, diplomat, public hero.”

So begins the 1937 film “Lost Horizon,” perhaps one of the most unusual films ever directed by Frank Capra. It doesn’t include any of the sentimental, down-to-earth, feel-good patriotism which typifies most of his more famous films. Instead, it’s a fantasy tribute to 1930s escapism.

A theatrical release poster for the 1937 film "Lost Horizon." (Public Domain)

This film was based on the 1933 novel of the same name by James Hilton, which coined the term Shangri-La. It starred Ronald Colman and Jane Wyatt with a largely ensemble cast of character actors, including Edward Everett Horton, John Howard, Thomas Mitchell, Isabel Jewell, and H. B. Warner. The inclusion of Mitchell and Warner in the cast is one of the only hints that this Columbia Pictures production was directed by Frank Capra, since the two actors were regulars in his films.

Paradise Found

According to the opening credits, “Our story starts in the war-torn Chinese city of Baskul, where Robert Conway has been sent to evacuate ninety white people before they are butchered in a local revolution. Baskul - the night of March 10, 1935.” Bob Conway (Colman) is a British diplomat who is on the verge of becoming the Foreign Secretary, but the hypocrisy, violence, and strife his job forces him to condone trouble his peaceful spirit. He ends up on the last plane out of Baskul with four other passengers: George Conway (Howard), his younger brother; Lovett (Horton), a stuffy British paleontologist; Barnard (Mitchell), a sarcastic American of mysterious background; and Gloria (Jewell), a bitter young woman who is dying. They soon discover that their plane has been hijacked and is flying the wrong direction, toward the Tibetan mountains.

The plane eventually crashes in the freezing mountains, killing the mysterious pilot. Suddenly, English-speaking locals appear and invite them to follow them to their lamasery. Freezing and starving, the five passengers eagerly follow their guides along a treacherous mountain pass. Eventually, they reach Shangri-La, a fertile valley which is temperate and lush because it is protected by encircling mountains. Their host is Chang (Warner), a friendly old sage who welcomes them warmly, offering them food, clothing, and comforts, but very few answers. Art, music, and literature are revered, and there is no crime and strife. Following the simple rule of being kind, the inhabitants age very slowly, living in health and prosperity decades past normal lifespans. Bob is entranced by this paradise, feeling that he’s finally found where he belongs, but his companions are suspicious and uncomfortable with the whole thing.

Bob soon learns that he was brought to Shangri-La on purpose, at the insistence of a beautiful young woman who lives there, Sondra (Wyatt). She read his books and realized that he was searching for what the inhabitants of Shangri-La had found. Bob learns more of the mysterious place’s secrets when he is summoned to meet the High Lama (Sam Jaffe), a wise, centuries-old priest named Father Perrault who founded the lamasery. Meanwhile, the three other passengers of the airplane begin bonding with each other and appreciating the attributes of the gentle valley. Only George remains hostile to the place, growing increasingly disgusted by his brother’s reluctance to leave. He conspires with Maria (Margo), a local woman who says that Shangri-La and its leaders are not what they seem.

Lobby card from the 1937 film "Lost Horizon." (Public Domain)

Christianity versus Theosophy

When I watched this movie, I instinctively felt that the religion of Shangri-La’s lamasery had been purged of an Eastern flavor which was present in the book, making it more Christian for the film. Upon reading portions of the original novel, I found that my suspicions were correct. While the only lama seen or discussed in the film is the High Lama, the novel’s lamasery houses a real religious order; the film’s lamasery seems more like a philosophical society than a monastery. Chang of the novel is a postulant, as is Lo-Tsen, a Tibetan woman who was expanded into Sondra and Maria in the film. The film gives little explanation for the inhabitants of Shangri-La’s extended lifespans and slow aging; Chang basically attributes it to the peaceful lifestyle and ideal atmosphere, vaguely alluding to the mountain spring water. While the valley’s gifts of health and anti-aging are automatically afforded to all its inhabitants in the film, the novel’s High Lama explains that they are results of the monastic order’s discipline, allowing the lamas to live in passionless reflection for at least two centuries while the other inhabitants age and die at slightly better odds than average. The High Lama also mentions the pleasurable usage of a narcotic berry, which one of the visitors infers is related to the extended lifespan.

The religious views behind the lamasery were changed significantly from the book. Chang is slightly less mysterious in the film, telling Conway about the principles behind their community long before he sees the High Lama. The main principle is moderation in everything—this speech comes directly from the book. However, there is a decided Buddhist influence in the book which was largely removed from the film. We see no religious temples, either Christian or Buddhist, in the movie, while the book’s High Lama refers to both existing in the valley. Chang asserts that there can be a degree of truth in more than one religion, a syncretistic belief present in Shangri-La which horrifies Christian missionary Roberta Brinklow. Miss Brinklow’s elimination from the group of visitors simplified the religious situation, since none of the film’s Western characters presents a strong Christian viewpoint to oppose the utopia’s residents.

Postcard promotion for the 1937 film "Lost Horizon." (Public Domain)

There was an unmistakable flavor of Eastern mysticism in the film’s lamasery, mainly from the Chinese costuming of the natives and the use of the term lama. However, I couldn’t pinpoint any accompanying New Age thinking, which was more accurately called theosophy in the 1930s. Today, those decidedly anti-Christian beliefs are in mainstream culture, so I easily detected their lingering traces, but that wouldn’t have been so easy for viewers in those pre-hippie days. The novel, on the other hand, made it clear that Father Perrault left the strong Catholicism of his priestly youth for a hybrid of Christianity’s milder principles and Buddhist or Hindu ideas about meditation and reflection. His exploration of yoga’s spiritual breathing patterns, attempts at levitation, clairvoyant telepathy, implied reincarnation, and placid acceptance of behavior long deemed immoral by Christianity makes it clear that he has become more theosophist than Christian. Only one line implies any reminder of his previous Christianity: “Then, my son, when the strong have devoured each other, the Christian ethic may at last be fulfilled, and the meek shall inherit the earth.” With all these pagan elements removed in the film, the film’s High Lama became an unusual yet devout Christian monk who believed that Shangri-La’s amazing properties were divine miracles and his work there a calling from God to preserve beauty and brotherly love.

Utopia or Cult?

This movie is a true product of the 1930s. Even the architecture of the lamasery reflects an Art Deco fascination with orientalism. The theme of escaping the problems of modern life is also a popular one of the decade. After the Great War (World War I), the Lost Generation plunged into the decadence of the 1920s to forget its lost humanity and forsaken morality, only to be sobered by the want of the Great Depression and the threat of looming wars in the 1930s. In this tumultuous climate, many dreamed of fleeing from Western society’s chaos to some primitive community in search of peace. This theme was introduced in another Frank Capra movie, “It Happened One Night” in 1934, in which the leading man dreams about taking his girl to an island in the Pacific. James Hilton was obviously inspired by the Lost World fiction of Victorian adventure novelist H. Rider Haggard, who started the popular genre with his “King Solomon’s Mines.”

Any story which introduces a utopia makes me think of the old adage, “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.” As soon as the crash survivors discovered the mysterious place, I was inclined to be skeptical about its legitimacy. While Conway is entranced by Shangri-La much faster in the movie than in the book, it took me longer to believe that it was in fact a paradise of peace and prosperity on earth. Once I did, however, I had to admit that I saw few facts to support my concerns that it was a trap. The lack of government and the resulting absence of crime might be a bit far-fetched, but I detected no sinister purpose behind it.

The diluted remnants of Eastern religion made the dilemma which Conway faces even more powerful. George passionately implores him to leave Shangri-La with the porters, just as Mallison, his young assistant, does in the book. The film character’s struggle is greater because George is his brother, not just a friend. However, the audience faces just as disturbing a dilemma as Conway does. Are all those little Eastern details proof that the lamasery is based on unholy rituals? Is Shangri-La not a paradise of Christian brotherly love but a sinister theosophical cult? Well, you have to watch the film to find out for yourself, but I can tell you one thing. The changes which were made in bringing this story to the screen were brilliant, making it, if not a testament of how to find paradise on earth, at least a beautiful escape for two hours.