PulpFest 2024 will celebrate “Spice, Spies, Shaw, and More,” at this year’s convention. We’ll be marking the 90th anniversary of Harry Donenfeld’s “Spicy” pulps and the 150th anniversary of the birth of legendary Black Mask editor Joseph T. “Cap” Shaw. It’s also the 90th anniversary of Secret Agent X, Operator #5, and other espionage pulp heroes.
But that’s not all. Once again, PulpFest will host its third salute to the Master of Adventure, Edgar Rice Burroughs. Co-hosted by Henry G. Franke III — the editor of The Burroughs Bibliophiles, which publishes The Burroughs Bulletin journal and The Gridley Wave monthly newsletter — ERBFest was started in 2021 when it seemed as if a second summer was going to pass without both of the usual Burroughs conventions — The Burroughs Bibliophiles’ Dum-Dum and the Edgar Rice Burroughs Chain of Friendship.
In its third iteration, this year’s ERBFest will celebrate the centennial of the first book publication of Burroughs’ The Land That Time Forgot and the fiftieth anniversary of the film of the same title.
Produced by Amicus Productions, The Land That Time Forgot was directed by Kevin Connor and starred Doug McClure. The screenplay was by James Cawthorn and Michael Moorcock.
Originally released as three connected novellas in 1918, published by The Blue Book Magazine, the first book edition — published in 1924 by A. C. McClurg — brought all three stories together as The Land That Time Forgot. It’s the story of a U-boat lost in the South Atlantic, that comes upon an island, ringed by towering cliffs. A submerged passageway leads the crew of the submarine under the cliffs to the land of Caspak. There, primitive human beings live side-by-side with dinosaurs and other relics of the past. It is truly a “Land That Time Forgot.”
Optioned by Great Britain’s Amicus Productions, the company teamed up with Samuel Z. Arkoff of American International Pictures to produce the film in 1974. Shot at England’s Shepperton Studios with hand puppets standing in for dinosaurs and other vanished lifeforms, The Land That Time Forgot was filmed over 16 weeks with a budget of $250,000. Its box office success led to a 1977 sequel — The People That Time Forgot — and another Burroughs adaptation, At the Earth’s Core, produced in 1976. Both were also directed by Connor.
A contemporary retelling of “The Land That Time Forgot” was produced in 2009 by The Asylum, an independent American film studio. Directed by and starring C. Thomas Howell, it’s an adaptation of both Burroughs’ initial novella and the 1974 film version of the story. The film was released overseas as Dinosaur Island.
We hope you’ll join PulpFest and ERBFest 2024 on Thursday, August 1, at 11:05 p.m. for a showing of Kevin Connor’s The Land That Time Forgot, and on Friday, August 2, at 11:05 p.m. for a showing of the film’s sequel, The People That Time Forgot, starring Patrick Wayne and Sarah Douglas, with McClure thrown in near the end.
In addition to these two entertaining films, ERBFest 2024 will also feature presentations on “Pulp Paleontology” and “The Women of Edgar Rice Burroughs,” as well as a panel presentation by Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. All this and more will be part of ERBFest 2024.
Of special note is the 2024 Dum-Dum Banquet, scheduled for Saturday, August 3, starting at 5:30 p.m. at the Bravo! Italian Kitchen, located one-half mile from PulpFest’s host hotel. The banquet will be hosted by The Burroughs Bibliophiles and is independent of PulpFest 2024.
PulpFest 2024 begins on August 1 and runs through August 4 at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Pittsburgh – Cranberry in Mars, Pennsylvania. We’ll be celebrating “Spice, Spies, Shaw, and More” at this year’s convention.
The general public is welcome to attend our evening programming events free of charge. To learn more about our programming, please click the Schedule button at the top of this page.
For those who also want to enjoy our dealers’ room, you can join PulpFest by clicking the registration button at the top of this page. And don’t forget to book a room at the DoubleTree. They’re going fast!
If you want to sell at this year’s PulpFest, our wall tables are sold out. Island tables are still available, but they won’t last long. Register soon!
Our featured image is excerpted from Frank R. Paul’s cover for the February 1927 issue of Amazing Stories. The painting illustrates the Edgar Rice Burroughs novella, “The Land That Time Forgot.” The remaining segments of Burroughs’ trilogy were reprinted in the March and April 1927 issues of Amazing Stories.
Our lead image was adapted by PulpFest advertising director William Lampkin from Maurice S. Carter’s movie poster for The People That Time Forgot, directed by Kevin Connor and produced by Britain’s Amicus Productions and American International Pictures. Before its release in 1977, Amicus Productions shut its doors.
Hamilton King painted the cover for the August 1918 number of Blue Book Magazine. The issue features the Edgar Rice Burroughs novella, “The Land That Time Forgot,” the first of three connected novellas that became The Land That Time Forgot, when published in 1924 by A. C. McClurg. King was a prominent illustrator who worked in the late 1800s and early 1900s. He was known for his female portrait and figure pastel and gouache paintings and illustrations. From 1910 to 1913, King illustrated the “Coca-Cola girls” for calendars. Later, he became well known for his “Hamilton King Girls,” often done to advertise Turkish Trophies Cigarettes. His work can be found in The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Smithsonian Institute.
Our final image is Tom Chantrell’s movie poster for The Land That Time Forgot. Directed by Kevin Connor and starring Doug McClure, the film was produced by Britain’s Amicus Productions and American International Pictures. It was released in 1974.
Trademarks Tarzan®, Tarzan of the Apes®, Jane Porter®, La of Opar™, Opar™, John Carter®, Dejah Thoris®, Tara of Helium™, Barsoom®, Chessmen of Mars™, Pellucidar®, At the Earth’s Core™, David Innes™, Dian the Beautiful™, The Land That Time Forgot®, Edgar Rice Burroughs®, Master of Adventure™, and others owned by Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. Associated logos, characters, names, and the distinctive likenesses thereof are trademarks or registered trademarks of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. Used by Permission.
