Germany/India co-production directed by Fritz Lang, these two films are really one continuous story. Der Tiger von Eschnapur (The Tiger of Eschnapur) (1956) & Das Indische Grabmal (The Hindu Tomb) (1958) have never been released with English subtitles though a horrendously condensed & dubbed version was released as Journey to the Lost City (1959); Lang disowned this ruined version.
 The film-pair remains virtually unknown to American audiences though it was internationally successful in its day & could be regarded as the last "cliffhanger" of the matinee serial variety. It is now available as a DVD set that is adequate, though one wonders what it might have been if Lang's vision hadn't been trampled. There's a good chance that any version would have been just as tedious.
A German architect on assignment in India, Berger (Paul Hubschmid aka Paul Christian) stumbles upon a hidden jungle city with its feuding princes, man-eating tigers, & a beautiful native dancer Seetha (Debra Paget) who Berger would like to bring back to civilization, & you would too, she's a hotty.
Since the prince of this city has a western education & has hired western architects to build a super-tomb for Seetha, the idea that this city is "Lost" seems itself to have gotten lost.
Seetha loves Berger in return, but under penalty of death she is not permitted ever to leave the palace. Lots happens, not much of it interesting, though the buried city which really is a "secret" with its subterranean leper colony adds momentary spice & horror.
The epic adventure also features Sabine Bethmann, Rene Deltgen, Luciana Paluzzi, & Fritz Lang himself. The authur, Thea von Harbou (Lang's wife), is best remembered for having written Metropolis.
copyright © by Paghat the Ratgirl
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