Lost Horizon is a 1937 film based on the novel by James Hilton. A group of people in China, led by British diplomat Robert Conway (Ronald Coleman), escape from a violent uprising by plane. During their escape, the plane suddenly crashes in the Himalayan mountains where the residents of a nearby village rescue the party from the harsh freezing weather. After a hike over a long snowy trail, the group is led to Shangri-La, a valley community nearly isolated from the rest of the world and protected from the harsh weather by the mountains. At first the members of Conway's group are eager to leave Shangri-La, but after spending time with the people and learning about the community's idyllic ways, almost no one wants to return to the outside world. The place seems to be devoid of violence or even aging. Only Conway's non-conformist brother George (John Howard) finds the place unsuitable to his temperament. Lost Horizon was the most expensive picture in Columbia Pictures history up to its release and was directed by Frank Capra.moreless