THE ILLUSTRATED DINOSAUR MOVIE GUIDE

THE ILLUSTRATED DINOSAUR MOVIE GUIDE. Stephen Jones. Titan Books. 1995.

An entertaining overview of the dinosaur movie is divided into sections dealing with the silent era (The Lost World) up to the 90's (Jurassic Park), with mini-reviews and write-ups on dozens and dozens of movies. Jones also includes movies with other giant creatures such as big bugs and mentions virtually every movie -- even erotic films -- that have dinosaurs, cavemen, or take place in a prehistoric setting sans monsters. Certainly a good starting off point for those interested in the dinosaur movie, and it's packed with a great many photographs as well. There is an introduction by FX wizard Ray Harryhausen and special sections on King Kong and other significant films and people associated with the genre. Jones includes Japanese monster movies and notes how increasingly juvenile and awful they became after the original Godzilla.

Verdict: Maybe not in-depth but fun reading nonetheless. ***.

GREAT OLD CHARACTER ACTORS: JAY NOVELLO

JAY NOVELLO. 1904 - 1982.

When I was a kid I saw Irwin Allen's production of The Lost World and the classic seance episode of I Love Lucy many times, but I never made the connection between the simpering South American "Costa" of the former and the nerdy but lovable "Mr. Merriweather" of the latter. ("We're all odd, aren't we?" he says to Lucy and Ricky.) Novello, who has 205 credits to his name, also appeared on two other I Love Lucy episodes, playing Mario from Italy and a nervous trial witness who only wants some peace and quiet which, of course, he doesn't get from Lucy. He was in dozens of films, appeared in virtually every famous TV show, had parts in cliffhanger serials, and was always first-rate in everything he did. Why did it take me so long to recognize that Costa and Mr. Merriweather were played by the same actor? Because Novello was one of those rare birds, a very gifted, genuinely versatile performer who could lose himself in every role he played, convincingly portraying any kind of person and affecting whatever accent was required by the role. (In The Mad Magician with Vincent Price you'd have thought he was actually a British actor. And he played an Eskimo chief in The Great Alaskan Mystery!) Jay Novello left behind more than his share of very memorable portrayals and was one of those really great character actors who was a boon to every production he took part in.