THE VALLEY OF GWANGI

Gwangi goes to church

THE VALLEY OF GWANGI (1969). Director: James O'Connolly.

T.J. (Gila Golan) runs a circus in turn of the century Mexico with her older friend, Champ (Richard Carlson). Back into their lives comes T.J.'s old boyfriend, Tuck (James Franciscus), who ran out on T.J. some time before. T.J. has a new act, a cute little horse (or prehistoric eohippus) who was found in the desert. But this attraction is nothing compared to the animals inside a hidden valley where the tiny horse came from. There are pterodactyls, a belligerent triceratops, and most of all, Gwangi, a fearsome combo of allosaurus and T Rex that chomps on one luckless fellow (Gustavo Rojo) and is ready for more before a rock slide helps Tuck and the others capture him. This is another in a long line of movies (stretching from before King Kong to Jurassic World and beyond) in which a dangerous creature is put on display and breaks out of confinement, causing havoc. The chief selling point of this is some absolutely amazing stop-motion effects work by Ray Harryhausen, clearly working on all cylinders. Gwangi is a wonderful creation, angry, confused, hungry, snapping and tearing at anything in its way. The sequence when the cowboys attempt to lasso the monster is superb, seamless -- I mean, who needs CSI? Another stunning sequence has the monster entering a huge Cathedral and stalking Tuck and the others while its heavy footsteps reverberate all through the building. There is the infrequent use of unconvincing props of assorted creatures, but generally the FX work is fluid and exacting. The story is based on a script put together by stop-motion specialist Willis O'Brien (King Kong), and it is serviceable. Carlson [Riders to the Stars] and Franciscus [Great White] are fine, as is Laurence Naismith as a paleontologist. Gila Golan appears to be dubbed, along with little Curtis Arden as the orphan boy, Lope. As for the film's romance between Tuck and T.J., one can only imagine the real melodrama will come afterward considering what happens to the circus.

The DVD for the movie has a featurette in which several CGI (Computer Generated Imagery) specialists are highly complimentary of Harryhausen's influential work on this film, of which they certainly should be.

Verdict: Lively Gwangi, and some superb stop-motion effects, make this a winner. ***1/2.

MIGHTY JOE YOUNG (1949)

Joe goes into his dance while Jill plays piano

MIGHTY JOE YOUNG (1949). Director: Ernest B. Schoedsack.

Hoping to incorporate a wild new theme into his new nightclub, entrepreneur Max O'Hara  (Robert Armstrong) travels to Africa wherein he encounters a huge gorilla who goes by the name of Joe Young. From infancy Joe has been the pet of Jill Young (Terry Moore), the only person who can control the very big ape [not quite of King Kong-proportions, but much large than the normal gorilla]. Smitten with a cowboy named Gregg (Ben Johnson), who works for O'Hara, and starry-eyed at all the thoughts O'Hara puts into her head, Jill agrees to take Joe and fly off to Hollywood. The two do an act that involves a rising piano, and in a great scene Joe plays tug of war with a dozen famous strongmen [leading to a brief and funny fight between him and Primo Carnera], but when patrons start throwing coins -- and then bottles -- at him, Joe gets a little upset. Jill isn't too thrilled by the fact that he can't roam free as he did on her ranch but has to be kept in a cell every night. Before long you know there has to be a disaster and Joe eventually runs riot in the nightclub in a rousing sequence ... Mighty Joe Young taps into the King Kong mystique but never achieves its mythic stature [and probably wasn't meant to] but on its own terms it's a wonderful picture with superb special effects and a certain amount of sentiment. Brought to life via stop-motion by Willis O'Brien, Ray Harryhausen, and others, Joe is a memorable creation, equally frightening and pitiable, with priceless sensitive facial expressions. The harrowing conclusion, which features a fire in an orphanage and is in color, is notable. Along with Joe, the three human leads all give good performances, and child actress Lora Lee Michel is a charming stand-out playing Jill as a little girl [she was also in The Snake Pit]. Schoedsack co-directed King Kong. Nice score by Rob Webb. Regis Toomey plays Jill's father in the opening sequence, and Nestor Paiva is a drunk in the nightclub who plays a role in the riot that occurs.

Verdict: King Kong "lite" perhaps but very entertaining and well-done. ***1/2.

KING KONG THE HISTORY OF A MOVIE ICON FROM FAY WRAY TO PETER JACKSON

KING KONG: THE HISTORY OF A MOVIE ICON FROM FAY WRAY TO PETER JACKSON. Ray Morton. Applause Books; 2005.

Even though this is a trade paperback, it's still a heavy tome as it has over 300 pages on thick paper stock -- but more importantly contains just about everything you would ever want to know about the making of the original King Kong, the sequel Son of Kong, the 1976 remake [which Morton examines fairly, revealing that it really wasn't the mega-bomb people seem to think it was -- although most agree it can't compare with the original], the sequel King Kong Lives, and the Japanese Kong films King Kong vs. Godzilla and King Kong Escapes. Morton has not only packed the book with loads of illustrations, but all sorts of details about shooting schedules, behind-the-scenes conflicts, legal disagreements, and incisive notes about each film's special effects -- often scene by scene and shot by shot. Morton is enthusiastic enough to make me want to take another look at the 1976 King Kong, which I've always pretty much hated. There is also a chapter regarding the pre-production of Peter Jackson's King Kong, as well as chapters on King Kong films that were never made, and imitations and rip-offs of the Big Ape Movie. This book is a real labor of love. Note: You can read more about these films and other monster movies in Creature Features.

Verdict: For the Kong fanatic and others interested in fascinating cinema. ***1/2.

THE GIANT BEHEMOTH

THE GIANT BEHEMOTH (1959). Director: Eugene Lourie. 

"And the Lord said: Behold now -- The Behemoth." 

Fisherman Tom Trevethan (Henri Vidon) intends to go to town to show off his big catch of white fish to the other villagers. "He'll be as drunk as a Lord," says his daughter Jean (Leigh Madison). But poor Tom doesn't get drunk so much as deep fried by "white hot fire" radiating from something that came out of the sea. "Behemoth!" he intones dramatically before expiring. Steve Karnes (Gene Evans) knows that there's something deadly out there in the ocean, something that absorbed radiation and became mutated. There's a lot of suspense built up over what this strange creature can be, therefore it's a bit of a surprise when it merely turns out to be another revivified dinosaur, an electric "paliosaurus" that can emit deadly radioactive waves that burn people to a crisp. Karnes and Professor Bickford (Andre Morrell) do their best to track down and destroy the creature, but not before it attacks a ferry and then stampedes through London [courtesy of more than acceptable stop-motion effects work by Willis (King Kong) O'Brien.] Jack MacGowran, who played a director in The Exorcist, is Dr. Sampson, a somewhat vague if lovable paleontologist. Edwin Astley's music is a great plus. The movie is sort of thrown together, cheap and tacky, but somehow it's also well-acted, disquieting and effective. Lourie also directed The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms and Gorgo. NOTE: For more info on this film and many others like it, read Creature Features: Nature Turned Nasty in the Movies. 

Verdict: Watch out for those big feet! **1/2.

THE BEAST OF HOLLOW MOUNTAIN

THE BEAST OF HOLLOW MOUNTAIN (1956). Directors: Edward Nassour; Ismael Rodriguez.

Jimmy Ryan (Guy Madison) runs a cattle ranch in Mexico with his friend Felipe (Carlos Rivas), but a creepy fellow named Enrique (Eduardo Noriega) wants to drive him out of town. Things between the two men worsen when it appears that Enrique's fiancee Sarita (Patricia Medina) is attracted to Jimmy. Meanwhile, some of Jimmy's cattle are disappearing ... Based on an idea of cowboys encountering dinosaurs by King Kong special effects man Willis O'Brien (who, reportedly, was supposed to do the effects for this film), Beast of Hollow Mountain was essentially remade as the vastly superior Valley of Gwangi (with effects by Ray Harryhausen) in 1969. The monster in this almost seems like an after-thought at times. It's 45 minutes until it makes its first (off-screen) appearance, and an hour until it bursts on the scene in full glory. However, the next twenty minutes until the film's end is full of lively Tyrannosaur Rex action. (No explanation is given for why it survived or why it's living inside a hollow mountain in Mexico.) The crude (but not necessarily dreadful) stop motion effects were done by Louis DeWitt, Jack Rabin and others, employing an inferior "replacement" animation [christened "regiscope" for this film] that uses several models instead of one fully articulated one. The monster looks better running in long-shot than in close-up. It's interesting to imagine how Harryhausen would have handled the final sequences, with the beast sliding down a sandy slope, reaching its claws into a crevice, galloping across the desert, and finally, falling into the swamp as Jerry swings temptingly before it on a rope. Some nice CinemaScope photography, although you rarely if ever see a close-up of any of the actors. Carlos Rivas, who has little to do, also appeared in The Black Scorpion (1957), as did Pascal Garcia Pena (as the "coffee break" scientist) and little Mario Navarro ( as Juanito), who in Beast respectively play Pancho and his son Panchito, who have a touching relationship that ends in tragedy.

Verdict: No world beater, but monster completists will want to see the final twenty minutes. **1/2.