King Dinosaur (1955)

Director:

Bert I. Gordon

Writers:

Bert I. Gordon (based on an original story by) and
Al Zimbalist (based on an original story by) ...
(more)

Release Date:

17 June 1955 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Fantasy | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

NEVER A THRILL LIKE THIS! (original print ad - all caps)

Plot:

A new planet moves into our solar system and four scientists (two couples) are sent to explore Planet Nova...

Plot Keywords:

Tyrannosaurus Rex | Tyrannosaurus | Dinosaur | Iguana | Reverse Footage

Cast

William Bryant	...	Dr. Ralph Martin (as Bill Bryant)
Wanda Curtis	...	Dr. Patricia Bennett
Douglas Henderson	...	Dr. Richard Gordon
Patti Gallagher	...	Nora Pierce
Marvin Miller	...	Narrator (voice)

Directed by
Bert I. Gordon

Writing credits
Bert I. Gordon		(based on an original story by) and
Al Zimbalist		(based on an original story by)
Tom Gries		(screenplay)

Produced by
John A. Bushelman	....	assistant producer (as John Bushelman)
Bert I. Gordon	....	producer
Ralph Helfer	....	associate producer
Al Zimbalist	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Louis Palange
Gene Garf		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
Gordon Avil

Film Editing by
Jack Cornall		(as Jack Cornell)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Robert Agnew	....	assistant director
Elmer Decker	....	assistant director

Art Department
Tom Shaw	....	property master (as Thomas Shaw)

Sound Department
Rod Sutton	....	sound supervisor

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Flora M. Gordon	....	wardrobe (as Flora Lang)

Music Department
Michael Terr	....	musical director (as Mischa Terr)

Other crew
Ralph Helfer	....	animal supervisor
Bernice Higgins	....	researcher
Henry H. Waldman	....	technical advisor
Donald Zimbalist	....	executive assistant

Production Companies

• Zimgor Productions

Distributors

• Lippert Pictures (1955) (USA) (theatrical)
• Sinister Cinema (1993) (USA) (VHS)
• Something Weird Video (SWV) (199?) (USA) (VHS)
• Loonic Video (1997) (USA) (VHS)
• Retromedia Entertainment (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Image Entertainment (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• IndieFlix (2010) (worldwide) (all media)
• Kit Parker Films (2009) (worldwide) (all media)
• L'Atelier 13 (2009) (Spain) (DVD)

Special Effects

• Howard Anderson Company, The (special photographic effects) (as Howard A. Anderson Co.)

Other Companies

• Ryder Sound Services  sound (as Ryder Sound)

Runtime:

63 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

Bronson Canyon, Griffith Park - 4730 Crystal Springs Drive, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Zimgor Productions

Trivia:

Several portions of the soundtrack were re-used in the 1956 Ed Wood film, The Violent Years.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Ralph makes the remark "It'll be a lot easier to find our way in the daylight," it is very clear from the light shining through the trees that the film is shooting the scene day-for-night.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Narrator:On April 23rd, the word to start comes from Washington. Underneathly, our finest research laboratories change over to this all important project, the building of a passenger carrying rocketship. Every security measure is taken. Test upon test must be made to develop, improve, create, evolve.

Movie Connections:

Featured in 100 Years of Horror: Dinosaurs (1996) (V)

Classic bad movie is still tough going

A new Planet is found and a rocket is sent off to investigate it. Once it arrives the planet is found to be full of giant animals and dinosaurs.

El-cheapo production from Bert I Gordon is so full of stock footage one wonders why they bothered to shoot any new footage at all. Watching this again last night I was shocked to find that in the first ten minutes that there was maybe only four shots (those of the stars) that weren't taken from somewhere else. Its gets better after that, but at the same time the story doesn't. Here's proof that they don't make them like they used to any more, thank god. I doubt very much you could cut together this much stock footage and pass it off as a "new" movie and with out an audience screaming for its money back. The effects are regular critters on small sets superimposed behind our stars. Its par for the course for the day, but its unevenly handled, with the stuff lifted from One Million BC looking better than Gordon's new footage.

This is a classic bad movie. My rating of 4 out of 10 is based upon viewing it as a bad movie. Those looking for jaw dropping inept film making need look no father. If one wanted to look at it as a normal movie then this would be hovering somewhere around zero.