Dinosaurus! (1960)

Director:

Irvin S. Yeaworth Jr.

Writers:

Jack H. Harris (original idea)
Dan E. Weisburd
(more)

Release Date:

10 August 1960 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Alive With Thrills!

Plot:

After undersea explosions near a Caribbean island, prehistoric creatures are unleashed on the unsuspecting population...

Plot Keywords:

Neanderthal | Creature | Island | Dinosaur | Prehistoric

Cast

Ward Ramsey	...	Bart Thompson
Paul Lukather	...	Chuck
Kristina Hanson	...	Betty Piper
Alan Roberts	...	Julio
Fred Engelberg	...	Mike Hacker
Wayne C. Treadway	...	Dumpy (as Wayne Treadway)
Luci Blaine	...	Chica (as Luci Blain)
Howard Dayton	...	Mousey
Jack Younger	...	Jasper
James Logan	...	T.J. O'Leary
Wilhelm Samuel
Gregg Martell	...	The Neanderthal
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jack H. Harris	...	Tourist on boat (uncredited)

Directed by
Irvin S. Yeaworth Jr.

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Jack H. Harris		original idea
Dan E. Weisburd
Jean Yeaworth

Produced by
Jack H. Harris	....	producer
Irvin S. Yeaworth Jr.	....	co-producer

Original Music by
Ronald Stein

Cinematography by
Stanley Cortez

Film Editing by
John A. Bushelman

Art Direction by
Jack Senter

Set Decoration by
Herman N. Schoenbrun		(as Herman Schoenbrun)

Makeup Department
Don L. Cash	....	makeup artist (as Don Cash)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Herbert E. Mendelson	....	assistant director (as Herbert Mendelson)

Sound Department
Victor B. Appel	....	sound mixer (as Vic Appel)
Arthur Cornell	....	sound editor (as Jack Cornall)
Jack Wheeler	....	sound editor

Visual Effects by
Tim Baar	....	special photographic effects
Wah Chang	....	special photographic effects
Gene Warren	....	special photographic effects
Marcel Delgado	....	dinosaur model constructor (uncredited)
Tom Holland	....	stop-motion animator (uncredited)
Phil Kellison	....	stop-motion animator (uncredited)
David Pal	....	stop-motion animator (uncredited)
Ralph Rodine	....	assistant camera: stop-motion (uncredited)
Don Sahlin	....	stop-motion animator (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Paul Stader	....	underwater director of photography

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Bill Edwards	....	wardrobe supervisor

Other crew
Alfred Bester	....	technical advisor
Algis Budrys	....	technical advisor
Sam Freedle	....	script supervisor
Paul Stader	....	underwater sequence director
S. Robert Zanger	....	assistant to producer

Production Companies

• Fairview Productions

Distributors

• Universal Pictures (1960) (USA) (theatrical)
• Allied Artists Pictures (1964) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Universal Film (1960) (Belgium) (theatrical)
• Columbia Pictures Television (USA)
• Columbia TriStar Television
• International Film Distributors (Canada)
• Something Weird Video (SWV) (video)
• Starmaker Video (video)

Other Companies

• Percepto Records  score album released by (limited edition)
• Ryder Sound Services  sound recording

Also Known As:

Runtime:

85 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

West Germany:12 | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG

Filming Locations:

St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands

Company:

Fairview Productions

Trivia:

Originally, it was intended for Steve McQueen to star in this film, after he had appeared in The Blob (1958) from the same producer and director. However, McQueen had been so difficult to work with, that they didn't even bother.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the Neaderthal is scared by the woman wearing a face mask and jumps into a bush, he is wearing big white shorts under his loin cloth.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Creepy Classics (1987) (V)

Jurassic and Cretaceous Dinosaurs terrorise a remote island

I've seen Dinosaurus several times and is quite a good dinosaur movie. I taped it when Channel 4 screened it some years ago.

Off a remote island in the Caribbean, bomb testing in the sea frees a T-Rex, a Brontosaurus and a caveman and the two dinosaurs are pulled ashore while the caveman is washed ashore. That night during a thunderstorm, they are struck by lightening and come to life. The T-Rex takes away O'Leary (who was assigned to guard them) and eats him and his shack blows up. The Brontosaurus and caveman start exploring the island and the T-Rex and Brontosauris fight near the end and the Brontosaurus sinks in some quick sand. The island's residents are all evacuated to the fortress for safety and the T-Rex is pushed into the sea at the end by a bulldozer but may not be dead...

The highlights of Dinosaurus are the caveman exploring a house and frightening the woman who lives there and the battle between the T-Rex and bulldozer at the end.

The T-Rex and Brontosaurus never fought each other in real life as they are from different ages, the T-Rex being a Cretaceous dinosaur and the Brontosaurus is from the Jurassic Peroid.

The cast is mostly made up of unknowns lead by Ward Ramsey with Greg Martell as the caveman.

Dinosaurus is worth seeing especially if you like dinosaur movies. Great fun.

Rating: 4 stars out of 5.