Valley of the Dragons (1961)

Algeria 1881. Two men, Michael Denning and Hector Servadac are having a duel with one another when a comet goes past the earth at low altitude. The strong wind this creates transports the ... See full summary »

Director:

Edward Bernds

Writers:

Edward Bernds, Jules Verne (novel),

Stars:

Cesare Danova, Sean McClory, Joan Staley

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Cesare Danova	...	Hector Servadac
Sean McClory	...	Michael Denning
Joan Staley	...	Deena
Danielle De Metz	...	Nateeta
Gregg Martell	...	Od-Loo
Gil Perkins	...	Tarn / Doctor
I. Stanford Jolley	...	Patoo
Mike Lane	...	Anoka
Roger Til	...	Vidal
Mark Dempsey	...	Andrews
Jerry Sunshine	...	LeClerc
Dolly Grey	...	Mara

Storyline

Algeria 1881. Two men, Michael Denning and Hector Servadac are having a duel with one another when a comet goes past the earth at low altitude. The strong wind this creates transports the two men to the moon. They find themselves in a jungle inhabited by reptiles and prehistoric humans. They have a difficult time before they manage to adapt to the dangers, but eventually they each find a girl to spend time with, awaiting the next return of the comet to take them back to Earth.

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Plot Keywords:

comet | duel | dinosaur | caveman | prehistoric times | 

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Taglines:

They go a million years back in time ... and land a million miles out in space!

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Genres:

Sci-Fi

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

November 1961 (USA)

Also Known As:

Prehistoric Valley

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

82 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Some US ad-mats promoted the movie as having been filmed in "Monstascope", suggesting some kind of wide-screen process, but this was entirely misleading. In fact, the film was photographed with spherical lenses and projected at 1.85:1 - wider than regular Academy aperture (1.37:1), but not quite CinemaScope!

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Connections

Referenced in One Million Years B.C. (1966)

User Reviews

Long time, no see

This movie was on fairly regularly when I was a kid; my cousin and I would frequently watch it together (she didn't share my enthusiasm for the animal skin-clad women, but she loved a scene where one of the cavemen gets eaten by a dragon).

It was years later that I saw One Million B.C. for the first time; I knew it was hailed as a classic, but while I found it enjoyable (I fell in love with Carole Landis), VOTD still held more of a mystique for me.

I have since looked for it in various video rental places with no success. It seems that these days even the networks aim for more sophisticated fare and overlook simpler joys like this. Just because the movies have graduated to Jurassic Park shouldn't mean that we can't suspend our disbelief for a brief period. VOTD should not be allowed to become extinct!