The Valley of Gwangi (1969)

Director:

Jim O'Connolly

Writers:

William Bast (writer)
Julian More (additional material)

Release Date:

25 July 1969 (West Germany)

Genre:

Western | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

Cowboys Battle Monsters in the Lost World of Forbidden Valley.

Plot:

Cowboy James Franciscus seeks fame and fortune by capturing a Tyrannosaurus Rex living in the Forbidden Valley and putting it in a Mexican circus...

Plot Keywords:

Horse | Wild West Show | Dinosaur | Cowboy | Paleontologist

Cast

James Franciscus	...	Tuck Kirby
Gila Golan	...	T.J. Breckenridge
Richard Carlson	...	Champ Connors
Laurence Naismith	...	Prof. Horace Bromley
Freda Jackson	...	Tia Zorina
Gustavo Rojo	...	Carlos dos Orsos
Dennis Kilbane	...	Rowdy
Mario De Barros	...	Bean
Curtis Arden	...	Lope

Also Known As:

Gwangi
The Lost Valley
The Valley Time Forgot
The Valley Where Time Stood Still

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Australia:PG | USA:G | UK:U

Filming Locations:

Almería, Andalucía, Spain

Company:

Morningside Productions

Trivia:

Due to a mishearing of the word "fuck" by the BBFC the 1995 video release was wrongly given a '12' certificate. This was corrected for the 2003 DVD and the rating changed to a 'U' certificate.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Gwangi's apparent color changes several times over the course of the movie because there was so much animation to do that Harryhausen did not have enough time to do proper color testing.

Quotes:

Lope: What kind of bird is it, professor?
Professor Bromley: Oh, no bird...a giant pterydactyl...a flying reptile. It's been extinct for over 50 million years.
T.J.: Then what is it doing here?
Professor Bromley: Precisely...what is it doing here?

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Friends: The One Where Joey Speaks French (#10.13)" (2004)

Good little movie....hidden gem.

What's not to like here-James Franciscus, Gila Golan, Naismeth, the excellent Harryhausen Allosaurus F/X, the dino-elephant battle, the cowboys roping the dino scene, etc. Very nicely done. No great acting, of course, and nothing you haven't seen already in Kong or 100 other places, but its what they do with it here that makes it worth yer while.

Personally I always enjoy it when I see it; I think it's one of the better dino flix you can find pre-Jurassic Park.

*** outta ****, esp if you like Harryhousen's stuff.