The Valley of Gwangi (1969)

User Rating:

6.0/10   

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 | Paleontologist | Mexico

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:

When this film was first conceived it was supposed to have been a follow-up to King Kong (1933), but was never made. However, an early B&W version of the "cowboys in Africa" footage was shot, and wound up being used in Mighty Joe Young (1949).

Goofs:

Miscellaneous: When Gwangi is chasing the cowboys out of the valley through the rock pass, one person falls off his horse twice.

Quotes:

Tuck: Well, you don't seem very glad to see me, Champ.
Champ Connors: About as glad as a dying mule to see a vulture.

Movie Connections:

References The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)

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.