Dinosaurus!

Whilst building a harbour on a Caribbean island, construction workers discover two perfectly preserved dinosaurs—a brontosaurus and a T-Rex—frozen under the sea for millions of years. After being brought ashore, the prehistoric creatures thaw out and are struck by lightning during a storm, bringing them back to life. As the beasts wander the island, looking for food, construction boss Bart Thompson (Ward Ramsey) tries to ensure the safety of the islanders. Meanwhile, a neanderthal (Gregg Martell), who has also emerged from the ocean, befriends local boy Julio (Alan Roberts) and protects him from his wicked guardian Hacker (Fred Engelberg).

Dinosaurus! is the one in which the 'cute' kid (ie., thoroughly irritating brat) and the caveman ride on the back of the brontosaurus, putting the audience squarely in family territory—good clean fun with very little to seriously scare the young 'uns. The juvenile nature of the film, along with some naff neanderthal-based comedy, make it just a little too cloying at times, but as a fan of dinosaur movies in general, and especially those that make use of stop motion animation, I couldn't help but be entertained. Yes, the animation is a long way from Harryhausen standard, and there's some even worse puppetry, but it still proves to be a reasonably decent dose of mindless fun. Of course, it doesn't hurt that the film also features two helpings of eye candy—tasty blonde Betty (Kristina Hanson) and dusky island beauty Chica (Lucita Blain)—to hold one's attention whenever the dinos are off-screen.

I must confess that I, a middle-aged "adult," learned a valuable life lesson from the juvenile film "Dinosaurus." That lesson is, if you're ever building a harbor on a Caribbean island, and dredge up a perfectly preserved T. Rex and brontosaurus from below the ocean floor, do NOT leave them lying on the beach during a thunderstorm, as a freak bolt of lightning may revive them and lead to all sorts of trouble. Yes, that's just what happens in this cute little film, with the added attraction of a grunting, Alley Oop-like caveman getting revived as well. This Neanderthal is basically used for comedic effect, especially when he invades a modern house on the island and runs afoul of waxed fruit, mirrors and up-to-date plumbing. Gregg Martell, I must say, is perfectly cast as this confused misfit. Less impressive, however, are the two dinosaurs. This is no "Jurassic Park" or Ray Harryhausen movie, and the creature FX are unconvincing; a serious suspension of disbelief will be required for adult viewers. The kiddies should just eat this one up, though. There's a cute little boy character for them to sympathize with (he befriends the bronto, and even rides atop him!); one, fortunately, who's not overly annoying for older viewers. The bottom line is that "Dinosaurus" is good, goofy fun; put your brain on hold and enjoy it, preferably with your kids or your young nephew. Oh...as for that title, it's what one of the characters, Dumpy(!), yells when the T. Rex approaches. Don't ask me why.

I was 10 when I saw DINOSAURUS in a theater. While the acting left much to be desired, and the film was obviously shot on a shoestring, the animated dinosaurs seemed pretty awesome for the time. Ray Harryhausen this ain't, but for a dinosaur-loving kid like myself, it definitely hit the spot. A caveman and two dinosaurs, one of them a T-Rex, are discovered and accidentally revived in 1960. In the end, it takes a modern mechanical marvel to subdue the rampaging T-Rex. The caveman befriends a little boy, whom I assume we tykes in the audience were meant to identify with. Good fun. Best seen on a big screen with booming sound, and today that's possible right at home with a large flat-screen digital TV and a 5.1 Dolby home theater setup.

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

Allegedly, Marcel Delgado was given less than half the time originally agreed upon to create the dinosaur models used in the film. The studio initially agreed to give him five to six weeks, as he requested, but two weeks later he was told that they would begin production on Tuesday. This would explain why the effects are cheesy (or it could just be an excuse).

Howard Maxford sums up the film as having "dismal effects", which is not a poor criticism if that is the worst he can say. As just mentioned, this may not have been the creators' faults. And, really, this is 1960. We just went through the 1950s, where sci-fi films were constantly cheesy. To use that as a criticism seems unfair.

Howard Thompson of the New York Times said at the time that "motion picture art hit rock bottom" when this film came out. It is "a tired, synthetic, plodding sample of movie junk", says Thompson. Those involved "thoroughly wasted a few exotic backgrounds." Thompson finally points out that the film comes from Fairview Productions, who also made "The Blob". He categorizes both films as "Grade Z". Wow. I mean, it is one thing to not like it... but Thompson just goes off!

If I had to say one thing about the film negatively, it would be about Julio (Alan Roberts). He was a bit annoying. And, sadly, he passed away too young (though that has nothing to do with this film). I had no issue with the effects or plot. I mean, really, it is a movie about dinosaurs and a caveman who survived frozen for millions of years. If you accept that premise (and the idea that all three were found in the same areas), I would hope you could look past the execution!

A harmless low-budget movie from one of the people responsible for the original "The Blob" and "The 4D Man". Hurricane pulls up perfectly preserved dinosaur bodies from the ocean floor; Tyrannosaur and Brontosaurus, and a caveman. Lightning strikes, dinosaurs come to lift and terrorize bad actors. Caveman comes to life also, befriends kid, and ends up riding the brontosaurus.

I saw this years ago, and remember it as being kinda cool. Always remembered the caveman trying to eat plastic fruit, then wondering into the bathroom and flushing the toilet. The FX were OK, I guess. Think they used puppets, and some stop-motion. Final confrontation with the Tyrannosaur vs a tractor was cool. Kind of a precursor for Ripley's duel with the queen in "Aliens."

"Dinosaurus!" certainly won't make you forget "Jurassic Park," but it's an enjoyable little movie.