David W. Allen
Encyclopedia
David W. Allen was a film and television stop-motion model (puppet) animator.
Considered among the finest stop-motion model animators, Dave Allen has contributed some of the best stop-motion sequences to many feature films, rivaling the work of other premier model animators Ray Harryhausen
and Jim Danforth
.
", expanded from a short film to a feature length film by Jack H. Harris, later re-titled "The Beast
" for VHS video release in the 80s.
Although he had been working for years in animation, mostly doing commercials like the Pillsbury Doughboy
, Allen made a splash on movie viewers when he animated the "Nesuahyrrah" monster who appears at the climax of the semi-porn low-brow parody comedy, Flesh Gordon
, produced by Howard Ziehm in 1974. The film also featured an impressive animation sequence from long-time Allen friend Jim Danforth
.
Allen's ground-breaking model animation opus contribution was a legendary Volkswagen
commercial made in 1972 in which King Kong
spots a giant version of the car from his Empire State Building perch in New York. Climbing down from the building, Kong puts his human "date" into the passenger seat, gets in the car, and drives down Fifth Avenue out of sight. The spot aired only once on network TV, and in spite of favorable public response, was pulled because VW executives decided that they did not like the image of an ape driving their car.
Allen joined with Jim Danforth
, a long time friend, to provide model animation for the low-budget horror film, The Crater Lake Monster
(1977). Allen then did model animation for the independent feature film, "Planet of Dinosaurs
" (1978), and animated the aliens in another low-budget science fiction film, Laserblast
, (1980).
With Danforth, Ray Harryhausen
, a host of other model animators, visual effects artists, film producers and directors, Allen helped organize an event in March, 1983 at Mann's Chinese Theater commemorating the 50th anniversary of the release of King Kong, loaning his VW Kong model for display at the Rosevelt Hotel across the street from the theater.
Allen was also hired by Steven Spielberg
to animate the little flying saucers for the hit feature-length theatrical film Batteries Not Included (1987), a story that was originally intended to be an episode of Spielberg's Amazing Stories
TV series. Allen and his crew animated the hallucinations and creatures in Barry Levinson's Young Sherlock Holmes
earning an Academy Award Nomination in 1985.
His production company, David Allen Productions, also did visual effects and model animation for the bizarre monster movie, Freaked
in 1992.
Up until his death from cancer in 1999, Allen was intermittently working on the stop-motion effects for the film "The Primevals
", his own production. The film dates from early in his career, in the late sixties, when he pitched an epic fantasy to Hammer film executives. He developed the idea over the years, and in 1978 he began production with producer Charles Band. The film was the subject of a cover story in Cinefantastique
Magazine that year, but despite the interest, the production was shut down, then briefly revived twice more, then shut down again. An Allen protégé, Chris Endicott, has done some further animation work on the film and is currently seeking to acquire the rights from Charles Band and funds to complete the film.
David Allen and his production company associates continued to nurture a long-term association with Charles Band, producing animation and other effects for a series of Band produced and/or directed fantasy films released either theatrically and direct to video markets by Paramount Pictures during the 1980s and 90s. Some of the films in this series are the ""Puppetmaster
" films, the "Prehysteria" series, the "Demonic Toys
" films, and various impressive one-shot productions such as the skeletons of dinosaurs that come to life and do battle in the film "Doctor Mordrid
".
Allen's production company, now helmed by Chris Endicott, continues to do effects work on various films.
Considered among the finest stop-motion model animators, Dave Allen has contributed some of the best stop-motion sequences to many feature films, rivaling the work of other premier model animators Ray Harryhausen
Ray Harryhausen
Ray Harryhausen is an American film producer and special effects creator...
and Jim Danforth
Jim Danforth
Jim Danforth is a stop-motion animator, known for model-animation and matte painting. Danforth is known for his work on When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth , a sequel of sorts to Ray Harryhausen's One Million Years B.C....
.
Career
Some of Allen's earliest animation work can be seen in the 1970 16mm student film, "EquinoxEquinox (film)
Equinox is a 1970 American horror film. Originally made in 1967 under the title The Equinox... A Journey into the Supernatural it was directed by Dennis Muren, and stars Edward Connell as Dave, Barbara Hewitt as Susan Turner Frank Bonner as Jim Hudson and award-winning science fiction/horror writer...
", expanded from a short film to a feature length film by Jack H. Harris, later re-titled "The Beast
The Beast
- Fictional character :* The Beast is the imagined monster in William Golding's Lord of the Flies* The Beast , a fictional demon in the TV series Angel* Beast , a fictional character in the Marvel Comics universe...
" for VHS video release in the 80s.
Although he had been working for years in animation, mostly doing commercials like the Pillsbury Doughboy
Pillsbury Doughboy
Poppin' Fresh, more widely known as the Pillsbury Doughboy, is an advertising icon and mascot of The Pillsbury Company, appearing in many of their commercials. Many commercials from 1965 until 2004 conclude with a human finger poking the Doughboy's stomach...
, Allen made a splash on movie viewers when he animated the "Nesuahyrrah" monster who appears at the climax of the semi-porn low-brow parody comedy, Flesh Gordon
Flesh Gordon
Flesh Gordon is a 1974 American science fiction adventure comedy film. It is an erotic spoof of the Flash Gordon serial films from the 1930s. The screenplay was written by Michael Benveniste, who also co-directed the film with Howard Ziehm...
, produced by Howard Ziehm in 1974. The film also featured an impressive animation sequence from long-time Allen friend Jim Danforth
Jim Danforth
Jim Danforth is a stop-motion animator, known for model-animation and matte painting. Danforth is known for his work on When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth , a sequel of sorts to Ray Harryhausen's One Million Years B.C....
.
Allen's ground-breaking model animation opus contribution was a legendary Volkswagen
Volkswagen
Volkswagen is a German automobile manufacturer and is the original and biggest-selling marque of the Volkswagen Group, which now also owns the Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, SEAT, and Škoda marques and the truck manufacturer Scania.Volkswagen means "people's car" in German, where it is...
commercial made in 1972 in which King Kong
King Kong
King Kong is a fictional character, a giant movie monster resembling a gorilla, that has appeared in several movies since 1933. These include the groundbreaking 1933 movie, the film remakes of 1976 and 2005, as well as various sequels of the first two films...
spots a giant version of the car from his Empire State Building perch in New York. Climbing down from the building, Kong puts his human "date" into the passenger seat, gets in the car, and drives down Fifth Avenue out of sight. The spot aired only once on network TV, and in spite of favorable public response, was pulled because VW executives decided that they did not like the image of an ape driving their car.
Allen joined with Jim Danforth
Jim Danforth
Jim Danforth is a stop-motion animator, known for model-animation and matte painting. Danforth is known for his work on When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth , a sequel of sorts to Ray Harryhausen's One Million Years B.C....
, a long time friend, to provide model animation for the low-budget horror film, The Crater Lake Monster
The Crater Lake Monster
The Crater Lake Monster is a 1977 B-rated horror film directed by William R. Stromberg for Crown International Pictures, and starring Richard Cardella...
(1977). Allen then did model animation for the independent feature film, "Planet of Dinosaurs
Planet of Dinosaurs
Planet of Dinosaurs is a 1978 science fiction film. Set in an unspecified future, the film follows the journey of Captain Lee and his crew after they crash land on a planet with similar life conditions as Earth, but millions of years behind in time...
" (1978), and animated the aliens in another low-budget science fiction film, Laserblast
Laserblast
Laserblast is a 1978 American science fiction film about an unhappy teenage loner who discovers an alien laser cannon and goes on a murderous rampage, seeking revenge against those who he feels have wronged him. The low-budget film was directed by Michael Rae and produced by Charles Band, who is...
, (1980).
With Danforth, Ray Harryhausen
Ray Harryhausen
Ray Harryhausen is an American film producer and special effects creator...
, a host of other model animators, visual effects artists, film producers and directors, Allen helped organize an event in March, 1983 at Mann's Chinese Theater commemorating the 50th anniversary of the release of King Kong, loaning his VW Kong model for display at the Rosevelt Hotel across the street from the theater.
Allen was also hired by Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
to animate the little flying saucers for the hit feature-length theatrical film Batteries Not Included (1987), a story that was originally intended to be an episode of Spielberg's Amazing Stories
Amazing Stories (TV series)
Amazing Stories is a fantasy, horror, and science fiction television anthology series created by Steven Spielberg. It ran on NBC from 1985 to 1987, and was somewhat erratically screened in Britain by BBC1 and BBC2 - billed in the Radio Times as "Steven Spielberg's Amazing Stories" - with episodes...
TV series. Allen and his crew animated the hallucinations and creatures in Barry Levinson's Young Sherlock Holmes
Young Sherlock Holmes
Young Sherlock Holmes is a 1985 mystery/adventure film directed by Barry Levinson, produced by Steven Spielberg and written by Chris Columbus, based on characters by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle...
earning an Academy Award Nomination in 1985.
His production company, David Allen Productions, also did visual effects and model animation for the bizarre monster movie, Freaked
Freaked
Freaked is a 1993 American comedy film, directed by Tom Stern and Alex Winter, and written by Stern, Winter and Tim Burns...
in 1992.
Up until his death from cancer in 1999, Allen was intermittently working on the stop-motion effects for the film "The Primevals
The Primevals
The Primevals is an uncompleted stop-motion fantasy film directed by David W. Allen.The film dates back to the late sixties, when Dave Allen pitched an epic fantasy to a group of Hammer Films executives. He developed the idea over the years, and in 1978 he began production with producer Charles Band...
", his own production. The film dates from early in his career, in the late sixties, when he pitched an epic fantasy to Hammer film executives. He developed the idea over the years, and in 1978 he began production with producer Charles Band. The film was the subject of a cover story in Cinefantastique
Cinefantastique
Cinefantastique was a horror, fantasy, and science fiction film magazine originally started as a mimeographed fanzine in 1967, then relaunched as a glossy, offset quarterly in 1970 by publisher/editor Frederick S. Clarke...
Magazine that year, but despite the interest, the production was shut down, then briefly revived twice more, then shut down again. An Allen protégé, Chris Endicott, has done some further animation work on the film and is currently seeking to acquire the rights from Charles Band and funds to complete the film.
David Allen and his production company associates continued to nurture a long-term association with Charles Band, producing animation and other effects for a series of Band produced and/or directed fantasy films released either theatrically and direct to video markets by Paramount Pictures during the 1980s and 90s. Some of the films in this series are the ""Puppetmaster
Puppet Master (franchise)
Puppet Master is a horror film franchise which focuses on a group of puppets animated by an Egyptian spell, each equipped with their own unique and dangerous device and are represented as heroes, anti-heroes, and antagonists...
" films, the "Prehysteria" series, the "Demonic Toys
Demonic Toys
Demonic Toys is a film produced by Charles Band's Full Moon Entertainment and released in 1992. The film features small, killer toys similar to those seen in Puppet Master, a film which Band produced in 1989. Demonic Toys, like many other Full Moon releases, never had a theatrical release and went...
" films, and various impressive one-shot productions such as the skeletons of dinosaurs that come to life and do battle in the film "Doctor Mordrid
Doctor Mordrid
Doctor Mordrid is a 1992 American film starring Jeffrey Combs. It was produced by Charles Band and co-directed by Band and his father, Albert Band. It was written by C. Courtney Joyner and released by Full Moon Features....
".
Allen's production company, now helmed by Chris Endicott, continues to do effects work on various films.
Personal life
In 1995, Allen was married to Donita Woodruff, whom he met in 1990. Woodruff learned that Allen had previously dated a woman named Valerie Taylor intermittently starting in 1985, which led to a dispute between Woodruff and Taylor. Woodruff suspected Taylor had a criminal past, and found enough evidence to persuade the police to arrest her in 1996 for a 1979 murder in South Carolina. Taylor pled self-defense and served two years. Allen and Woodruff were divorced in 1998.Visual Effects
- 1996 Special Effects: Anything Can HappenSpecial Effects: Anything Can HappenSpecial Effects: Anything Can Happen is an American documentary film directed by Academy Award-winning sound designer Ben Burtt and narrated by John Lithgow. It was released to IMAX theaters in 1996.-Overview:...
(documentary short) (stop motion animator: King Kong sequence) - 1996 The ArrivalThe Arrival (film)The Arrival is a 1996 science fiction film directed by David Twohy and starring Charlie Sheen, and co-starring Lindsay Crouse, Richard Schiff, Ron Silver, and Teri Polo...
(visual effects - uncredited) - 1996 Oblivion 2: Backlash (visual effects director - as David Allen)
- 1994 Puppet Master 5: The Final Chapter (video) (puppet effects supervisor - as David Allen)
- 1994 Shrunken HeadsShrunken HeadsShrunken Heads is a 1994 English language film directed by Richard Elfman and written by Matthew Bright.Shrunken Heads is Walt Disney meets West Side Story meets Dead End meets Richard Elfman. The good kids are bullied by the bad kids in what seems like a family-film drama…until notorious female...
(visual effects coordinator - as David Allen) - 1994 OblivionOblivion (film)Oblivion is a 1994 western science fiction dark comedy film by Full Moon Entertainment. Directed by Sam Irvin, the film stars Richard Joseph Paul, Andrew Divoff, George Takei, Julie Newmar, Musetta Vander, Isaac Hayes and Meg Foster....
(special visual effects) - 1994 Bloodlust: Subspecies III (video) (stop-motion supervisor)
- 1993 Puppet Master 4Puppet Master 4Puppet Master 4 is a 1993 horror film written by Charles Band among others, and directed by Jeff Burr. It is the fourth film in the Puppet Master franchise, a sequel to 1991's Puppet Master II, and stars Gordon Currie as a youth scientist who, along with his friends, played by Chandra West, Ash...
(video) (puppet effects supervisor - as David Allen) - 1993 Dollman vs. Demonic ToysDollman vs. Demonic ToysDollman vs. Demonic Toys is a low-budget independent 1993 horror film in the B movie category, that went straight to video and never had a theatrical release...
(video) (special effects animation) - 1993 FreakedFreakedFreaked is a 1993 American comedy film, directed by Tom Stern and Alex Winter, and written by Stern, Winter and Tim Burns...
(stop-motion animation) - 1993 Prehysteria! (special effects)
- 1993 Robot WarsRobot WarsRobot Wars is a British game show modelled on a US-based competition of the same name. It was broadcast on BBC Two from 1998 until 2003, with its final series broadcast on Five in 2003 and 2004. Additional series were filmed for specific sectors of the global market, including two series of Robot...
(visual effects supervisor) - 1992 Doctor MordridDoctor MordridDoctor Mordrid is a 1992 American film starring Jeffrey Combs. It was produced by Charles Band and co-directed by Band and his father, Albert Band. It was written by C. Courtney Joyner and released by Full Moon Features....
(special effects animation, visual effects - as David Allen) - 1992 Demonic ToysDemonic ToysDemonic Toys is a film produced by Charles Band's Full Moon Entertainment and released in 1992. The film features small, killer toys similar to those seen in Puppet Master, a film which Band produced in 1989. Demonic Toys, like many other Full Moon releases, never had a theatrical release and went...
(video) (stop motion animation) - 1991 Puppet Master III: Toulon's Revenge (video) (stop-motion animator: David Allen Productions, visual effects producer: David Allen Productions)
- 1991 Subspecies (visual effects director)
- 1991 Oscar (animated main title, visual effects - as David Allen)
- 1991 Puppet Master IIPuppet Master IIPuppet Master II is a 1991 horror film written by David Pabian and directed by Dave Allen...
(video) (visual effects supervisor: David Allen Productions)
- 1990 Robot JoxRobot JoxRobot Jox is a 1990 science fiction film directed by Stuart Gordon, and starring Gary Graham, Anne-Marie Johnson, and Paul Koslo.-Plot:Fifty years after a nuclear holocaust, open war is forbidden by the surviving nations, which have merged into two opposing super-nations: the American-influenced...
(visual effects - as David Allen) - 1990 Bride of Re-AnimatorBride of Re-AnimatorBride of Re-Animator is an American horror film released in 1990. It was directed by Brian Yuzna and was written by Yuzna, Rick Fry and Woody Keith. H. P. Lovecraft wrote the original series of stories, titled Herbert West–Reanimator, from which the characters were derived. The plot roughly...
(special effects - as David Allen, special effects supervisor: David Allen Productions, special makeup effects: David Allen Productions, stop-motion animation and miniatures: David Allen Productions) - 1989 Puppet MasterPuppet Master (film)Puppet Master is a 1989 horror film written by Charles Band and Kenneth J. Hall, and directed by David Schmoeller...
(video) (puppet animator, visual effects supervisor) - 1989 Enemies, a Love StoryEnemies, a Love Story (film)Enemies, a Love Story is a 1989 film directed by Paul Mazursky, based on the novel Enemies, a Love Story by Isaac Bashevis Singer.-Plot:...
(special effects) - 1989 Honey, I Shrunk the KidsHoney, I Shrunk the KidsHoney, I Shrunk the Kids is a 1989 comedy film. The directorial debut of Joe Johnston and released through Walt Disney Pictures and Silver Screen Partners III, the film tells the story of an inventor who accidentally shrinks his and his neighbor's kids to 1/4 of an inch with his electromagnetic...
(stop motion animator/stop motion ant crew, stop motion animator: ant sequence - as David Allen) - 1989 Ghostbusters IIGhostbusters IIGhostbusters II is a 1989 science fiction comedy film produced and directed by Ivan Reitman. It is the sequel to the 1984 film Ghostbusters and follows the further adventures of a group of parapsychologists and their organization which combats paranormal activities...
(character performer: ILM - as David Allen) - 1988 Ghoulies II (stop motion sequences)
- 1988 WillowWillow (film)Willow is a 1988 American fantasy film directed by Ron Howard and produced/co-written by George Lucas. Warwick Davis stars in the film, as well as Val Kilmer, Joanne Whalley, Jean Marsh, and Patricia Hayes...
(chief puppeteer - as David Allen) - 1988 Pulse PoundersPulse PoundersPulse Pounders is a 1988 film directed by Charles Band. The film is an anthology film consisting of sequels to two Empire features, including The Dungeonmaster, Trancers, and an H.P. Lovecraft adaptation of The Evil Clergyman...
(visual effects supervisor) - 1987 *batteries not included*batteries not included*batteries not included is a 1987 family-science fiction film directed by Matthew Robbins about small extraterrestrial living machines that save an apartment block under threat from property development....
(chief puppeteer - uncredited, visual effects: rod puppet/stop motion supervisor: ILM) - 1987 DollsDolls (1987 film)Dolls is a horror film directed by Stuart Gordon, shot in Italy in 1985 and released in 1987.- Plot summary :A violent thunderstorm strands six people in the gothic English countryside: Judy, who's traveling with her thuggish father and her cold, self-centered, stepmother...
(special visual effects) - 1986 EliminatorsEliminatorsEliminators is a 1986 film directed by Peter Manoogian. The plot concernes a "Mandroid" constructed by an evil scientist from the body of a downed pilot, who teams up with the scientist responsible for android technology, her pet robot Spot, a riverboat guide, and a martial arts warrior...
(special optical effects) - 1985 Young Sherlock HolmesYoung Sherlock HolmesYoung Sherlock Holmes is a 1985 mystery/adventure film directed by Barry Levinson, produced by Steven Spielberg and written by Chris Columbus, based on characters by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle...
(chief puppeteer - as David Allen, pastry sequence motion supervisor: ILM - as David Allen) - 1985 The StuffThe StuffThe Stuff is a 1985 American horror film written, produced, and directed by Larry Cohen and starring Michael Moriarty, Garrett Morris, Andrea Marcovicci, and Paul Sorvino. It was also the last film of noted actor Alexander Scourby.-Plot:...
(special visual effects - as David Allen) - 1984 Ragewar (visual effects designer - as David Allen)
- 1983 Twilight Zone: The MovieTwilight Zone: The MovieTwilight Zone: The Movie is a 1983 science fiction horror film produced by Steven Spielberg and John Landis as a theatrical version of The Twilight Zone, a 1959 and '60s TV series created by Rod Serling. Those starring in the film are: Dan Aykroyd, Albert Brooks, Vic Morrow, Scatman Crothers,...
(visual effects - segment 4 / as David Allan) - 1983 The HungerThe HungerThe Hunger is a 1983 British horror film and the directorial debut of Tony Scott. It is the story of a love triangle between a doctor who specializes in sleep and aging research and a counter-culture vampire couple...
(stop motion animator: monkey sequence - as David Allen) - 1982 QQ (film)Q is a 1982 horror film written and directed by Larry Cohen and starring Michael Moriarty, Candy Clark, David Carradine, and Richard Roundtree.-Plot:...
(special visual effects - as David Allen) - 1982 White DogWhite DogWhite Dog is a 1982 American drama film directed by Samuel Fuller using a screenplay written by Fuller and Curtis Hanson loosely based on Romain Gary's 1970 novel of the same title...
(prosthetics) - 1981 CavemanCaveman (film)Caveman is a 1981 American slapstick comedy film written and directed by Carl Gottlieb and starring Ringo Starr, Dennis Quaid, Shelley Long and Barbara Bach.-Plot:...
(visual effects supervisor - as David Allen) - 1981 The HowlingThe Howling (film)The Howling is a 1981 werewolf-themed horror film directed by Joe Dante. Based on the novel of the same name by Gary Brandner, the screenplay is written by John Sayles and Terence H. Winkless...
(stop motion animation - as David Allen)
- 1980 The Day Time EndedThe Day Time EndedThe Day Time Ended is an independent science fiction film released in 1980. The film starred Jim Davis, Christopher Mitchum and Dorothy Malone and was directed by John 'Bud' Carlos...
(dimensional animation - as David Allen, technical advisor - as David Allen) - 1980 Witches' BrewWitches' Brew (film)Witches' Brew is a 1980 horror comedy film directed by Herbert L. Strock and Richard Shorr who co-wrote screenplay with Syd Dutton. It was based on Fritz Leiber Jr.'s novel Conjure Wife...
(creator: "Lucifer" demon - as David Allen) - 1978 LaserblastLaserblastLaserblast is a 1978 American science fiction film about an unhappy teenage loner who discovers an alien laser cannon and goes on a murderous rampage, seeking revenge against those who he feels have wronged him. The low-budget film was directed by Michael Rae and produced by Charles Band, who is...
(animation effects) - 1977 The Crater Lake MonsterThe Crater Lake MonsterThe Crater Lake Monster is a 1977 B-rated horror film directed by William R. Stromberg for Crown International Pictures, and starring Richard Cardella...
(stop motion supervisor) - 1974 Flesh GordonFlesh GordonFlesh Gordon is a 1974 American science fiction adventure comedy film. It is an erotic spoof of the Flash Gordon serial films from the 1930s. The screenplay was written by Michael Benveniste, who also co-directed the film with Howard Ziehm...
(stop motion) - 1970 When Dinosaurs Ruled the EarthWhen Dinosaurs Ruled the EarthWhen Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth is a 1970 movie starring Victoria Vetri, set in the time of cavemen. The film was made by Britain's Hammer Films....
(stop motion effects) - 1970 EquinoxEquinox (film)Equinox is a 1970 American horror film. Originally made in 1967 under the title The Equinox... A Journey into the Supernatural it was directed by Dennis Muren, and stars Edward Connell as Dave, Barbara Hewitt as Susan Turner Frank Bonner as Jim Hudson and award-winning science fiction/horror writer...
(special photographic effects, stop motion effects) - Davey and Goliath (TV series)
- The Gumby Show (TV series) (special effects)
External links
- http://aboyd.com/kong/allen.html
- "Interview with David Allen, King Kong Builder and Animator", PBS Nova.
- Chronology of Animation: 1999