Dinosaurus!
Encyclopedia
Dinosaurus! is a 1960 science fiction film
directed by Irvin Yeaworth
and produced by Jack H. Harris. The leading role was intended for Steve McQueen
, who starred in The Blob
two years earlier, also directed by Yeaworth Jr. But for reasons not clear, the offer was never made to McQueen.
island when they accidentally uncover two dinosaurs that have been frozen in suspended animation for millions of years. They are a Brontosaurus
and a Tyrannosaurus rex
. That night, during a storm, the beasts are struck by lightning and come back to life. The islanders have no idea that the dinosaurs are alive because of the storm and are now roaming the island. Also awoken is a caveman (played by Gregg Martell) who befriends Julio, an island boy, and along with the Brontosaurus get into a series of wacky misadventures, which lead to the death of the Brontosaurus and the caveman. Meanwhile the islanders have found refuge from the Tyrant Lizard King by hiding in the old fortress, which is protected by a ring of burning fuel. To ensure the Tyrannosaurus does not get in, the hero Bart (played by Ward Ramsey) drives out to face the beast in a mechanical digger. The two duel on the edge of an island cliff and, after a tense fight, the Tyrannosaurus is knocked into water, ending the island terror. The film ends with a picture of the apparently dead Tyrannosaurus on the sea bed, with 'THE END' followed by '?' superimposed. Even though the movie ended with a question mark, there was no sequel.
During special-effects work on this picture, the crew used their Brontosaurus model and miniature jungle set to film a shot for an episode of TV's The Twilight Zone
(1959), called "The Odyssey of Flight 33
".
The toy dinosaurs Julio shows everyone at the cantena were Brontosaurus and Tyrannosaurus rex plastic figures made by Marx Toys.
The New York Times reviewer Howard Thompson said of this film, "If ever there was a tired, synthetic, plodding sample of movie junk, it's this "epic" about two prehistoric animals hauled from an underwater deep-freeze by some island engineers."
Science fiction film
Science fiction film is a film genre that uses science fiction: speculative, science-based depictions of phenomena that are not necessarily accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial life forms, alien worlds, extrasensory perception, and time travel, often along with futuristic...
directed by Irvin Yeaworth
Irvin Yeaworth
Irvin Shortess "Shorty" Yeaworth, Jr. was an American film director, producer, screenwriter and theme park builder. He began his career singing at age 10 at KDKA, the world's first radio station in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He later became a radio producer...
and produced by Jack H. Harris. The leading role was intended for Steve McQueen
Steve McQueen
Terrence Steven "Steve" McQueen was an American movie actor. He was nicknamed "The King of Cool." His "anti-hero" persona, which he developed at the height of the Vietnam counterculture, made him one of the top box-office draws of the 1960s and 1970s. McQueen received an Academy Award nomination...
, who starred in The Blob
The Blob
The Blob is an independently made 1958 American horror/science-fiction film that depicts a giant amoeba-like alien that terrorizes the small community of Phoenixville, Pennsylvania...
two years earlier, also directed by Yeaworth Jr. But for reasons not clear, the offer was never made to McQueen.
Plot
The movie is about American men building a harbour on a CaribbeanCaribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
island when they accidentally uncover two dinosaurs that have been frozen in suspended animation for millions of years. They are a Brontosaurus
Apatosaurus
Apatosaurus , also known by the popular but scientifically deprecated synonym Brontosaurus, is a genus of sauropod dinosaur that lived from about 154 to 150 million years ago, during the Jurassic Period . It was one of the largest land animals that ever existed, with an average length of and a...
and a Tyrannosaurus rex
Tyrannosaurus
Tyrannosaurus meaning "tyrant," and sauros meaning "lizard") is a genus of coelurosaurian theropod dinosaur. The species Tyrannosaurus rex , commonly abbreviated to T. rex, is a fixture in popular culture. It lived throughout what is now western North America, with a much wider range than other...
. That night, during a storm, the beasts are struck by lightning and come back to life. The islanders have no idea that the dinosaurs are alive because of the storm and are now roaming the island. Also awoken is a caveman (played by Gregg Martell) who befriends Julio, an island boy, and along with the Brontosaurus get into a series of wacky misadventures, which lead to the death of the Brontosaurus and the caveman. Meanwhile the islanders have found refuge from the Tyrant Lizard King by hiding in the old fortress, which is protected by a ring of burning fuel. To ensure the Tyrannosaurus does not get in, the hero Bart (played by Ward Ramsey) drives out to face the beast in a mechanical digger. The two duel on the edge of an island cliff and, after a tense fight, the Tyrannosaurus is knocked into water, ending the island terror. The film ends with a picture of the apparently dead Tyrannosaurus on the sea bed, with 'THE END' followed by '?' superimposed. Even though the movie ended with a question mark, there was no sequel.
Production
Parts of the film were shot on location. Some location shooting took place on the Island of St. Croix, in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The dinosaurs were filmed using the technique of stop-motion animation as well as puppets for close-ups.During special-effects work on this picture, the crew used their Brontosaurus model and miniature jungle set to film a shot for an episode of TV's The Twilight Zone
The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series)
The Twilight Zone is an American anthology television series created by Rod Serling, which ran for five seasons on CBS from 1959 to 1964. The series consisted of unrelated episodes depicting paranormal, futuristic, dystopian, or simply disturbing events; each show typically featured a surprising...
(1959), called "The Odyssey of Flight 33
The Odyssey of Flight 33
"The Odyssey of Flight 33" is an episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone.-Synopsis:This episode takes place on Global Airlines Flight 33, en route from London to New York City. About fifty minutes from Idlewild Airport, Captain Farver and his crew notice that their...
".
The toy dinosaurs Julio shows everyone at the cantena were Brontosaurus and Tyrannosaurus rex plastic figures made by Marx Toys.
The New York Times reviewer Howard Thompson said of this film, "If ever there was a tired, synthetic, plodding sample of movie junk, it's this "epic" about two prehistoric animals hauled from an underwater deep-freeze by some island engineers."