“Valley of Gwangi” (1969) starring James Franciscus / Z-View

The Valley of Gwangi (1969)

Director:  Jim O’Connolly

Screenplay: William Bast, Julian More, Willis H. O’Brien

Stars:  James Franciscus, Gila Golan, Richard Carlson, Laurence Naismith, Freda Jackson, Gustavo Rojo.

Tagline: Cowboys Battle Monsters in the Lost World of Forbidden Valley.

The Plot…

Tuck Kirby, a stuntman working in a traveling Wild West Show ventures into the Forbidden Valley.  There he discovers a world that never changed.  Dinosaurs and other creatures thrive there!  Kirby and other cowboys from the show decide to capture an allosaurus called Gwangi.  They figure once they have the monster in the show, they’ll become rich.

What could go wrong?

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Willis O’Brien, the genius behind the stop-motion animation effect in King Kong, had an idea for a follow-up film.  It was to be called Valley of the Mists.  Cowboys would discover a world of dinosaurs and bring one back to civilization.  World War II, budget constraints and changes in studio leadership brought about the demise of the project.  Years later, Ray Harryhausen (Willis’ mentee who went on to great success in stop-motion animation) brought forth the idea which became The Valley of Gwangi.

The Valley of Gwangi was adapted into a comic book published by Dell and released in December 1969.

The Valley of Gwangi was in production for one and a half years due to the extensive use of stop-motion animation.  The dinosaur roping sequence alone took two and a half months to complete.   During the production of Gwangi, the studio management changed.  The new regime didn’t have faith in the film and released it with little publicity.

I saw The Valley of Gwangi at a drive-in when it was first released.  I was ten or eleven.  The perfect age for a cowboys and dinosaurs movie.  I loved it.  Viewings as an adult are still fun, but some of the luster is gone.

The Valley of Gwangi brought its star James Franciscus to my attention.  I next saw him the following year in Beneath the Planet of the Apes and the year after that in the tv series Longstreet (with occasional guest star Bruce Lee!).

The Valley of Gwangi (1969) rates 3 of 5 stars.