User Reviews

Say, have you noticed this? In practically every dinosaur movie I've ever seen, there's always a point where a Tyrannosaurus-like dino, in this case an allosaurus, matches up against a Triceratops-like animal. In this picture it was a Styracosaurus. It's probably because they were the largest of their kind and seemed like natural enemies, although I don't even know if they lived during the same paleontological age. Is that even a word?

Well this flick is entertaining enough on a number of levels. For one, I don't think I've seen dinosaurs as colorful as this before. Usually they're a dark, grayish color but someone, maybe Harryhausen himself, felt they should be various shades of purple and blue. Or was that a function of the Technicolor format? If you noticed Professor Bromley (Laurence Naismith) running around out in the desert, his face and hands were red as a lobster; I've never seen a sunburn that bright.

While watching, I was reminded of the 1949 movie "Mighty Joe Young" when the Mexican cowboys brought out their lassos and tried to hogtie the allosaurus. I'm sitting there thinking, what would possess someone to believe they could actually do that with a real live dinosaur? Sure it looks cool, but what self respecting dinosaur wouldn't just bite through the ropes and knock the pesky cowboys off of him, just like Gwangi did here.

Say, here's another thought. I've probably seen and reviewed close to a thousand Westerns by now, and you might loosely call this a Western, but I've never seen a horse dive into an oversized pool before. So there's another reason to catch this flick. Seeing Gina Golan all wet is a bonus.

So all in all, this is a fun movie if you're up for it. James Franciscus and Ms. Golan make for an attractive on screen couple, and the dynamation styled monsters looked and moved fairly realistically given the limitations of the technology back then. And who wouldn't love to see some dinosaurs at a Wild West Show?

Like many of my generation, I was introduced to `the Valley of Gwangi' on television, having been born just a tad late to see it in the theater, and much too early to see it on video. To me as a kid, it was the very best dinosaur film ever made. Effects may have improved since then, but for my money, there is still nothing to compare to the loving hand-wrought artistry of Ray Harryhausen.

Most video guides and many of the imdb's commentators note that this was originally based upon a Willis O'Brien story. What few seem to notice is that O'Brien himself made a similar film called `The Beast of Hollow Mountain' in 1956. The film is inferior in terms of story and (surprisingly) effects, but it does hold the title of `the first cowboy western.'

As far as Gwangi is concerned, however, it follows the familiar psychotronic-era theme of a monster as catalyst for resolving a romance on the rocks. Tuck Kirby requires the help of the big lizard to prove himself to TJ Breckinridge and rekindle their love. This is a fairly familiar dramatic tension: the problem to be overcome is that of the hero's impotence, and he does so by invoking the dread demons of femininity. The location of the `forbidden valley' accessible only via a tight cave (which must be blasted with dynamite to enter) only takes the Freudian theme to extreme excesses. What is interesting, in this context, is the centrality of `Lope' the Mexican orphan child. For Lope, the tension appears to be whom to accept in the father-role: the heroic (but impotent) Tuck, the knowledgeable (if foolish and at times seemingly pedophilic) Professor or, as all us young boys truly craved , Gwangi himself. The resolution of James/Gila's romance appears to imply a resolution to Lope's situation as well: he is to be adopted into a newly formed family-unit, returned to normalcy and rescued from the streets. The fact that the movie closes with the image of Lope crying at the monster's death, tells what a tragedy this `happy ending' really is.

I love Ray Harryhausen's films, even ones that aren't so great. This one falls into the average category. Typical monster movie of the period. You know the deal, misunderstood monster (who would've been fine if the humans had left him alone) is kidnapped / captured. Sure enough he breaks loose, goes on rampage and dies a painful death. Hey, I'd be angry if I was captured and displayed for the amusement of puny humans!!!! I'd want to go on a rampage if I was nervous and scared in an alien environment!!! This is basically the same story as KING KONG. My main beef with the film is that it seems to take forever for them to get to the 'Forbidden Valley' (a-duh, don't go there, it's forbidden!) and once they get there the cowboys just shoot everything. Typical Americans!! Harryhausen's work, as always, is marvelous and is the only thing you should watch this film for. GO GWANGI!!!

The idea of combining a dinosaur fantasy film with the western genre is tackled in The Valley Of Gwangi. A similar concept had been trialled in the earlier flick The Beast Of Hollow Mountain, but this film is altogether more polished and satisfying than that earlier effort. While the build-up is rather tedious in some ways, the film's second half – with its non-stop action and enjoyable stop-motion effects by the old master Ray Harryhausen – is rather entertaining. Looking at The Valley Of Gwangi from a modern viewpoint one could easily find unintended hilarity in its primitive visual trickery, but there is something very likable about the film that discourages us from laughing at its datedness. Harryhausen was a genius when it came creating fake-monsters-with-personality…. and he certainly delivers the goods here. His creations include a miniature horse, a pterodactyl, and various dinosaurs (among them the titular Allosaurus "Gwangi").

Travelling businessman Tuck (James Franciscus) arrives in a border town in the Wild West. He visits the circus troupe that he was once associated with and reunites with his ex-lover TJ (Gila Golan), much to the chagrin of her elderly protector Champ (Richard Carlson). Tuck has learned that the circus is close to financial ruin and thinks he might be able to make TJ an offer she can't refuse…. but she is so angry about the way he walked out on her months previously that she turns him down flat. Later Tuck discovers that the circus has acquired a new act that might revive its fortunes – a miniature horse discovered in a nearby region known as the Forbidden Valley. Tuck tells a palaeontologist, Professor Bromley (Laurence Naismith), about the horse. Bromley is thrilled when he sees it, and suspects it is some sort of prehistoric creature long believed to be dead. A complex series of events lead the circus staff, Tuck and Bromley into the Forbidden Valley, where they stumble across a whole gallery of prehistoric monsters. The most intimidating of them all is Gwangi – a huge Allosaurus which they capture and take back as a sure-fire circus attraction (King Kong in the Wild West, eh?) Needless to say, there's just no way the mighty Gwangi will stay quietly in his cage…

Various aspects of the film gel quite well. Harryhausen's trick effects have been mentioned already but there's also the catchy score by Jerome Moross, the enjoyable performances of Franciscus and Naismith, and the memorable climax in which Gwangi flattens the border town before smashing his way into a half-built church. Other aspects don't have quite the desired effect – the non-performance of Gila Golan as the film's leading female for example, and the film's rather "plotty" opening 45 minute stretch. The Valley Of Gwangi is a likable fantasy-western, full of nostalgic value for big kids who remember it from their childhood and quite enjoyable for new audiences that are discovering it for the first time. It has its shortcomings for sure, but is pleasant fare all the same – a guilty pleasure from a bygone era!

I'm racking my brain, but I can't seem to think of another movie quite like The Valley of the Gwangi. A Western with dinosaurs? What could be more natural? You gotta wonder why John Ford and/or John Wayne never tried it!

The plot – While searching for a mythical miniature horse for her circus, TJ Breckenridge (Gila Golan), Tuck Kirby (James Franciscus), and the rest of the cast/characters enter a strange, lost valley. There they find not only the miniature horse, but some other, more fearsome creatures as well. Dinosaurs rule this place. Now wouldn't that be an attraction at TJ's circus – a caged T-Rex?

It's not that I find The Valley of the Gwangi a bad movie, I just don't seem to have enjoyed it as much as many others who have posted comments on the movie. There are some parts that I actually find almost unwatchable. For the first half of the movie, there just doesn't seem to be much going on. I wasn't necessarily bored, but I did want something to happen. Plodding would be an adjective I would use. To top it off, the movie features a very contrived love story. It feels forced as if the writers decided that the male and female leads just had to get together. But The Valley of the Gwangi isn't a total waste. There are moments I really enjoyed. Who doesn't get a kick out of the scenes of the cowboys on horseback trying to lasso a T-Rex. You just don't see stuff like that every day. Ray Harryhausen's creatures are impressive. There are some really cool shots of Harryhausen's miniatures interacting with people and horses. It might not represent the best of his work, but the effects are very nice. Still, at least in my mind these good moments aren't enough to overcome the negatives. As much as I hate to do it, I've got to rate The Valley of the Gwangi a 4/10.