When
I was a kid, between the time I wanted to be a cowboy (blame Bing Crosby for that) or a space cadet . . .
. . . and the time I wanted to be an archaeologist, I wanted to be a paleontologist. I loved dinosaurs; I thought they were the coolest things ever. Unfortunately, dinosaurs first appeared during the Triassic period, around 243 million years ago, a little before my time.
The Cowboy - 1887
photo by John C. H. Grabill
. . . (ended up being a space cadet, anyway)
. . .
Frankie Thomas - 1952
. . . and the time I wanted to be an archaeologist, I wanted to be a paleontologist. I loved dinosaurs; I thought they were the coolest things ever. Unfortunately, dinosaurs first appeared during the Triassic period, around 243 million years ago, a little before my time.
Any movie that had a dinosaur in it was OK with me. The reasons I loved King Kong, aside from the fact that he was WAY cool, was that he fought one as Ann Darrow (Fay Wray) watched and screamed her head off at the top of a tree stump. Jessica Lange would reprise the role 43 years later. Plus the score by Max Steiner dramatically amplified the action (probably one of the films that made me fall in love with movie sound scores) (YouTube link below).
King Kong & friend - 1933
with Ann Darrow on the tree stump
with Ann Darrow on the tree stump
Then there was the 1940 film, One Million B.C.! WOW! I loved that movie! Although in real life mankind came millions of years after the age of the dinosaur, the film had Tumak, Victor Mature, battling one or two of them (links below) with Carole Landis
as his main squeeze; Lon Chaney, Jr. was also in the film and Werner R. Heymann wrote the score. Of course, there was the obligatory erupting volcano to keep the plot moving. It was released in Britain as, A Man and His Mate.
D.W. Griffith began directing One Million B.C. under the title When Man Began but Hal Roach and his son, Hal Roach, Jr. finished directing it. Roy Seawright and Frank Young stuck fins on various crocodiles, lizards and iguanas and photographically enlarged them. This inspired the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals to ban such gruesome uses of these animals, so the footage from this film was later recycled over and over in many films including the 1953 movie, Robot Monster, a really wretched movie often called the worst one ever made (rivaling Plan 9 From Outer Space directed by Ed Wood with Bela Lugosi).
The saving graces that rescued Robot Monster from men in gorilla suits (groan, this one wore a diving helmit) (links below): it was the first Sci-Fi movie with stereophonic sound, it was filmed in 3-D, it featured a half-naked, Hollywood hunk, George Nader . . .
. . . and the biggest surprise of all, the score was by Elmer Bernstein.!!!!!! To be fair, it was during the notorious McCarthy era Hollywood Black List; Bernstein needed to work in order to eat.
Another surprise is in 2017 the film was made into a musical (links below) with music, lyrics and book adaptation by Rich Silverman; it doesn't fair any better than the original movie!!!!!
One Million B.C. poster
D.W. Griffith began directing One Million B.C. under the title When Man Began but Hal Roach and his son, Hal Roach, Jr. finished directing it. Roy Seawright and Frank Young stuck fins on various crocodiles, lizards and iguanas and photographically enlarged them. This inspired the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals to ban such gruesome uses of these animals, so the footage from this film was later recycled over and over in many films including the 1953 movie, Robot Monster, a really wretched movie often called the worst one ever made (rivaling Plan 9 From Outer Space directed by Ed Wood with Bela Lugosi).
Robot Monster poster
The saving graces that rescued Robot Monster from men in gorilla suits (groan, this one wore a diving helmit) (links below): it was the first Sci-Fi movie with stereophonic sound, it was filmed in 3-D, it featured a half-naked, Hollywood hunk, George Nader . . .
publicity photo
. . . and the biggest surprise of all, the score was by Elmer Bernstein.!!!!!! To be fair, it was during the notorious McCarthy era Hollywood Black List; Bernstein needed to work in order to eat.
Another surprise is in 2017 the film was made into a musical (links below) with music, lyrics and book adaptation by Rich Silverman; it doesn't fair any better than the original movie!!!!!
Robot Monster, The Musical poster - 2017
Marcus Chavez (Ro-Man) & Jamie Miller
Robot Monster, The Musical - 2017
Before MTV had enough music videos to fill their day they scheduled the most amazing specials and events. In 1982 MTV aired a TV special; Videography Studios and 3D Video pooled their resources and shot 3D footage entitled, Robot Monster - The Special Edition, to wrap around the 1950s Sci-Fi classic, Robot Monster. The rock group, SPACE CADET star as the guys in silver lamé.... with Bob Burns in the famous Tracy the Gorilla suit from the kid's TV series, The Ghost Busters (link below), however, you need 3D glasses to view it!
Returning to One Million B.C., it was remade in 1966 by the British production group, Hammer Film Productions (of gothic horror film fame) with a new title, One Million Years B.C.
One Million Years B.C. poster
The movie stank but Welch was a knockout! The film made her an international sex symbol. She was chased by a dino or two in it . . .
. . . and the movie had the volcano eruption as well; Hollywood had a thing about dinosaurs and volcanoes and passed the concept on to the rest of the world (links below).
By the time Godzilla came along in 1954 I was past dinosaurs as a possible profession. I was deep into Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, the Incas and the Aztecs by then; I was still into ancient civilizations (actually, I still am) when the King Tut exhibition tour was in San Francisco in 1976 which blew me away.
King Tut funerary mask
exhibition tour, San Francisco - 1976
I will always have a soft spot in my heart for a movie with a dino or two in it. In 1993 Jurassic Park, directed by Steven Spielberg, satisfied that fondness in spades; the movie isn't so great but the special effects by Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) are terrific and the Brontosaurus (main theme) by John Williams of Star Wars, is grand, regal and beautiful! (links below).
I recently saw a film on TV, Cowboys Vs. Dinosaurs, made in 2015 (links below). It was pretty cheesy with the hero, Val Walker (portrayed by Rib Hillis of Sharktopus vs. Pteracuda and Dinocroc vs. Supergator fame), actually lassoing a dinosaur! Can you believe it?
Jurassic Park poster
I recently saw a film on TV, Cowboys Vs. Dinosaurs, made in 2015 (links below). It was pretty cheesy with the hero, Val Walker (portrayed by Rib Hillis of Sharktopus vs. Pteracuda and Dinocroc vs. Supergator fame), actually lassoing a dinosaur! Can you believe it?
Cowboys Vs. Dinosaurs poster
. . . and in Korea with Sara Malakul Lane helping him.
For serious consideration, however, there is the 1999 six-part nature documentary television miniseries on BBC Earth devoted to the age of the dinosaur titled, Walking with Dinosaurs (links below). The special effects are superb, however, it tells it like it was; it is not at all romanticized. Squeamish beware! The series won two BAFTA Awards, three Emmy Awards and a Peabody Award in 2000.
Walking with Dinosaurs - 1999
Viewfinder links:
Net links:
Arts Beat LA ~ Robot Monster ~ The Musical
Movies & Mania ~ Going Ape! A Short History of Who’s Inside the Gorilla Suit
Rotten Tomatoes ~ One Million B.C.
WSU.edu ~ One Million BC
YouTube links:
BBC ~ Walking With Dinosaurs:
Allosaurus ambushes its prey
Argentinosaurus ~ Biggest Dinosaur Ever!
Argentinosaurus vs. Mapusaurus gang
Carcharodontosaurus
Dinosaur Cannibalism
Dinosaur Massacre
Diplodocus Herd: Ballad of Allosaurus
Oviraptorid Fights to Protect Nest
Sinornithosaurus: A poisonous bite
Spinosaurus fishes for prey
Spinosaurus vs Carcharodontosaurus
The vegetarian T-Rex
Main Theme
Welcome to Jurassic Park Scene
Bing Crosby - I'm An Old Cowhand (From The Rio Grande)
KC and the Sunshine Band ~ Space Cadet
King Kong ~
Beauty Killed the Beast Scene
Kong vs. T-Rex Scene
One Million BC (1940)
One Million BC (colorized Trailer) (1940)
One Million Years B.C. (1966)
Robot Monster trailer (1953)
Robot Monster complete (1953)
Robot Monster the Musical ~
I Always Walk Alone
Official Trailer
Official Trailer Two
Robot Monster the Musical Reviews
Robot Monster - The Special Edition
Whatever Happened to Ro-Man? (7 mins., 30 secs.)
Welcome to Jurassic Park Scene
Bing Crosby - I'm An Old Cowhand (From The Rio Grande)
KC and the Sunshine Band ~ Space Cadet
King Kong ~
Beauty Killed the Beast Scene
Kong vs. T-Rex Scene
One Million BC (1940)
One Million BC (colorized Trailer) (1940)
One Million Years B.C. (1966)
Robot Monster trailer (1953)
Robot Monster complete (1953)
Robot Monster the Musical ~
I Always Walk Alone
Official Trailer
Official Trailer Two
Robot Monster the Musical Reviews
Robot Monster - The Special Edition
Whatever Happened to Ro-Man? (7 mins., 30 secs.)
Ye! Haw!
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