Review #481: 'The Valley of Gwangi' (1969)

Like the Hollywood western in the 1960's, the "wild west" depicted in The Valley of Gwangi - set at the turn of the century - was the post-cowboy sideshow, as displayed in reality by its most famous component, Buffalo Bill. It was this type of circus show that actually inspired much of the iconography of the filmic western. In this 1969 film (a time when westerns were more popular in television, and Hollywood was dissipating), we are introduced to a Mexican rodeo owner, the "cowgirl" T. J. (Gila Golan), and her once fiancee, Tuck (James Franciscus), T. J. being the owner of a struggling rodeo. After Carlos (Gustavo Rojo) returns from the "forbidden valley" he has in a burlap bag, a tiny, pre-historic ancestor of the modern day horse. After its escape, a team are set up to recapture the profitable little tyke, and return it for display. On entering the forbidden zone, they discover a wealth of creatures directly out of the past, extinct only to the outer area of the zone.

The film is largely a combination of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's story, 'The Lost World' (which was itself filmed in 1925), and the 1933 genre defining King Kong. Gwangi was penned by the special effects wizard of Kong, Willis O'Brien, but was shelved, and not considered as a conceivable project until after his death in 1962. (Incidentally the script inspired a very similar film in 1956's The Beast of Hollow Mountain.) However, by its release, even the monster movie was a dying breed of film, as the New Hollywood began to take over. Of course, as with the film version of The Lost World, and King Kong, the group capture a beast to take back for a unique public show, which inevitably leads to destruction and disaster.

Whilst this genre mash-up was clearly treading ground already exhaustively explored, the film has much period charm. The film is helped a great deal by the genius of Ray Harryhausen (a protege of O'Brien - and instigator for the production of this film). His attention to detail is incredible, and he imbues character into the monsters. There are an incredible amount of his special effects (dynamation as it is known here), and he delivers with aplomb. When the horseback riders capture a dinosaur using ropes, the sequence must have been a logistical nightmare, but the effect is brilliant - this highlights the reason Harryhausen is a legend. Gwangi also marked the last project that he would animate his beloved dinosaurs, and his later projects largely involved the mythical creatures of Sinbad's '70's outings (Golden Voyage (1973) and Eye of the Tiger (1977)) and Clash of the Titans (1981).


Directed by: Jim O'Connolly
Starring: James Franciscus, Gila Golan, Richard Carlson, Laurence Naismith
Country: USA

Rating: ***

Marc Ivamy