King Dinosaur

Last updated
King Dinosaur
King Dinosaur.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Bert I. Gordon
Written byBert I. Gordon
Tom Gries
Al Zimbalist
Produced byBert I. Gordon
Al Zimbalist (Executive Producer)
Starring William Bryant
Wanda Curtis
Douglas Henderson
Patti Gallagher
Narrated by Marvin Miller
CinematographyGordon Avil
Edited byJack Cornall
Music byLouis Palange
Gene Garf (uncredited)
Distributed by Lippert Pictures
Release date
  • June 17, 1955 (1955-06-17)
Running time
63 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$15,000 (estimated) [1]
Box office$55,000 [2]

King Dinosaur is a 1955 science fiction film starring William Bryant and Wanda Curtis with narration by Marvin Miller. It was co-written, produced, and directed by Bert I. Gordon, in his directorial debut. The film was featured on season 2 of Mystery Science Theater 3000 .

Contents

Plot

Five years in the future (1960), four scientists (zoologist Dr. Richard Gordon, geologist Dr. Nora Pierce, medical specialist Dr. Ralph Martin, and chemist Dr. Patrica Bennett) are selected as astronauts to travel to an ancient planet called Nova that has just entered Earth's Solar System. The crew begins studying the planet to see if it is suitable for a possible Earth colony. After first discovering normal Earth animals such as a kinkajou which they refer to as a lemur, crows which they call vultures, and an alligator (A Prehistoric species called Diplocynodon), they soon encounter and battle giant insects, an enormous snake known as Gigantophis, and prehistoric mammals like a Cave Bear, a Mastodon, and a Glyptodont.

Richard and Nora paddle a raft out to an island and are trapped in a cave by Prehistoric Reptiles, even a Tyrannosaurus rex (portrayed by a green iguana). They fire off a signal flare. Back on the mainland near their spaceship, Ralph and Patricia see the distress signal, grab the auxiliary nuclear power supply and paddle their raft out to the island to rescue Richard and Nora. Before they leave the island, they set the power supply to "unharness" in 30 minutes and leave it on the island. After encountering more prehistoric creatures, they reach their spaceship. The power supply blows up the island in a nuclear mushroom cloud, rendering King Dinosaur and the other dinosaurs of Nova extinct.

Cast

Production

Advertisement from 1955 for King Dinosaur and co-feature, Five Guns West Belmont Theatre Ad - 15 July 1955, Dayton, OH.jpg
Advertisement from 1955 for King Dinosaur and co-feature, Five Guns West

Filming started in September 1954. [3]

The film was directed over a seven-day period by Bert I. Gordon and was Gordon's debut. The camera and other pieces of equipment were borrowed and the cast worked for deferred salaries. [1]

The scene of the attacking mammoth was stock footage recycled from the film One Million B.C. .

There were only four actors in this film. The rest of the band and soldiers were just military stock footage, as was the footage of the atomic bomb explosions.

Mystery Science Theater 3000

The film was featured in a second-season episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000 in December 1990.

Reception

TV Guide gave the movie one out of five stars, stating that the quickness of the movie shooting shows. [4] Film historian Leonard Maltin rated the movie 0 of 4 stars, describing it as "First and worst of director Gordon's many 1950s sci-fi films .... Boring, silly, and awesomely cheap ...." [5]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Mystery Science Theater 3000</i> American science fiction comedy television series

Mystery Science Theater 3000 is an American science fiction comedy film review television series created by Joel Hodgson. The show premiered on KTMA-TV in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on November 24, 1988. It then moved to nationwide broadcast, first on The Comedy Channel/Comedy Central for seven seasons until its cancellation in 1996. Thereafter, it was picked up by The Sci-Fi Channel and aired for three more seasons until another cancellation in August 1999. A 60-episode syndication package titled The Mystery Science Theater Hour was produced in 1993 and broadcast on Comedy Central and syndicated to TV stations in 1995. In 2015, Hodgson led a crowdfunded revival of the series with 14 episodes in its eleventh season, first released on Netflix on April 14, 2017, with another six-episode season following on November 22, 2018. A second successful crowdfunding effort in 2021 produced 13 additional episodes shown on the Gizmoplex, an online platform that Hodgson developed which launched in March 2022. As of 2023, 230 episodes and a feature film have been produced as well as three live tours.

<i>Flash Gordon</i> (serial) 1936 film serial

Flash Gordon is a 1936 superhero serial film. Presented in 13 chapters, it is the first screen adventure for Flash Gordon, the comic-strip character created by Alex Raymond in 1934. It presents the story of Gordon's visit to the planet Mongo and his encounters with the evil Emperor Ming the Merciless. Buster Crabbe, Jean Rogers, Charles Middleton, Priscilla Lawson and Frank Shannon portray the film's central characters. In 1996, Flash Gordon was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

<i>This Island Earth</i> 1955 film by Jack Arnold, Joseph M. Newman

This Island Earth is a 1955 American science fiction film produced by William Alland, directed by Joseph M. Newman and Jack Arnold, and starring Jeff Morrow, Faith Domergue and Rex Reason. It is based on the 1952 novel of the same name by Raymond F. Jones. The film, distributed by Universal-International, was released in 1955 on a double feature with Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy.

<i>Rocketship X-M</i> 1950 film by Kurt Neumann

Rocketship X-M is a 1950 American black-and-white science fiction film from Lippert Pictures, the first outer space adventure of the post-World War II era. The film was produced and directed by Kurt Neumann and stars Lloyd Bridges, Osa Massen, John Emery, Noah Beery Jr., Hugh O'Brian, and Morris Ankrum.

<i>Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie</i> 1996 American film

Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie is a 1996 American science fiction comedy film and a film adaptation of the television series Mystery Science Theater 3000, produced and set between the series' sixth and seventh seasons. It was distributed by Universal Pictures and Gramercy Pictures and produced by Best Brains.

<i>Beginning of the End</i> (film) 1957 science fiction film directed by Bert I. Gordon

Beginning of the End is a 1957 American science fiction film produced and directed by Bert I. Gordon. It stars Peter Graves, Peggie Castle, and Morris Ankrum. An agricultural scientist, played by Graves, successfully grows gigantic vegetables using radiation. Unfortunately, the vegetables are eaten by locusts, which quickly grow to a gigantic size and attack the nearby city of Chicago. Beginning of the End is generally known for its "atrocious" special effects, "and yet," writes reviewer Bill Warren, "there is something almost compellingly watchable about this goofy little movie".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Stocker (voice actor)</span> Canadian voice actor

John Stocker is a Canadian voice actor. His career in voice acting began in the 1970s.

<i>Village of the Giants</i> 1965 film by Bert I. Gordon

Village of the Giants is a 1965 American teensploitation comedy science fiction film produced, directed and written by Bert I. Gordon. Based loosely on H. G. Wells's 1904 book The Food of the Gods and How It Came to Earth, it contains elements of the beach party film genre. The story concerns a gang of rebellious teens who gain access to a chemical substance called "Goo", which causes living things to grow to gigantic proportions. The cast is composed almost entirely of teenaged actors and young adults portraying teenagers. Also making musical guest appearances are The Beau Brummels, Freddy Cannon, and Mike Clifford. Gordon would later direct another adaptation of Wells' story, titled The Food of the Gods.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bert I. Gordon</span> American filmmaker (1922–2023)

Bert Ira Gordon was an American filmmaker and visual effects artist. He is best known for writing and directing science fiction and horror B-movies such as King Dinosaur (1955), The Amazing Colossal Man (1957), Earth vs. the Spider (1958), Village of the Giants (1965), and Empire of the Ants (1977).

<i>The Black Scorpion</i> (film) 1957 film

The Black Scorpion is a 1957 black-and-white Mexican-American giant arachnid horror film from Warner Bros., produced by Jack Dietz and Frank Melford, directed by Edward Ludwig, and starring Richard Denning, Mara Corday, Carlos Rivas, and Mario Navarro. The film's stop-motion animation special effects were created by Willis O'Brien. In the film, volcanic activity releases giant prehistoric scorpions from the earth. They wreak havoc in the rural countryside and eventually threaten Mexico City.

<i>The Land That Time Forgot</i> (1974 film) 1974 film

The Land That Time Forgot is a 1974 adventure fantasy film directed by Kevin Connor and written by Michael Moorcock and James Cawthorn, based upon the 1918 novel The Land That Time Forgot by Edgar Rice Burroughs. The film, which is a British-American co-production, stars Doug McClure, John McEnery, Keith Barron, Susan Penhaligon, Anthony Ainley and Declan Mulholland.

<i>Invasion of the Neptune Men</i> 1961 Japanese film

Invasion of the Neptune Men is a 1961 superhero film produced by Toei Company Ltd. The film stars Sonny Chiba as Iron Sharp.

<i>The Projected Man</i> 1966 British film by Ian Curteis

The Projected Man is a 1966 British science fiction film directed by Ian Curteis, written by Peter Bryan, John C. Cooper, and Frank Quattrocchi, and starring Bryant Haliday, Mary Peach, Norman Wooland, Ronald Allen, and Derek Farr.

<i>The Starfighters</i> 1964 film by Will Zens

The Starfighters is a 1964 American Cold War film written, produced and directed by Will Zens, and starring Bob Dornan, Richard Jordahl and Richard Masters. In an unusual twist based on the storyline of a pilot and his congressman father, pilot and actor Dornan would seek and win election as a U.S. congressman in California.

<i>Santa Claus</i> (1959 film) 1959 Mexican film

Santa Claus is a 1959 Mexican fantasy film directed by René Cardona and co-written with Adolfo Torres Portillo. In the film, Santa Claus works in outer space and battles with a demon named Pitch, sent to Earth by Lucifer to ruin Christmas by killing Santa and "making all the children of the Earth do evil".

<i>Future War</i> 1997 American film

Future War is a 1997 American direct-to-video science fiction film about an escaped human slave fleeing his cyborg masters and seeking refuge on Earth. It was lampooned in a 1999 episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000.

<i>Galaxy Invader</i> 1985 film directed by Don Dohler

Galaxy Invader is a 1985 American direct-to-video science fiction film directed and co-written by Baltimore filmmaker Don Dohler. The film's plot centers on an alien who is pursued by hillbillies after his spaceship crash-lands on Earth. The cast is made of entirely non-professional actors, mainly friends and family of Dohler.

<i>Lost Continent</i> (1951 film) 1951 film by Sam Newfield

Lost Continent is a 1951 American black-and-white science fiction film drama from Lippert Pictures, produced by Jack Leewood, Robert L. Lippert, and Sigmund Neufeld, directed by Sam Newfield, that stars Cesar Romero, Hillary Brooke, Whit Bissell, Sid Melton, Hugh Beaumont and John Hoyt.

<i>The Phantom Planet</i> 1961 film by William Marshall

The Phantom Planet is a 1961 independently made American black-and-white science fiction film, produced by Fred Gebhardt, directed by William Marshall, that stars Dean Fredericks, Coleen Gray, Anthony Dexter, and Francis X. Bushman. The film was released in the U.S. by American International Pictures as a double feature with Assignment Outer Space.

<i>12 to the Moon</i> 1960 film

12 to the Moon is a 1960 independently made American black-and-white science fiction film, produced and written by Fred Gebhardt, directed by David Bradley and starring Ken Clark, Michi Kobi, Tom Conway and Anna-Lisa. The film was distributed in the U.S. by Columbia Pictures as a double feature with either Battle in Outer Space or 13 Ghosts, depending on the local film market.

References

  1. 1 2 Mark McGee, Faster and Furiouser: The Revised and Fattened Fable of American International Pictures, McFarland, 1996 p105
  2. "Bert Gordon's Fancy Dan 'Fantasies'; Make 'Em For 429G and Net $1,071,000". Variety . September 17, 1958. p. 24.
  3. Schallert, E. (Sep 8, 1954). "Alex nicol to menace stewart; 'strange new men' bids for calhern". Los Angeles Times. ProQuest   166676269.
  4. "King Dinosaur" Review, TV Guide.
  5. "King Dinosaur", Turner Classic Movies.