DINOSAURUS!

Publicity poster for Dinosaurus! (© Irvin Yeaworth/Fairview Productions/Jack Harris Productions/Universal Pictures – reproduced here on a strictly non-commercial Fair Use basis for educational/review purposes only)

On 18 July 2020, I watched Dinosaurus!, a famous monster B-movie from 1960, directed by Irvin Yeaworth and released by Universal Pictures.

 

Set on a Caribbean island (actually filmed on location on St Croix in the US Virgin Islands), it sees two frozen, ostensibly long-dead (as in prehistoric) dinosaurs dredged up from the depths during the building of a new harbour, and placed on a beach to thaw out before being shipped out to a scientific institution. One is a Tyrannosaurus rex, the other a Brontosaurus. Moreover, unknown to most of the island residents, a third frozen body is washed up separately, that of a Neanderthal Man, who becomes sought after by the movie's villain, the island's governor, to sell to the highest bidder.

The Neanderthal thaws out quickly and proves not to have been dead, merely in suspended animation due to the freezing, and flees unseen into the forest. During that same night, there is a major thunderstorm, and a bolt of lightning that strikes both defunct dinosaurs restores them to life in best Frankensteinian manner. The herbivorous dinosaur strolls placidly off into the forest, but unsurprisingly for B-movie storylines the T. rex goes on the rampage, uniting the islanders in a desperate bid to annihilate it before it decimates them. Having said that, my favourite segments of the movie featured the Neanderthal's hilariously perplexed reactions to (what was back then) the cutting-edge domestic technology and leisure accoutrements encountered by him when he broke into an empty house looking for food. Let's just say that books, mirrors, radios, cooking stoves and cavemen definitely do not make a good mix!

The dinosaurs are a mixture of stop-motion models for mid-range/distance shots and puppets for close-ups. For 1960, they are serviceable, but Harryhausenesque they most definitely are not. The main story takes forever to get going, to the extent that by the time that it finally did, I'd all but given up on it and was about to click the Stop button, but happily the pace then picked up in tandem with my interest. No major stars feature in Dinosaurus! - apparently the lead character/hero, Bart, played by Ward Ramsey, was originally going to be played by none other than Steve McQueen, but he opted out in favour of a role in The Magnificent Seven - a very wise decision!

According to the publicity for this monster movie, Dinosaurus! was a film that started a million years ago, and in it Bart states that the dinosaurs were about a million years old. Why was it that dinosaur movie makers back in much of the 20th Century so often seemed unable to grasp that the Age of Dinosaurs was many millions of years ago (the Mesozoic Era, to be precise), as opposed to the Pleistocene Epoch?! A browse through any children's book on dinosaurs would soon have told them that. Perhaps they felt that suggesting that these formidable reptiles were still alive relatively recently (geologically speaking) made the popular movie theme of finding them alive easier to believe? Who knows?

Anyway, another 'classic' monster B-movie duly watched. I'm still mentally and emotionally preparing myself for what awaits me when I eventually watch the horror (albeit for all the wrong reasons!) that is The Giant Claw! One day soon, perhaps, when I feel brave – or masochistic – enough…?

If you're of a very tolerant nature and are feeling adventurous – or exceedingly bored! – you can currently watch Dinosaurus! for free on YouTube by clicking here.

And to view a complete listing of all of my Shuker In MovieLand blog's other film reviews and articles (each one instantly accessible via a direct clickable link), please click HERE!