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Cowboys Battle Monsters in the Lost World of Forbidden Valley.

Warner Bros. [US] / Seven Arts Production [UK]
US (1969): Adventure
96 min., G, Color

Charles Schneer with Gina Golan

When Ray Harryhausen and Charles Schneer were ready to begin production on another another fantasy film, discussion began as to what that project would be.  As Ray rummaged through his garage he came across an old screenplay written by Willis O'Brien in the 1940's.  It was generally a reworking of THE LOST WORLD with cowboys instead of explorers and was written to be filmed with the extravagance of matte paintings and effects that were used in the making of MIGHTY JOE YOUNG.

The screenplay became a definite possibility because of the success of ONE MILLION YEARS B.C. It seemed that audiences were ready for more dinosaur pictures. The original screenplay was intended for O'Brien special effects and Ernest Schoedsack's live action all combined and set in Southwest America.  Cowboys discovered a hidden valley in the Grand Canyon and encountered prehistoric beasts there.  They captured an allosuraus and put him on exhibition. The allosoraus escaped and caused huge destruction before finally being killed.

This production went as far as having models of the allosaraus created, matte paintings made and a score composed by Paul Sawtell.  Several miniature sets were also constructed before RKO fell on hard times and the project had to be dropped.

Ray reworked the original shots to work with his Dynamation technique of using split screen and rear projection. As they researched the original screenplay further it became clouded as to who actually owned the property and how much of the screenplay was really written by O'Bie.  Apparently Harold Lamb and Emily Barrye had also contributed to it. Since it would be virtually impossible to get clearance for the original screenplay because of the vagueness as to who owned it, the screenplay would have to be entirely re-written and re-worked.

William Bast, who had just written a pilot for THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH's TV series was contacted and he began to make major changes in the actual story. The location was changed to Spain and the idea of a travelling western rodeo was incorporated so that the cowboy themes could still be used. They also liked the idea of starting the conclusion in a bull ring. It was also decided that the story would get pushed back in time rather than have the story taking place in present day Spain.  What did remain from the original screenplay was the effect sequences O'Bie wanted.

Since the film was to be shot in Spain, many of the extras and some of the cast were also Spanish.  James Franciscus was hired for the lead and the beautiful Gila Golan was cast as his co-star.  Also cast was Richard Carlson, who appeared in several of 1950's fantasy films.  Carlson was having health problems but the gruff appearance only added to his role as rough cowboy who helped run the travelling rodeo.

Laurence Naismith, who had worked on Harryhausen's JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS was cast as a dotting professor and Freda Jackson rounded out the principals as the twisted gypsy woman.

As the film went into production, six weeks were set aside for the live action photography and a few short cuts were made to accomplish this.  Some scenes were optically flipped and reused in the film. Since the scene was altered by the use of a matte paintings, this wasn't obvious to the general viewer.

The first stop-motion sequence didn't involve dinosaurs at all.  As the travelling rodeo performs, Gila Golan mounts a horse that is about to dive from a tower into a barrel of water.  Everything in the sequence is live action until the horse actually makes it's leap. It then becomes a beautifully crafted stop-motion creature with a stop-motion Gila Golan on it's back.

The next sequence also involves a horse, albeit a much smaller horse.  An Eiohipus is introduced complete with a miniature set as Gila Golan unveils it the James Franciscus.  The tiny horse prances around it's miniature set as music plays.  The sequence is beautifully executed and is almost magical as it captures the viewers attention and creates the suspension of disbelieve.

From here, the stop-motion action turns adventurous as the cowboys enter the hidden valley and discover a prehistoric world that has remained untouched for years. All of the creatures are beautifully sculpted with great attention to detail.

The cowboys encounter a large ostrich-like reptile,  the ornithomimus, which flees from the cowboys. As it does so, GWANGI, the giant allosaurus leaps into frame and devours the beast. The scene was obviously reworked in JURRASSIC PARK as an entire flock of bird-like reptiles run through the frame and a T-Rex jumps out and gobbles one of them up.

A very impressive sequence involves the little boy Lope who is attacked by a pterodactyl.  As the creature swoops down and picks up the boy, he instantly becomes a stop-motion figure.  Then as the creature attempts to fly away with the boy in his claws, Ray animated the sequence to deliberately show the creature struggling to fly with the added weight of the boy.

Ray reused his tricerotops and adapted it into the multi horned styracosaurus. The creature was involved in a sequence where GWANGI and the beast battle to the death. The fight scene is magnificently executed and ranks among the best of similar dinosaur fight sequences.

As in MIGHTY JOE YOUNG, the cowboys try to rope the Allosaraus. This sequence is remarkably well-down as every attempt to match the live action cowboys and their ropes to the stop-motion dinosaur. This sequence is often criticized because for a brief instance some of the ropes don't line up. To actually realize this, you have to scrutinize the film and watch it frame by frame.  As the action unfolds on the screen it isn't something the general audience notices.  To accomplish this sequence Ray sat on the back of a jeep holding a 15 foot stick with a reference point for GWANGI's head. The jeep moved in short and abrupt circles as the cowboys attempted to lasso the stick so the footage could be combined later in Harryhausen's studio.  Ray kept the jeep from appearing in the film by using a split-screen process but the jeep still stirred up dust from the sand. The dust is incorporated into the final film creating the illusion that GWANGI is the one responsible for stirring up the soil.

The climax of the film is beautifully executed as Gwangi escapes from the rodeo to wreak havoc in the tiny Spanish town.  Schneer had managed to obtain the rights to use  the Cathedral at Cuenca, where much of the Spanish town footage was shot. It is a fitting ending for the film because the GWANGI represents all that is evil to the gypsy's who knew of the existence on the creature. Once inside the sanctuary of the cathedral, the beast can finally be destroyed.

No attempt was made in this film to make GWANGI a sympathetic creature as was true in KING KONG, MIGHTY JOE YOUNG, or 20 MILLION MILES TO EARTH.  Yes, everything would have been fine if man hadn't intervened and brought him into civilization, but GWANGI is simply a beast of prey, killing not just for food but because he can. His destruction at the end of the film to emit any empathy for the creature.  GWANGI is a monster who must be destroyed or it will kill again and again.

Columbia, for whatever reasons, had severed relationships with Schneer for this project and it was developed through Warner Brothers. While the film was began production, it was enthusiastically received but a management shakeup occurred when the Kinney Corporation acquired the studio and interest in promoting the film dropped.

They saw the film as a filler for double bills and it was released without much hype and often as the lower half of R-rated biker films.  This meant it's intended audience didn't really get to see the film and it failed at the box-office.  It quickly became an easy target for critics who have picked at the film repeatedly and still do so to this day.  For a film that they seem to hate so much, this film has been scrutinized frame by frame more than most of the Harryhausen films.

THE VALLEY OF GWANGI is an excellent adventure and it appeals to both fans of the western genre as well as fans of the fantasy films.  It's release on video and laserdisc has seen the movie gain a whole new respect among fans of the film who often admit to liking it as a guilty pleasure.  There is nothing to feel guilty about liking this movie. The action sequences are wonderfully executed, the location photography is beautiful and the cast is far more than adequate. It is definitely not a Harryhausen film to be missed.

Jerome Moross composed an excellent score for the film that is rich in western themes.  It comes close to rivalling some of the Herrmann scores for the Harryhausen films in capturing the feel of the film. Like the movie, the score is rousing, fun and adventurous.

One can only hope that, as this film reaches the DVD market, THE VALLEY OF GWANGI will be restored and that some of the footage can be color corrected, resolving problems with the dinosaurs that occurred in the lab when the film was originally released.

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