I am velvety-smoothReview is BELOWI am veltely smooth, too
_______
DVD: Dinosaurus! (1960)
 
       
Review Rating:   Standard  
...back to Index
D
   
Label/Studio:
Image  
 
Catalog #:
ID6605WEDVD
 
...or start from scratch
A
Region:
1 (NTSC)
Released:

October 1, 2002

 

 

 
Genre: Science-Fiction  
Synopsis:
The lives & wax fruit of tropical islanders are threatened when the frozen bodies of two dinosaurs and a Neaderthal thaw and get real hungry.  

 

 

Directed by:

Irvin S. Yeaworth, Jr.
Screenplay by: Dan E. Wiesburd, Jean Yeaworth, Jack H. Harris (idea)
Music by: Ronald Stein
Produced by: Jack H. Harris
Cast:

Ward Ramsay, Paul Lukather, Kristina Hanson, Alan Roberts, Fred Engelberg, Luci Blaine, Jack Younger, Wayne C. Treadway, Howard Dayton, James Logan, Wilhelm Samuel, and Gregg Martell.

Film Length: 83 mins Process/Ratio: CinemaScope/2.35:1
Colour Anamorphic DVD: No
Languages:  English Mono
 
Special Features :  

Theatrical trailer, Stills & Poster Gallery (1:24)

 
 
Comments :

Dinosaurus! was another project based on an idea by Jack H. Harris, the independent-minded producer who struck gold with The Blob in 1958, and enjoyed a modest career producing an odd collection of genre films. Mostly in the sci-fi vein, Dinosaurus! was Harris' third major film with mediocre talent Irvin S. Yeaworth, who also helmed Blob, and the more intriguing 4D Man, in 1959.

Dinosaurus! is not a good movie, but it enjoyed a regular run on TV, and provided ideal, fantastical escapism for kids before age refined their ears to sense and discern the lame dialogue in Dan E. Weisburd's debut screenplay, with help from Jean Yeaworth, the director's occasional script collaborator.

The facile, TV-like exchanges between the bland cast and amazing array of continuity blunders do make Dinosaurus! a moderately fun movie for the older set, who should find the movie's peculiar juggling of humour, sci-fi, and drama a weirdly intriguing combo.

The Blob undoubtedly put some extra cash in Harris' production seed coffer, and springing for CinemaScope and location shots from the U.S. Virgin Islands gives the film added production value. The location photography and compositions are first-rate - an indication that the awkward 'scope framing in Three Faces of Eve wasn't an issue anymore for veteran cinematographer Stanley Cortez - and Image's transfer sparkles nicely when we're treated to bright or high-contrast shots.

The continuity gaffes start to pile up when day-for-night footage, studio interiors, poor rear projection, and daytime cycloramas are intercut to form what should be one continuous night, before the island inhabitants and local racial stereotypes marshal themselves to a local castle the next morning, to stand against a hungry T-Rex.)

The one person who treated the film with utter sincerity is composer Ronald Stein, and while much of the score's thematic cues are repeatedly tracked over various scenes, his stellar orchestral score gives the film a straight-faced, dramatic undercurrent. (The lone exception are the comedic moments as a thawed Neanderthal pokes and prods through a house, trying on women's dresses and tasting was fruit before a flushing toilet literally has him fleeing outside with vaudevillian fervor. Stein's score gets a little cheeky in spots, but the soundtrack CD from Percepto offers a more serious and engaging experience.)

Image's DVD also includes the film's brief trailer (tracked with Universal's Creature from the Black Lagoon music), and a good stills and poster gallery.

Although a feature film debut for co-stars Ward Ramsay and Kristina Hanson, only Ramsay continued to act in films until the late sixties, while Yeaworth began a transition to more religious-themed projects.

© 2006 Mark R. Hasan

Bzzz-bzz-bazzz-brzzoom!
_IMDB Entry________Script Online _________Fan/Official Film site________Cast/Crew Link
_IMDB Detailed Entry_______Scripts available online ________Fan/Official Film Site__________Additional Related Sites
____Amazon.com __________Amazon.ca _________Bay Street Video_______Comparisons_
__Amazon.com info____Amazon.com info____Basy Street Video info______Compare Different Region releases_
_Soundtrack CD__________CD Review__________LP Review__________Composer Filmog.
Soundtrack Album__________Soundtrack Review_______Yes, VINYL_________Composer Filmography/Discography at Soundtrack Collector.com
Brrr-boooshi-bzz-bazzah!
 
 
Vrrfpt-Voot-Voot-Voot!
 

Site designed for 1024 x 768 resolution, using 16M colours, and optimized for MS Explorer 6.0. KQEK Logo and All Original KQEK Art, Interviews, Profiles, and Reviews Copyright © 2001-Present by Mark R. Hasan. All Rights Reserved. Additional Review Content by Contributors 2001-Present used by Permission of Authors. Additional Art Copyrighted by Respective Owners. Reproduction of any Original KQEK Content Requires Written Permission from Copyright Holder and/or Author. Links to non-KQEK sites have been included for your convenience; KQEK is not responsible for their content nor their possible use of any pop-ups, cookies, or information gathering.

 
__