Dinosaurus!

I have an emotional attachment to this movie, as it was the first movie I ever went to a theater to see. As a six year old living in Fairbanks, Alaska, I begged my mother to take me to see this move about my childhood passion, dinosaurs. Thirty years later, I stumbled across a copy of this film at a video store and purchased it. I was surprised to find that, despite the rather unrealistic dinosaur animation, the movie holds up pretty well. Although much criticism has been directed against the leads in this film, Wayne Treadway as Dumpy ("Dinosaurus!"), Jack Younger as Jasper (Jasper: "Well, we're looking for a caveman, right? So, I think we ought to look in a cave!" Hacker: "Very good, Jasper, I had no idea you were an anthropologist." Jasper: "Not a very good one, boss. I haven't been to church in years.") and Gregg Martell as the Neanderthal Man turn in excellent performances in supporting roles. Martell, especially, combines comedy and pathos in his portrayal of a man caught out of his time but still very much a human being. The scene where Julio (Alan Roberts) rides the back of his pet brontosaurus thrilled me and the final battle between the T-Rex and the steam shovel gave me nightmares for years. How many good movies can you say that about?

I must confess that I, a middle-aged "adult," learned a valuable life lesson from the juvenile film "Dinosaurus." That lesson is, if you're ever building a harbor on a Caribbean island, and dredge up a perfectly preserved T. Rex and brontosaurus from below the ocean floor, do NOT leave them lying on the beach during a thunderstorm, as a freak bolt of lightning may revive them and lead to all sorts of trouble. Yes, that's just what happens in this cute little film, with the added attraction of a grunting, Alley Oop-like caveman getting revived as well. This Neanderthal is basically used for comedic effect, especially when he invades a modern house on the island and runs afoul of waxed fruit, mirrors and up-to-date plumbing. Gregg Martell, I must say, is perfectly cast as this confused misfit. Less impressive, however, are the two dinosaurs. This is no "Jurassic Park" or Ray Harryhausen movie, and the creature FX are unconvincing; a serious suspension of disbelief will be required for adult viewers. The kiddies should just eat this one up, though. There's a cute little boy character for them to sympathize with (he befriends the bronto, and even rides atop him!); one, fortunately, who's not overly annoying for older viewers. The bottom line is that "Dinosaurus" is good, goofy fun; put your brain on hold and enjoy it, preferably with your kids or your young nephew. Oh...as for that title, it's what one of the characters, Dumpy(!), yells when the T. Rex approaches. Don't ask me why.

Now, that doesn't necessarily mean this is a bad film....quite the contrary, in my humble opinion. Sure, the story has some huge holes, but don't you watch a film to be entertained and just to let yourself relax without the need to think every minute? This film is definitely right up your alley, if you enjoy dinosaurs and stop-motion animation.

Basically, this is the story of a construction crew that finds the bodies of a T-Rex, Brontosaurus and caveman frozen in the waters off a tropical island. With the help of lightning, the beasties and the caveman are brought back among the living and the remainder of the story is all the action that takes place when you place three pre-historics out of their element. Good clean fun, some decent stop-animation effects and a great way to spend an afternoon.

How well I remember this film Dinosaurus from seeing it in the theaters way back when I was 13 years old. I liked the special effects in creating the two dinosaurs and the climax is a very exciting one still. Of course now I can spot some of the ludicrousness of the story.

The location is a small Caribbean Island where a group of construction workers are dredging a harbor to make it a deep water port. Their dynamiting has unleashed a cold underground river and two dinosaurs, a tyrannosaurus and a brontosaurus are released from being cryogenically frozen for a million years or so. As is true in a flock of other science fiction films they thaw out and lightning strikes them and they come alive like Frankenstein's monster.

Of course they're kind of hungry and the brontosaurus has a nice tropical rain forest to feast on. But T-Rex is a flesh eater and there's lots of people flesh around as well.

Unknown to everyone else a caveman also was washed ashore and he thawed out as well. He was found by Fred Engelberg who has to be one of the stupidest villains ever on record. In the absence of the governor he's in charge. I'm assuming the island is an American possession, the rest of the natives have Spanish accents both white and black, but Engelberg for reasons I can't figure out has a French accent. He wants his caveman to make a profit off of and even with a raging T-Rex around he's going to capture that caveman. As the natives of the island would say, Que Pendejo.

The climax involves the lead actor and construction boss Ward Ramsey dueling with Tyrannosaurus using a steam shovel as a weapon. That has stuck with me since childhood and it's very excitingly staged.

Dinosaurus is still a suspenseful and exciting science fiction film to watch with its no name cast and nice special effects for their time.

After undersea explosions near a Caribbean island, prehistoric creatures are unleashed on the unsuspecting population...

Allegedly, Marcel Delgado was given less than half the time originally agreed upon to create the dinosaur models used in the film. The studio initially agreed to give him five to six weeks, as he requested, but two weeks later he was told that they would begin production on Tuesday. This would explain why the effects are cheesy (or it could just be an excuse).

Howard Maxford sums up the film as having "dismal effects", which is not a poor criticism if that is the worst he can say. As just mentioned, this may not have been the creators' faults. And, really, this is 1960. We just went through the 1950s, where sci-fi films were constantly cheesy. To use that as a criticism seems unfair.

Howard Thompson of the New York Times said at the time that "motion picture art hit rock bottom" when this film came out. It is "a tired, synthetic, plodding sample of movie junk", says Thompson. Those involved "thoroughly wasted a few exotic backgrounds." Thompson finally points out that the film comes from Fairview Productions, who also made "The Blob". He categorizes both films as "Grade Z". Wow. I mean, it is one thing to not like it... but Thompson just goes off!

If I had to say one thing about the film negatively, it would be about Julio (Alan Roberts). He was a bit annoying. And, sadly, he passed away too young (though that has nothing to do with this film). I had no issue with the effects or plot. I mean, really, it is a movie about dinosaurs and a caveman who survived frozen for millions of years. If you accept that premise (and the idea that all three were found in the same areas), I would hope you could look past the execution!