The Valley of Gwangi

This was written in tandem with my appearance on the Forgotten Filmcast podcast, which you can find by clicking here.

The Valley of Gwangi (Jim O'Connelly, 1969) The idea for The Valley of Gwangi had been around since Willis O' Brien—the genius behind the stop-motion animation sequences in King Kong—shopped it around the studios in 1939, with no takers for his cowboys-and-dinosaurs concept. RKO was more interested in a Kong sequel, the result of which was 1949's Mighty Joe Young, a cowboys-and-gorilla movie that O'Brien worked on with a young protege named Ray Harryhausen. 

 

It was not the most stable work to be a stop-motion animator. Special effects movies were no guarantee of box-office, the meticulous one-frame-at-a-time process usually played havoc on scheduling for release, and Hollywood was more interested in what they could do fast and cheap. Plus, special effects...if not done well...had a way of cheapening everything else. Special effects movies were a niche market, as well, even more risky to have a hit.

The Valley of Gwangi began production on a high—Harryhausen's work was featured in a box office success—the Hammer film One Million Years B.C. (although one would argue that people were going to see Raquel Welch in an improbable fur bikini rather than Harryhausen's dinosaur fights). Harryhausen had partnered with Charles H. Schneer, with whom he'd made a few adventure films in the 1950's and early 60's. After One Million Years B.C.—which Schneer had nothing to do with—the two settled on a formula similar to their fantasy/adventure films of the earlier time...only they'd add a buxom female lead to the mix.

Gwangi begins with the discovery of a body in a remote corner of the Mexican desert. Carlos (Gustavo Rojo) finds a member of his gypsy band unconscious clutching a burlap bag in which something is moving. Cut to the T.J. Breckinridge Wild West Show trudging into a small Mexican town, the latest stop in their tour. Watching is Tuck Kirby (James Franciscus), who's working for the competing Buffalo Bill show and wants to buy the Breckinridge outfit out. Two things will get in his way: Manager Champ Connors (Richard Carlson) doesn't like Kirby due to his past history; and T.J.Breckinridge (Gila Golan) who has taken over ownership of the show after her father's passing, and is the other party in Kirby's "past history."

T.J. won't sell—she has a secret attraction that will make the show's fortune. And who better to show it to than her competition/former lover? It's a tiny horse—the one found in the desert—and she's sure that the creature will be a sensation. Kirby thinks so, too, enough that he wants to find out where "My Little Pony" was found. A gypsy boy Lope (Curtis Arden) thinks he knows the answer and in their search they come across a paleontologist (Laurence Naismith), who has a fossilized footprint of just such a small animal that he's also searching for.

The presence of the little horse, called El Diablo at the Wild West Show and eohippus by the paleontologist, is a source of conflict among the local gypsies who believe that removing the creature from its home in the Forbidden Valley will bring about a curse that will doom everyone forever, and the scientist conspires with them to steal the critter and return it home, ostensibly to ward off any evil, but from the prof's standpoint, he'll be able to discover where it originated. When the horse-napping is discovered, Kirby, Connors and Breckinridge all ride out in the desert, following the trail of the thieves.

They get more than they bargained for. The Forbidden Valley is the last vestige of a prehistoric kingdom, home to many sorts of dinosaurs, all ferociously ready to do a lot of biting. Of course, Carlson sees these things and goes into "Carl Denham"-mode* wanting to capture the most lethal of the beasts and make him a star attraction of the Wild West show. Surprisingly, T.J. thinks this is a grand idea. Kirby thinks they're all nuts—"the only thing I want to bring back alive is myself!"

Hubris being hubris and movie formula being movie formula, an allosaurus is brought back to the show...and chaos ensues...right at show-time (it just goes to show you what you miss if you arrive late!). How will a turn-of-the-century Mexican town get rid of a rampaging dinosaur? After all, there aren't any available major power lines nearby...they haven't been invented yet! And history doesn't help as the chances of a big asteroid hitting are a bit remote.

It's entertaining, but, golly, it is dumb. But give credit to the actors to playing their scenes with deadly earnest. The look of incredulity on Franciscus' face when he sees his first dinosaur is a nice study in less-is-more, not over-playing it, just a look of "how the heck am I going to break THAT?"** Franciscus was a small "a" actor who was impressive on the television screen but not so much in movies. His character stays refreshingly consistent as a slightly seedy roustabout, who could turn at any moment despite wearing the whitest of hats...and suits. The other actors are either troopers...or they're dubbed.

And one has to admit that a Blu-Ray presentation of this feature won't be an improvement unless they do some major tweaking of the special effects sequences, especially in the colorization. It's been pointed out that "Gwangi" (with a soft 'g") keeps changing hue without any mention of having camouflage ability. And in most of the stop-motion scenes, the dirt surrounding the creature is consistently a different shade than the dirt in the film-footage. It's as if Gwangi is being followed by a spot-light. Those details are heard to tweak when you're going one frame at a time...or the film-stock used in the process let them down. In whatever case, it's enough noticeable on video to slightly disappoint.

Still one can't do anything but marvel at what Harryhausen was able to do at the time, going frame per frame, with the film footage projected behind it. The subtle lip curls, the almost required animal behavior—before Franciscus notices Gwangi, there's a moment or two of waiting, so the dino scratches its head!—the intricacy, even given the jaded perspective of a CGI-niverse is a wonder to behold. 

 

King Kong was the 8th Wonder of the World. Harryhausen was the 9th.

 * Carl Denham is the relentlessly crass entrepreneur who insisted on bringing King Kong from Skull Island to New York, presenting it as "the 8th Wonder of the World."

 

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