Starring William Bryant, Wanda Curtis, Douglas Henderson, Patti Gallagher
Directed by Bert I. Gordon
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
After a new planet drifts into our solar system, a rocket with four scientists aboard is sent to investigate the world, where they discover giant prehistoric creatures.
Bert I. Gordon's first directorial credit, which he also co-wrote and co-produced, starts with what should be a solid premise, a human investigation of a mysterious new planet, but is completely undone by the special effects. There is no "King Dinosaur" in the film, just footage of giant projected lizards, much of which looks to have been cribbed from One Million B.C. I think the film would have been able to stand up better on its own if there'd been some attempt to create more realistic looking dinosaurs, and would have saved any improper handling of the animals. It doesn't help matters that the movie essentially begins with a 20-minute assemblage of stock footage. There's also quite a bit of sexism in the script and particularly in the behavior of actor Douglas Henderson, whom as others have observed before, seems to intentionally manhandle his female co-stars during the latter half of the picture. I like some of the ideas in the script, and to a certain extent the performances overall, but the movie really begins to drag once they begin the parade of lizard footage.
No comments:
Post a Comment