King Dinosaur * (1955, William Bryant, Wanda Curtis) – Classic Movie Review 12,446

The quickly shot, low-budget 1955 sci-fi adventure film King Dinosaur is directed by Bert I Gordon in just seven days, in his directorial debut. It stars William Bryant and Wanda Curtis. It is shot with borrowed equipment and a cast of four actors.

The quickly shot, low-budget 1955 science fiction adventure film King Dinosaur is co-written and produced by Bert I Gordon, and then directed by him in seven days in his directorial debut. It stars William Bryant and Wanda Curtis.

Filming started in September 1954 and it was released on June 17, 1955 by Lippert Pictures.

The camera and other pieces of equipment were borrowed and the cast worked for deferred salaries, with the scene of the attacking mammoth recycled from the 1940 film One Million BC.

There are only four actors: William Bryant as Dr Ralph Martin, Wanda Curtis as Dr Patricia Bennett, Douglas Henderson as Dr Richard Gordon, and Patti Gallagher as Nora Pierce. Everyone else appears thanks to military stock footage, also the atomic bomb explosions.

Five years in the future from 1955, medical specialist Ralph Martin, chemist Patricia Bennett, zoologist Richard Gordon and geologist Nora Pierce are picked to be astronauts to travel to the ancient planet Nova, which has just entered Earth’s solar system. The crew study the planet to see if it could be an Earth colony. After discovering normal Earth animals, they encounter and battle giant insects, an enormous snake known as Gigantophis, and prehistoric mammals such as a Cave Bear, a Mastodon, and a Glyptodont.

It is plenty ambitious, maybe, but unfortunately has not got the resources to fulfil the ambition. But, vaguely endearing and charming, it is kind of in the so-bad-it’s-good category, possibly. It currently has an awesome 2.2/ 10 vote on the IMDb. You’ve got to respect that, right?  American film critic Leonard Maltin unkindly rated the movie 0, calling it the ‘First and worst of director Gordon’s many 1950s sci-fi films, boring, silly and awesomely cheap.’

It is written by Bert I Gordon, Tom Gries and Al Zimbalist.

Bert I Gordon made 100. He died in Los Angeles on 8 March 2023.

American film-maker and visual effects artist Bert Ira Gordon (September 24, 1922 – March 8, 2023) is best known for writing and directing such sci-fi and horror B-movies as King Dinosaur (1955), The Amazing Colossal Man (1957), Earth vs the Spider (1958), Village of the Giants (1965), and Empire of the Ants (1977).

It really is the end of an era. We will never see his like again.

© Derek Winnert 2023 – Classic Movie Review 12,446

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