There were many movies made in the 1950s and 1960s about characters finding undiscovered territories with mythical beasts and them going on a rampage, this was one of those films I was interested in trying. Basically at the turn of the century, from the 19th to the 20th, in Mexico, female cowboy T.J. Breckenridge (Gila Golan) hosts a wild west rodeo show that is struggling, she is reacquainted with her former stuntman and former lover Tuck (James Franciscus). Tuck wants to buy her out, but T.J. has a trick up her sleeve to boost business, a Eohippus, a miniature prehistoric horse, this creature however comes from The Forbidden Valley, a convoy of gypsies are convinced it is cursed, they demand it be returned to the valley. British palaeontologist Professor Horace Bromley (Diamonds Are Forever's Laurence Naismith) has been working in the nearby desert, he is fascinated by the horse, but more so to find out more about its home, so he travels with Tuck, T.J. and her men to The Forbidden Valley in search of other prehistoric specimens. There the crew find a range of living dinosaurs, including a Pteranodon, an Ornithomimus and a Styracosaurus, they battle with these creatures, but the one that dominates all of them, and that humans want the most, is the Allosaurus, known as Gwangi by the gypsies. The Gwangi is captured by the men and taken to T.J.'s show, crowds gather to see this unseen creature, but a gypsy sets it free, the dinosaur attacks and kills many people in the town, including Bromley, until it is stabbed and trapped in a building that is burned to the ground. Also starring Richard Carlson as Champ, Freda Jackson as Tia Zorina and Gustavo Rojo as Carlos. There isn't really anything you can say about the fairly wooden actors, the story is patchy and predictable, an unsuccessful circus trying to save itself by finding a new attraction, but there are the present and ancient creatures, brought to life by the great stop- motion animation by Ray Harryhausen, the music by Jerome Moross (The Big Country) is sweeping in bits as well, it is not the most exciting, but it is an average routine western fantasy. Okay!

If you have ever dreamed of seeing the original "King Kong" done in color but accomplished with traditional special effects, "The Valley of Gwangi" is probably the closest you'll get to that. It's not a classic like "King Kong" is. The lead character (played by James Franciscus) is kind of obnoxious for quite some time, though eventually you'll warm up to him. It also takes some time for the story to really get going. But I'll admit that even when the movie takes its sweet time, I was never really bored at any moment. There are some colorful background scenery and sets (some serious money was spent on this movie), some action, but best of all the special effects by Ray Harryhausen. They are still pretty fun to observe and are still well accomplished after all of these years.One quibble that I feel I have to add: Whose idea was it to make the dinosaurs pink and purple? True, we don't know what colors real dinosaurs had. But the sight of these movie dinosaurs in non traditional colors does look somewhat silly at times.

Okay, okay. I know. Cowboys and dinosaurs, right? Absolutely. I love this movie as much now as I did when I watched it thirty years ago as a child desperate for dinosaurs...any dinosaurs...to be depicted in films. Believe me, I watched so many creature features and let's be honest, most of them were pretty dull. The best one's were always with effects courtesy of the great Harryhausen, of course. 'Gwangi' is head and shoulders my favourite. Is that because of the acting talent in the movie? Er, 'fraid not. James Franciscus looks unnervingly like Dick Van Dyke and is just as annoying. Gila Golan, despite being dubbed through the whole movie, really struggles to convince as the owner of a Wild West show, or indeed a human being. But you don't watch a film like this for the actors, do you? So here's why this film is amazing. The tiny horse. The pterodactyl. The elephant slam down. The big lizards. And of course, Gwangi the Allosaurus. Fighting cowboys in Mexico. But really, for me, it's the tiny horse. Best bit of stop-motion this side of a tauntaun. The film cracks along, you can enjoy the slightly hokey dialogue, marvel at the performance of Laurence Naismith as the professor (I don't think he has tenure) and wish you too could find a tiny horse. Splendid.

Ray Harryhausen has a unique place in the history of film and it's not the quality of his work. A lot of players are box office names, a few director/producers like Cecil B. DeMille, Alfred Hitchcock, Frank Capra, and Walt Disney most of all bring people in with having their names on a film. But Ray Harryhausen is the only one in his profession as a special effects man who brings folks to the theater. That's the best tribute of all for him.Late in the 19th century Gita Golan owner of a small wild west show is playing Mexico and she's got a unique attraction as she has found a small horse, an ancient eohippus which has come out of a valley said to be cursed and inhabited by fierce creatures called the Gwangi. An old flame who works for Buffalo Bill, James Franciscus and some of his wild west show cowboys show up to track down the little horse after some local gypsies under the direction of Freda Jackson set it free.But what they run into is an ancient tyrannosaurus which is called a Gwangi by the locals. It's like when Carl Dedham spotted King Kong, got to get this guy back to civilization and make a bundle off him.The plot is outrageous with some great overacting by Freda Jackson as the old gypsy crone and Laurence Naismith as a palaeontologist all in the spirit of fun. I love it when Franciscus and the cowboys discover that the reason their bullets are having no affect on the big guy is they're using blanks from the show. Does it deter them, it does not they set about to lariat T-Rex and play an interesting an deadly game of tag.When they do capture him and later destroy him, it's with a lot of luck and some natural forces in nature.Dopey plot, but that's part of the fun. And the work of Ray Harryhausen is the reason to see the film and in that you won't be disappointed.