Wednesday, June 11, 2008

THE VALLEY OF GWANGI - Jerome Moross - "Gwangi" (1969)

Okay, we probably should have saved this movie to present as a Sunday Night Classic, but you know, why be a lamebrain, there's only so many Sundays in a week, so tonight we get to feature the music from the 1969 Ray Harryhausen classic, "The Valley of Gwangi"
 
Yeah, I guess Spain is south of the Rio Grande!! 
 
Who knew Richard Carlson could ride a horse?? 
 
"Morningside Productions" specialized in stop-motion animation and their list of releases is beyond reproach, featuring titles "20 Million Miles To Earth", "The 7th Voyage Of Sinbad", and "Jason And The Argonauts" besides this film! 
 
In this scene James Franciscus as Tuck Kirby and Laurence Naismith as the professor wax poetic about what they are going to do with their discovery! When you listen to it out of context, it sounds like The Velvet Underground's "Murder Mystery" or something equally peculiar as they talk all over each other. 
 
The music is composed by Jerome Moross and has a big heaping helping of "Gunsmoke", "Wagon Train," and "Big Country" mixed in! 
 
Utilizing English director Jim O'Connolly, who had produced and directed titles like "Konga", "Escapement" and "The Night Caller" was genius, and makes this a fun movie to watch! This is definitely not your typical cowboy dinosaur movie, and is well worth spending a Saturday afternoon with! 
 
Uruguayan born Gustavo Rojo does a great job of bulldogging this pterodactyl and is terrific through the whole movie! 
 
It takes 9 guys to keep Gwangi out, and Tuck Kirby is right in the middle of it!! 
 
A lot of the time, my mind does not agree with the color of the dinosaurs in Gwangi, but in this hot and cold shot, it looks absolutely amazing!!

2 comments:

Greg Goodsell said...

A kiddie matinee classic!

Johnny Bacardi said...

They aired this a lot on the CBS Late Movie back in the 70's, and as a result, I've always had a soft spot for this film. The theme music was a big part of it- like you said, this reminds of a lot of TV and big screen Westerns, but that's a great melody the horns play after the opening fanfare...

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