La vallée de Gwangi

If you are a fan of dinosaur movie,this one won't upset you.I do like a way the screenplay told the story to us.Good for all ages.Wonderfully initiative mixture of cowboy and dinosaur and love story!! ..Good acting and grand western music scores help support the pics very much.Its theme song is as good as a theme for "The Big Country"...I dare say.Also,as for special effects,I can't say anything more to Ray's attempts.

Certainly,this movie isn't the best.But it can entertain you much more than you expect.

James Franciscus plays Tuck, an amiable hustler who comes back into the life of T.J. (lovely Gila Golan). T.J. is one of the participants in a Wild West show that is not doing so well at the moment. However, one of their people, Carlos (Gustavo Rojo) has ventured into a Mexican location known as the "Forbidden Valley" and come back with a prize: an adorable "Eohippus", or miniature prehistoric horse. Circumstances lead Tuck and others to head into the valley, where they encounter other ancient animals, such as a Styracosaurus and a very aggressive Allosaurus.

In the well loved tradition of "King Kong", T.J. and her friends, including Champ (Richard Carlson), get the bright idea to introduce the Allosaurus - who gets christened Gwangi - to their show. Havoc predictably ensues.

There may be viewers who will grow impatient with the pacing at first. "The Valley of Gwangi" runs longer than previous Ray Harryhausen - Charles H. Schneer productions at 96 minutes, and it's not until the movies' second half that we get to see any dinosaurs. But the little Eohippus is sure to charm people, not just children, and the story is very engaging.

It helps that the actors are so sincere. The handsome Franciscus is good in the starring role, with fine support from Ms. Golan and Mr. Carlson. Young Curtis Arden is appealing in the role of Lope the child, who had to fend for himself from an early age and who is clearly eager to make a buck. Freda Jackson is amusing in the somewhat annoying, clichéd role of the wise old doomsayer who rants about the consequences of individuals going into the valley and bringing back "evil" specimens.

As expected, Harryhausen's special effects are excellent. They're especially impressive in the movies' major set piece, when Tuck, Champ and others work overtime to try to lasso Gwangi. And once the action kicks into gear in this thing, a real fever pitch is reached and then maintained until the absolute end, with an exciting rampage.

Mostly lighthearted entertainment, but G ratings weren't always what they are now: a few people do fall victim to the jaws and teeth of Gwangi.

Very well directed by Jim O'Connolly ("Crooks and Coronets", "Tower of Evil").

Seven out of 10.

What's not to like here-James Franciscus, Gila Golan, Naismeth, the excellent Harryhausen Allosaurus F/X, the dino-elephant battle, the cowboys roping the dino scene, etc. Very nicely done. No great acting, of course, and nothing you haven't seen already in Kong or 100 other places, but its what they do with it here that makes it worth yer while.

Personally I always enjoy it when I see it; I think it's one of the better dino flix you can find pre-Jurassic Park.

*** outta ****, esp if you like Harryhousen's stuff.

I remember seeing this dinosaur movie when I was a kid - as a dino fan, anything dinosaur is movies was intriguing for me.

A dinosaur was captured by cowboy James Franciscus and brought to the Mexican circus. Of course, it's all mayhem while the T-rex escapes and wrecks havoc upon the town and threatening its citizens.

It was neat seeing the T-Rex roaming around and serving up some neat dino action and mayhem. The stop motion special effects weren't bad for its time, but the overall plot was little boring if I recalled and the acting was pretty mediocre.

But, not a bad special effects film - definitely better than some of the black and white B-movies.

Grade C+

Okay, so it's the only dinosaur and cowboy movie (that I know of). The acting isn't much, but seeing three cowboys rope a T Rex -- and then seeing the T Rex fight an elephant -- that is cool.

And "El Diablo," the little eohippus, is just too cute.

Harryhausen's stop-motion animation is wonderful. Get the DVD with an interview in which he talks about how he did the cowboy-roping scene, and current animators/fx artists talk about he inspired them -- pretty fun. In a geeky kind of way.