Dinosaurs at the Movies: A Cinematic Journey Through Time.

Since the first dinosaur fossil was unearthed people of all ages have been fascinated with these giant prehistoric creatures that once dominated the Earth and back in the Victorian Era parks in England were populated by menageries of lifelike dinosaur sculptures, of varying degrees of accuracy, but it’s when the motion picture industry was born that things really took off as it didn’t take long for filmmakers to capitalize on the love for these amazing behemoths and to try and bring these fantastic beasts to life.

Dinosaurs at the Movies

In 1914 American cartoonist Winsor McCay introduced the world to the first animated dinosaur as part of his vaudeville act which consisted of a twelve-minute routine where the audience witnessed McCay interacting with an adorably animated Brontosaurus named Gertie, but that was just the beginning of a long-running partnership between cinema and the dinosaur, an enterprise that would see the rise and fall of many methods used to bring these long-extinct creatures to life, so below you will find my collection of reviews that will give you just an idea of the sheer scope of this action-adventure genre that so many filmmakers helped create. To be fair, this is not a comprehensive list of all movies featuring dinosaurs but simply a good collection of titles that cover both the highlights and low points of the genre which I hope will inform as well as entertain you. So simply click on the posters or links below to journey back to a time “When dinosaurs ruled the Cinema.”

The Lost World (1925)

Based on the story by Arthur Conan Doyle this silent film classic depicted Professor Challenger’s expedition to a mysterious plateau located deep in the heart of South America, a place he believed could be the home of living dinosaurs but was home to more peril than he could have imagined.

King Kong (1933)

This classic tale tells the story of a filmmaker who sets sail for an island ruled over by a creature named Kong, though it was also populated by a variety of prehistoric beasts that all seem very interested in Fay Wray.  Spoiler alert, I don’t care what Denham says it really was the planes that got him.

One Million B.C. (1940)

This is a tale of Prehistoric survival and love between a male and a female who belong to opposing tribes, who just so happened to be at slightly different stages of evolution.  Both Victor Mature and Carole Landis do admirably work with a script that gives them no intelligible dialogue to speak of.

Unknown Island (1948)

An adventure seeker obsessed with proving that living dinosaurs still exist takes his fiancée on a voyage to an uncharted island that is inhabited by deadly dinosaurs and other threats of a more insidious nature, proving once again that man is the real monster. Also, that dating in the 40s was really weird.

Two Lost Worlds (1951)

In this film, James Arness must tackle pirates and dinosaurs to win his true love in this cheap adventure tale from the 50s in a movie that has more pirates than dinos, which consists of recycled footage of lizards wearing glued-on spikes, though it does have an erupting volcano, so that’s a plus.

The Lost Continent (1951)

A mission to find a lost atomic-powered rocket lands a search party in the midst of a prehistoric world fraught with dangerous dinosaurs.  It also features Cesar Romero as a Latin Lothario, who is the film’s romantic lead and will probably shock those who only know him as The Joker from the Adam West Batman series.

The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953)

Based on a Ray Bradbury short story this film tells the story of an atomic test in the Arctic that wakes a long-extinct dinosaur that quickly begins to terrorize the world on its way to New York City.  The success of this Ray Harryhausen classic inspired Toho Studios to come up with their own rampaging dinosaur.

Gojira (1954)

Nuclear tests unleash a dinosaur-like creature, who most know by the name Godzilla, and it goes on a rampage across Japan in a franchise that would span decades.  This thoughtful allegory about the nuclear bomb is quite a bit darker than many of the Godzilla films that would follow and is as powerful now as the day it was released.

King Dinosaur (1955)

A group of scientists are sent to explore a planet that suddenly appeared in our Solar System, with the hope of finding it worthy of being colonized, unfortunately, they must also tangle with a few dinosaurs, and because these people are idiots things don’t go all that well.

The Beast of Hollow Mountain (1956)

An American cowboy must deal with both a Mexican rival and an angry Allosaurus in a film that was “inspired” by an idea from legendary effects man Willis O’Brien, but without the actual master behind the effects works, yet the dinosaur in this film is still a fairly decent example of stop-motion animation.

The Giant Behemoth (1959)

In a blatant rip-off of The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms, we get another radioactive dinosaur rampaging through a major city only this time without the mastery of Ray Harryhausen to create the beast nor do we get any characters that you’d care if they were stepped on or not.

Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959)

James Mason and company venture to the center of the Earth in this wonderful adaptation of the classic Jules Verne story in a film that brings one of literature’s greatest tales to life, and though the scenery on this trip is amazing the iguanas with fins glued to their backs are less so.

Valley of the Dragons (1961)

Also based on a book by science fiction pioneer Jules Verne this movie dealt with two duelists who find their fight interrupted by a passing comet that miraculously picks them up and takes them on a prehistoric adventure full of cavemen and dinosaur drama.

Dinosaurus (1960)

An undersea explosion awakens two prehistoric titans, one vicious Tyrannosaurus and the other a friendly Brontosaurus, as well as a happy-go-lucky Neanderthal who befriends a small boy, this all results in the residents of a small Caribbean Island finding themselves having a helluva time keeping the peace.

The Lost World (1960)

In this 1960 remake, we get Irwin Allen in the director’s chair as he takes his shot at Arthur Conan Doyle’s classic adventure tale, this time out we are joined by Claude Rains and Michael Rennie as they venture forth among tabletop dioramas and lizards with spikes and fins once again glued on.

Gorgo (1961)

With this film, Britain tried for another version of The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms only in this outing we find ourselves following a couple of greedy morons who capture a prehistoric beast and sell it to a London circus only to have its angry mom shows up to cause trouble.

One Million Years B.C. (1966)

In this remake of the 1940s One Million B.C. we once again get a tale of two star-crossed cave people but in this version, the story is well aided by Raquel Welch in a fur bikini and some great stop motion dinosaur action by Ray Harryhausen.

The Valley of Gwangi (1969)

James Franciscus stars in this Ray Harryhausen classic that deals with a Wild West show hoping to make the big time when they capture a dinosaur and bring it back to civilization, but as was the case with King Kong that kind of thing never goes well and the usual chaos ensues.

When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth (1970)

Hammer Films takes a break from gothic horror with this prehistoric adventure tale about a pretty blonde who flees her tribe, who wanted to sacrifice her to the Sun God, in a film that pits man against dinosaurs in a world before time.

The Land that Time Forgot (1974)

From a book by Edgar Rice Burroughs, we get a movie that deals will a German U-Boat and a few POWs who all end up in the unknown land of Caprona and, surprise surprise, they find dinosaurs and Neanderthals alive and well.

One of Our Dinosaurs is Missing (1975)

In this goofy Disney comedy, we have a group of British nannies who must steal a dinosaur skeleton to prevent Chinese agents from getting their hands on a piece of microfilm.  Sadly, no living dinosaurs make an appearance in this film.

The People that Time Forgot (1977)

With this entry, we get a fun sequel to The Land That Time Forget where we find a British expedition in the Antarctica region that is searching for a lost American explorer and find a hidden prehistoric world instead.

Planet of the Dinosaurs (1977)

A spacecraft disaster results in a small group of survivors crash landing on an Earth-like planet that is inhabited by a variety of dinosaurs, the stop-motion work by Douglas Beswick is stellar and makes up for much of the bad plotting and terrible acting.

The Crater Lake Monster (1977)

A pair of paleontologists have their dig interrupted by a meteor that crashes into a Northern California lake, which then hatches a long-dormant Plesiosaur egg that quickly proceeds to eat the locals.  It should be noted that the “Hilly Billy Hour” style of comedy found in this entry is more of a threat than the dinosaur.

The Last Dinosaur (1977)

Rankin/Bass Productions sets aside their animated Christmas Specials to give as an adventure film starring Richard Boone as a wealthy big-game hunter who, along with a group of friends, become trapped in a lost valley where they are stalked by a ferocious dinosaur.

At the Earth’s Core (1979)

Another tale from the king of pulp adventure, author Edgar Rice Burrough, in a film that features Doug McClure and Peter Cushing as two men who venture deep into the Earth’s crust aboard their drilling machine only to find a world full of primeval dangers, evil villains and one exotic beauty.

Caveman (1981)

Ringo Starr plays a hapless caveman who is kicked out of his cave after setting his sights on fur bikini-clad Barbara Bach in this rather slapstick prehistoric comedy that takes a lighter look at prehistory.

Yor, the Hunter from the Future (1983)

Reb Brown stars as Yor, a brave warrior who along with his friends seeks to uncover the answers to his mysterious origin, all the while battling across a landscape full of villains, dinosaurs and a Darth Vader knock-off.

Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend (1985)

Willam Katt and Sean Young play a husband-and-wife team working in Africa who do their best to save a baby brontosaurus and her mother from an evil paleontologist played to the hilt by Patrick McGoohan.

The Land Before Time (1988)

Don Bluth and Steven Spielberg team up to give us a family-friendly adventure about a group of young dinosaurs who must make their way through hostile territory so they can be reunited with their families, all the while being pursued by a Tyrannosaurus Rex

Jurassic Park (1993)

In a film that changed the industry, Steven Spielberg adapts Michael Crichton’s novel about a theme park full of living dinosaur exhibits that runs into a few snags and it’s up to a paleontologist and his pals to get everyone to safety before they all end up on the menu.

We’re Back! A Dinosaur’s Story (1993)

A time-travelling scientist goes back to prehistoric times to feed some dinosaurs a magic cereal that increases their intelligence, for some reason, and the expected hijinks ensue as a quartet of dino-pals struggle to survive New York City as well as the machinations of the scientist’s evil brother.

Prehysteria! (1993)

A young boy comes into possession of some mysterious eggs that hatch to reveal a brood of tiny dinosaurs, as one would expect, and he must save them from an unscrupulous fortune hunter who took miniature dinos from their jungle home in the first place.

Carnosaur (1993)

Roger Corman tries to cash in on the success of Spielberg’s Jurassic Park in this low-budget horror flick about a mad scientist who uses chicken eggs to create genetically mutated dinosaurs in a bid to return the Earth to these prehistoric terrors.  You know, typical mad scientist stuff.

Dinosaur Island (1994)

In this goofy adventure tale, we have five military misfits who find themselves on an island inhabited by beautiful cavewomen and some ferocious dinosaurs in what could best be described as softcore porn for the fainthearted.

Tammy and the T-Rex (1994)

Paul Walker plays a love-struck teenager who gets his brain stuck into the body of a robot Tyrannosaurus Rex by a mad scientist, wackiness and carnage ensue when he tries to save his girlfriend from her asshat ex-boyfriend.

Theodore Rex (1995)

Whoopie Goldberg plays a hard-nosed cop that is teamed up with a talking dinosaur, who dreams of becoming a detective, and this pair must uncover a mad scientist’s plot to bring on a second Ice Age.  Note, when the movie is over you’ll be praying for that Ice Age to come as quickly as possible.

Dinosaur (2002)

Disney sets aside traditional cel animation for this wonderful photo-realistic adventure about an orphaned Iguanodon who is raised by lemurs and then joins more dinos on an arduous trek to a sanctuary after a meteorite shower destroys his family home.

King Kong (2005)

 In this remake, Peter Jackson gives the classic story of King Kong the Lord of the Rings epic treatment, in length if nothing else, with Naomi Watts and Andy Serkis starring in one of the most touching interspecies romances ever brought to film.

Journey to the Center of the Earth (2008)

Brendan Fraser plays a scientist who takes his nephew, as well as a pretty mountain guide, on a perilous journey beneath the Earth’s surface in the hopes of finding out what happened to his missing brother.

The Good Dinosaur (2015)

With this film, Pixar goes with an interesting take on the “Boy and His Dog” story with a film about a timid dinosaur and a little feral caveboy who have many adventures together as they travel across dangerous lands on their journey home.

I hope you enjoyed my little prehistoric journey and if you haven’t been more educated I hope you were at least a little entertained, and with Jurassic World and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom making huge box office bucks it’s clear that dinosaur movies haven’t lost their popularity and that the genre will most likely exist for as long as cinema itself remains and I’ll be waiting with bated breath for each future attempt.