When it comes to Hollywood’s depictions of creatures from outer space, of which there are many, the aliens are mostly humanoid in form while arriving on a variety of spaceships, but in 1957 Ray Harryhausen and longtime collaborator Charles H. Schneer gave the world a different kind of visitor from outer space, a creature that…
Tag: Ray Harryhausen
Earth vs. The Flying Saucers (1956) – Review
When it comes to alien visitations the Earth must have a huge “Kick Me” sign posted on its backside because even peaceful aliens like Klaatu from The Day the Earth Stood Still brought along threats of violence when he stopped by for a visit, but in 1956 special effects maestro Ray Harryhausen took up the…
The Beast of Hollow Mountain (1956) – Review
In the subgenre of “Weird West” we have been treated to some truly fun stuff ranging from Billy the Kid Versus Dracula to Cowboys and Aliens but in the late 50s a film dealing with cowboys versus dinosaurs was released and credited as being “From an idea by Willis O’Brien” the man who created the…
Mysterious Island (1961) – Review
When it came to adapting fantastical pieces of literature into cinematic achievements the team of producer Charles Schneer and legendary visual effects man Ray Harryhausen had proven to be very successful and with their previous two collaborations, The 7th Voyage of Sinbad and The 3 Worlds of Gulliver, having done rather well in the fantasy…
The Valley of Gwangi (1969) – Review
When stop-motion effects artist Ray Harryhausen is attached to a film where the basic premise is “Cowboys vs Dinosaurs” one has to ask “What more could you possibly want?” The result of such a concept was the 1969 movie The Valley of Gwangi, a film based on a concept that Harryhausen’s mentor Willis O’Brien, the…