King Dinosaur
This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. (July 2015) |
King Dinosaur | |
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File:Kingdinosaurposter.jpg | |
Directed by | Bert I. Gordon |
Written by | Bert I. Gordon Tom Gries Al Zimbalist |
Produced by | Bert I. Gordon Al Zimbalist (Executive Producer) |
Starring | William Bryant Wanda Curtis Douglas Henderson Patti Gallagher |
Narrated by | Marvin Miller |
Cinematography | Gordon Avil |
Edited by | Jack Cornall |
Music by | Louis Palange Gene Garf (uncredited) |
Distributed by | Lippert Pictures |
Running time | 63 min. |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $15,000 (estimated)[1] |
King Dinosaur is a 1955 science fiction film starring William Bryant and Wanda Curtis with narration by Marvin Miller. The film was featured on season 2 of Mystery Science Theater 3000.
Plot
Four astronauts in 1960 travel to a planet called Nova that has just entered Earth's solar system. The crew begins studying the planet to see if it's suitable for a possible Earth colony. After first discovering normal Earth animals such as a kinkajou and an alligator, they soon encounter and battle giant insects, an enormous snake, prehistoric mammals, dinosaurs, and - on an island - the titular character, King Dinosaur, a putative Tyrannosaurus Rex. Eventually, the scientists blow up the island with an atomic bomb, killing all of its inhabitants, rendering the only dinosaur inhabitants of Nova extinct, for seemingly no reason.
Cast
- William Bryant — Dr. Ralph Martin
- Wanda Curtis — Dr. Patricia Bennett
- Douglas Henderson — Dr. Richard Gordon
- Patti Gallagher— Nora Pierce
- Marvin Miller — Narrator
Production
The film was directed over a seven-day period by Bert I. Gordon and was Gordon's debut. The camera and other pieces of equipment were borrowed and the cast worked for deferred salaries.[1]
The scene of the attacking Mastodon was stock footage recycled from the film One Million BC.
There were only four actors in this film. The rest of the band and soldiers were just military stock footage, as was the footage of the atomic bomb explosions.
Mystery Science Theater 3000
The film was featured in a second season episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000 in December 1990.