I must confess that I, a middle-aged "adult," learned a valuable life lesson from the juvenile film "Dinosaurus." That lesson is, if you're ever building a harbor on a Caribbean island, and dredge up a perfectly preserved T. Rex and brontosaurus from below the ocean floor, do NOT leave them lying on the beach during a thunderstorm, as a freak bolt of lightning may revive them and lead to all sorts of trouble. Yes, that's just what happens in this cute little film, with the added attraction of a grunting, Alley Oop-like caveman getting revived as well. This Neanderthal is basically used for comedic effect, especially when he invades a modern house on the island and runs afoul of waxed fruit, mirrors and up-to-date plumbing. Gregg Martell, I must say, is perfectly cast as this confused misfit. Less impressive, however, are the two dinosaurs. This is no "Jurassic Park" or Ray Harryhausen movie, and the creature FX are unconvincing; a serious suspension of disbelief will be required for adult viewers. The kiddies should just eat this one up, though. There's a cute little boy character for them to sympathize with (he befriends the bronto, and even rides atop him!); one, fortunately, who's not overly annoying for older viewers. The bottom line is that "Dinosaurus" is good, goofy fun; put your brain on hold and enjoy it, preferably with your kids or your young nephew. Oh...as for that title, it's what one of the characters, Dumpy(!), yells when the T. Rex approaches. Don't ask me why.
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ferbs547 December 2007
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ctomvelu-112 October 2008I was 10 when I saw DINOSAURUS in a theater. While the acting left much to be desired, and the film was obviously shot on a shoestring, the animated dinosaurs seemed pretty awesome for the time. Ray Harryhausen this ain't, but for a dinosaur-loving kid like myself, it definitely hit the spot. A caveman and two dinosaurs, one of them a T-Rex, are discovered and accidentally revived in 1960. In the end, it takes a modern mechanical marvel to subdue the rampaging T-Rex. The caveman befriends a little boy, whom I assume we tykes in the audience were meant to identify with. Good fun. Best seen on a big screen with booming sound, and today that's possible right at home with a large flat-screen digital TV and a 5.1 Dolby home theater setup.
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BA_Harrison3 December 2016Whilst building a harbour on a Caribbean island, construction workers discover two perfectly preserved dinosaurs—a brontosaurus and a T-Rex—frozen under the sea for millions of years. After being brought ashore, the prehistoric creatures thaw out and are struck by lightning during a storm, bringing them back to life. As the beasts wander the island, looking for food, construction boss Bart Thompson (Ward Ramsey) tries to ensure the safety of the islanders. Meanwhile, a neanderthal (Gregg Martell), who has also emerged from the ocean, befriends local boy Julio (Alan Roberts) and protects him from his wicked guardian Hacker (Fred Engelberg).
Dinosaurus! is the one in which the 'cute' kid (ie., thoroughly irritating brat) and the caveman ride on the back of the brontosaurus, putting the audience squarely in family territory—good clean fun with very little to seriously scare the young 'uns. The juvenile nature of the film, along with some naff neanderthal-based comedy, make it just a little too cloying at times, but as a fan of dinosaur movies in general, and especially those that make use of stop motion animation, I couldn't help but be entertained. Yes, the animation is a long way from Harryhausen standard, and there's some even worse puppetry, but it still proves to be a reasonably decent dose of mindless fun. Of course, it doesn't hurt that the film also features two helpings of eye candy—tasty blonde Betty (Kristina Hanson) and dusky island beauty Chica (Lucita Blain)—to hold one's attention whenever the dinos are off-screen. -
drsmcduncan18 July 2003I have an emotional attachment to this movie, as it was the first movie I ever went to a theater to see. As a six year old living in Fairbanks, Alaska, I begged my mother to take me to see this move about my childhood passion, dinosaurs. Thirty years later, I stumbled across a copy of this film at a video store and purchased it. I was surprised to find that, despite the rather unrealistic dinosaur animation, the movie holds up pretty well. Although much criticism has been directed against the leads in this film, Wayne Treadway as Dumpy ("Dinosaurus!"), Jack Younger as Jasper (Jasper: "Well, we're looking for a caveman, right? So, I think we ought to look in a cave!" Hacker: "Very good, Jasper, I had no idea you were an anthropologist." Jasper: "Not a very good one, boss. I haven't been to church in years.") and Gregg Martell as the Neanderthal Man turn in excellent performances in supporting roles. Martell, especially, combines comedy and pathos in his portrayal of a man caught out of his time but still very much a human being. The scene where Julio (Alan Roberts) rides the back of his pet brontosaurus thrilled me and the final battle between the T-Rex and the steam shovel gave me nightmares for years. How many good movies can you say that about?
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poolandrews26 October 2007Dinosaurus! is set on a Tropical Caribbean island where construction work is being carried out to construct a proper harbour, while doing so site manager Bart Thompson (Ward Ramsey) lets off some underwater explosives which reveal two prehistoric Dinosaurs a Tyranosaurus & Brontosaurus. Realising they might be of interest Bart has them brought ashore, that night while everyone is in town a fierce thunderstorm rages outside. A lightening bolt hits the two dormant Dinosaurs & incredibly brings them back to life! The Brontosaurus is a nice vegetarian type chap so he ain't a problem but the Tyranosaurus is a flesh eating meanie who hasn't had a decent meal in literally millions of years & with all those tasty islanders running around he's got plenty of food to choose from, it's up to the heroic Bart to save the day & the islanders from becoming Dinosaur food!
Co-produced & directed by Irvin S. Yeaworth Jr. this 60's monster flick isn't too bad if your expectations are low enough & are looking for a undemanding way to pass 80 odd minutes, it certainly isn't a classic by any stretch of the imagination but I didn't think it was as bad as it's reputation suggests. The script by Dan E. Wiseburd & Jean Yeaworth (wife of director Irvin...) is pretty silly really, preserved Dinosaurs brought back to life by a lightening strike? The isolated island location sort of reminded me of the setting for Jurassic Park (1992) although that's where the comparisons stop. The character's are wooden & rather dull, people don't really behave in the way you would expect when faced with a huge man eating Tyranosaurus although the film does have a certain naive charm about it. I must admit I quite liked the Dinosaur scenes, they were fairly fun to watch & the sequence at the end where Bart fights the Tyranosaurus in a huge construction site crane is neat & imaginative. I wasn't too keen on the comedy relief Neanderthal man who was surprisingly well shaved & clean cut! If you expect something like Jurassic Park you will be disappointed, if you expect a mild, somewhat dated & innocent 60's monster flick then you might have some fun watching it just as I did.
Director Yeahworth doesn't do much with the actors side of the film, most of the scenes involving the human cast are static, wooden & poorly staged. Now on to the special effects, or rather the not so special effects. The Dinosaurs are brought to 'life' via both stop motion animation when the Dinosaur is seen in full & puppet shots when just the head is seen. The effects can be described a primitive, they certainly aren't going to impress anyone these days but while watching Dinosaurus! I always felt the makers were giving it their all & really trying. OK, they obviously didn't have the technical ability or budget to succeed but there are some ambitious sequences like the Tyranosaurus & Brontosaurus fight & the climax where Bart fights the Tyranosaurus in a crane. The lighting between shots isn't great though, the actor looks like he is in bright daylight & when it switches to a special effects shot the sky is a completely different colour.
With a supposed budget of about $450,000 this is reasonably well made partly on location in St. Croix in the Virgin Islands although it's very noticeable when the action switches back into the studio. The producing & directing team of Yeahworth & Jack H. Harris were responsible for The Blob (1958) & it was originally intended Steve McQueen to star in this but they dropped the idea after they found out McQueen was so difficult to work with on The Blob. The acting is rather wooden from everyone involved.
Dinosaurus! is a fun little film that will pass an afternoon away harmlessly enough if you give it a change & don't expect too much, it's not brilliant but it's not too bad either. I thought it was worth a watch. -
Mutakk4 December 2007A harmless low-budget movie from one of the people responsible for the original "The Blob" and "The 4D Man". Hurricane pulls up perfectly preserved dinosaur bodies from the ocean floor; Tyrannosaur and Brontosaurus, and a caveman. Lightning strikes, dinosaurs come to lift and terrorize bad actors. Caveman comes to life also, befriends kid, and ends up riding the brontosaurus.
I saw this years ago, and remember it as being kinda cool. Always remembered the caveman trying to eat plastic fruit, then wondering into the bathroom and flushing the toilet. The FX were OK, I guess. Think they used puppets, and some stop-motion. Final confrontation with the Tyrannosaur vs a tractor was cool. Kind of a precursor for Ripley's duel with the queen in "Aliens."
"Dinosaurus!" certainly won't make you forget "Jurassic Park," but it's an enjoyable little movie. -
bkoganbing3 January 2012How well I remember this film Dinosaurus from seeing it in the theaters way back when I was 13 years old. I liked the special effects in creating the two dinosaurs and the climax is a very exciting one still. Of course now I can spot some of the ludicrousness of the story.
The location is a small Caribbean Island where a group of construction workers are dredging a harbor to make it a deep water port. Their dynamiting has unleashed a cold underground river and two dinosaurs, a tyrannosaurus and a brontosaurus are released from being cryogenically frozen for a million years or so. As is true in a flock of other science fiction films they thaw out and lightning strikes them and they come alive like Frankenstein's monster.
Of course they're kind of hungry and the brontosaurus has a nice tropical rain forest to feast on. But T-Rex is a flesh eater and there's lots of people flesh around as well.
Unknown to everyone else a caveman also was washed ashore and he thawed out as well. He was found by Fred Engelberg who has to be one of the stupidest villains ever on record. In the absence of the governor he's in charge. I'm assuming the island is an American possession, the rest of the natives have Spanish accents both white and black, but Engelberg for reasons I can't figure out has a French accent. He wants his caveman to make a profit off of and even with a raging T-Rex around he's going to capture that caveman. As the natives of the island would say, Que Pendejo.
The climax involves the lead actor and construction boss Ward Ramsey dueling with Tyrannosaurus using a steam shovel as a weapon. That has stuck with me since childhood and it's very excitingly staged.
Dinosaurus is still a suspenseful and exciting science fiction film to watch with its no name cast and nice special effects for their time. -
I admit it, I am a fan of stop motion animation. It can be excellent or hideous but if it's stop motion I am so there! I was first attracted to this movie when I was very young because it had dinosaurs in it (yes it had a caveman too but he was secondary to me).
Anyway, so why is this particular movie forever tied to my birthday? Therein lies a tale. 20 July 1969 will be forever remembered as the day Neil Armstrong walked on the Moon. That day was also my 5th birthday and I was watching DINOSAURUS in my room on my 12 inch b/w TV. Just at the scene where the mortally wounded Brontosaurus lumbers into the quicksand the movie faded out for a commercial break. Then it cut to the TV newsroom where they were talking about the landing on the Moon. My uncle came into my room to ask if I was watching the news and I said "No, I'm waiting for the movie to come back on."
This made him start talking about how history was being made and I should be proud I could see this moment live and so on. Okay so to-0day I am aware of how important it was but back then I was 5 years old and this was a movie that had DINOSAURS in it for cryin' out loud! Let's just say my priorities were a lot different back then.
When the movie finally came back on I was as happy as could be and it had my undivided attention all the way to the end.
Now I make it a point to watch this movie every year on my birthday and at the scene where the Brontosaurus dies I cannot help but think about the first Moon landing. Curious how completely unrelated memories somehow get joined together isn't it? -
This is an awful sci-fi/horror movie whose characters have IQs in the single digits. It makes "The Night of the Lepus" (1972) look like "Citizen Kane" (1941).
Developers are blowing up things in a blocked harbor. A girl drives up in a motorboat, ignoring the red flag waved at her and the cries of the construction crew to go back. After her boat sets off a bomb, the girl dives overboard to "Davy Jones Locker", sees two dinosaurs, and faints underwater. Her boyfriend rescues her, spots dinosaurs, says they must have been "flash frozen", and has construction equipment haul their carcasses up on the beach. A Neanderthal also is found, and hauled on the beach. That night, a storm hits, and a three pronged bolt of lightning hits the creatures, thawing them out and reawakening them. Chaos ensues.
The special effects are horrendous-a climactic fight between the dinosaurs and a truck are obviously using a toy truck and plastic dinosaur, the pool of quicksand resembles a kale milkshake, the Neanderthal is just a man running around in a loincloth. The actors with accents all sound like male or female versions of Ricky Ricardo.
I was rooting for the dinosaurs to make mincemeat of everyone--the dinosaurs are so much more intelligent than the characters. This is recommended for fans of bad movies only. The three stars are for the unintended laughter I experienced. Laughter for any reason is better than none at all. -
kevinxirau3 October 2011I grew up loving this movie and having watched this movie again recently, I see that Dinosaurus! hasn't lost its charm. Not many things are better than stop-motion dinosaurs going around scaring the heck out of people. So, let's travel back in time and have a look.
On a tropical island, a construction crew was trying to build a harbor when their dynamite unearths two dinosaurs frozen in suspended animation: a ferocious Tyrannosaurus rex and a peaceful Brontosaurus. The town's jerk of a mayor also discovers a Neanderthal in the same state. When lightning strikes, the prehistoric beings are brought to life. A poor local boy befriends both the Brontosaur and caveman while the T-rex terrorizes the island, killing many in his path. As prehistory and modern times collide, who will survive? Man or reptile?
The movie has plenty of charm to it. A few human characters were interesting while others are unlikable. The stop-motion and close-up puppetry of the creatures are quite good and the scenes with the caveman interacting with modern objects are pretty funny. My favorite part of the movie is when the dinosaurs battle to the death! It's pure, primal carnage and I love it! If your getting bored before this point, this scene is sure to wake you up. I also like the final fight between the T-rex and the tractor (which inspired the ending for "Carnosaur"). Nothing like monster vs machine.
I only have a few complaints. I've felt that they killed off the Brontosaur a little too early by having him wander into quicksand. The least they could do is indicate that he might have died only for him to return and sacrifice himself by charging at the T-rex and both fall into the ocean. I would also like to see more than two interactions between the boy and the Brontosaur but that's a minor complaint.
I love this movie and I would like to see a remake of it, maybe exclude the caveman to allow more quality time between the boy and his dinosaur, make the T-rex more scary, and have the suggested ending I mentioned earlier. Check this dinosaur flick out and enjoy. ROOOAAR!!! -
Aaron137527 May 2020A film from 1960, this film features dinosaurs! Two dinosaurs! For some reason the film is titled Dinosaurus. It is about what one would expect from a monster film of the era as we have dinosaurs frozen, a comic relief caveman and a guy who is so bad that he beats children and shoots at the thing that he is chasing and which will make him rich. The means by which the dinosaurs are created most likely stop motion, but not top rate which would be Ray Harryhausen level, but not bottom rate either.
The story has a diver swimming through the opening credits, if I had to guess, I would say he was planting the explosives that come up later. Never really explain this guy, but that is what I determined. Well these explosions cause the men a good lunch as a woman nearly gets blown up, but is more concerned about the food that is lost so she dives in after it. She stays underwater too long and blacks out right after seeing a dinosaur! The men on the beach fish the creatures up while another man finds a caveman and hides him because it will make him rich! Soon the dinosaurs and caveman revive and cause chaos across the island, though they are more concerned with showing us the caveman going through a house.
This film adds the caveman for comic relief and a way to not have to have the dinosaurs on screen as much, I'm guessing. They do show the dinosaurs here and there as the Tyrannosaurus stomps a bus flat and a boy becomes friends with the other, but seeing the caveman react to every mirror in the house is much easier to film and show than things involving the stars of the show.
The movie has its moments, but it just did not work for me as I could not stand the little kid constantly talking to the dinosaur and caveman. Like either one will understand what the boy is saying. Once again, the evil character is not believable and not needed, you have a T-Rex in your film, he is all the bad you need! I also do not understand the general panic as the T-Rex does not exactly plow through any houses on the island, other than crushing a bus and nearly killing the brontosaurus he does very little else that is chaotic other than lose a fight with a crane. -
ClassixFan3 March 2005Now, that doesn't necessarily mean this is a bad film....quite the contrary, in my humble opinion. Sure, the story has some huge holes, but don't you watch a film to be entertained and just to let yourself relax without the need to think every minute? This film is definitely right up your alley, if you enjoy dinosaurs and stop-motion animation.
Basically, this is the story of a construction crew that finds the bodies of a T-Rex, Brontosaurus and caveman frozen in the waters off a tropical island. With the help of lightning, the beasties and the caveman are brought back among the living and the remainder of the story is all the action that takes place when you place three pre-historics out of their element. Good clean fun, some decent stop-animation effects and a great way to spend an afternoon. -
robfollower31 May 2020Director: Irvin S. Yeaworth Jr. Writers: Jack H. Harris (original idea), Dan E. Weisburd Stars: Ward Ramsey, Paul Lukather, Kristina Hanson
Dinosaurus! comes from producer Jack H. Harris and director Irvin S. Yeaworth Jr. Harris and Irvin S. Yeaworth had previously collaborated on the quintessential 1950s B-budget monster movie The Blob (1958) and had then gone onto make the quite good phantom mad scientist effort The 4D Man (1959). Dinosaurus! would be their third and final collaboration together.
Dinosaurus! came on the tail end of the 1950s cycle of revived dinosaur films that began with The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953). Hurricane pulls up perfectly preserved dinosaur bodies from the ocean floor; Tyrannosaur and Brontosaurus, and a caveman. Lightning strikes, dinosaurs come to lift and terrorize bad actors. Caveman comes to life also, befriends kid, and ends up riding the brontosaurus. Dinosaurus! has a fairly awful reputation but contrarily I rather liked it.
The special effects come from Tim Baar, Wah Chang and Gene Warren. The dinosaurs (there's only two ) are of the stop motion variety and you won't ever mistake them as being done by legendary effects man Ray Harryhausen.
The juvenile nature of the film, along with some naff neanderthal-based comedy, make it just a little too cloying at times, but as a fan of dinosaur movies in general, and especially those that make use of stop motion animation, I couldn't help but be entertained. -
robert37507 April 2018Reasonably entertaining bit of fluff. The visual FX are well below the standard set by the great Ray Harryhausen, The girl is pretty, the hero is suitably heroic, the caveman is good hearted, and the kid isn't too annoying. I have a special fondness for this one because of my memories of seeing it at the drive-in.
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gavin694223 August 2011After undersea explosions near a Caribbean island, prehistoric creatures are unleashed on the unsuspecting population...
Allegedly, Marcel Delgado was given less than half the time originally agreed upon to create the dinosaur models used in the film. The studio initially agreed to give him five to six weeks, as he requested, but two weeks later he was told that they would begin production on Tuesday. This would explain why the effects are cheesy (or it could just be an excuse).
Howard Maxford sums up the film as having "dismal effects", which is not a poor criticism if that is the worst he can say. As just mentioned, this may not have been the creators' faults. And, really, this is 1960. We just went through the 1950s, where sci-fi films were constantly cheesy. To use that as a criticism seems unfair.
Howard Thompson of the New York Times said at the time that "motion picture art hit rock bottom" when this film came out. It is "a tired, synthetic, plodding sample of movie junk", says Thompson. Those involved "thoroughly wasted a few exotic backgrounds." Thompson finally points out that the film comes from Fairview Productions, who also made "The Blob". He categorizes both films as "Grade Z". Wow. I mean, it is one thing to not like it... but Thompson just goes off!
If I had to say one thing about the film negatively, it would be about Julio (Alan Roberts). He was a bit annoying. And, sadly, he passed away too young (though that has nothing to do with this film). I had no issue with the effects or plot. I mean, really, it is a movie about dinosaurs and a caveman who survived frozen for millions of years. If you accept that premise (and the idea that all three were found in the same areas), I would hope you could look past the execution! -
No, Dinosaurus! isn't a great movie. Not in any sense of the word. But, unlike many of the snoozefest B's made today, it's a fun movie. It's definitely directed at kids, since it has a friendly neanderthal, a friendly brontosaurus (who the caveman and a kid ride on) and a nasty Allosaurus. On an island in the Caribbean, a lightning strike brings these three back from suspended animation, where havoc ensues. As I said, not great, but engaging and fun.
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Leofwine_draca25 June 2016This disappointingly tacky entry in the "dinosaur runs amok" genre is in desperate need of a good plot. Or any plot, come to that. After the initial set-up in which our heroes unearth a Tyrannosaurus rex and a Brontosaurus (somehow surviving intact for millions of years by being buried in a frozen river under the sea - I'm not making this up), all the film consists of is people running around aimlessly, dumb comedy filler material aimed at children, and some ultra-cheap special effects which reach new levels of badness. Whilst not unwatchable thanks to the presence of the dinosaurs, this movie could have been a lot better with an original premise and some interesting characters to boot. Unfortunately what we're left with are a bunch of stock cut-outs, including not one but two macho heroes, as played by Ward Ramsey and Paul Lukather. These are the square-jawed, open-shirted hero types populated by such B-movies in the '40s and '50s and generally lacking in interest with little characterisation; Ramsey and Lukather are both wooden.
Then we have the annoying Mexican kid who gets himself in trouble all the time, the pretty but vacuous female love interest (Kristina Hanson) who doesn't fare much better, and finally the obnoxious land-owner played by Fred Engelberg. In fact the only character to root for in the film is the genuinely heroic and interesting caveman, played by Gregg Martell who looks the part in every way. The two dinosaurs themselves are a hilarious mix of cheap stop-motion and even cheaper model work for the close-ups, and the pair are never for a moment convincing. Watch out for the scenes in which director Yeaworth tries to make us believe that the kid is riding on the back of the Brontosaurus - a riot. In fact these two creations are so poorly animated that its impossible to feel sympathy for them; inevitably I find myself rooting for the monsters in these kind of films but here I was left cold.
For a film involving giant monsters being reanimated and going on a rampage, DINOSAURUS! contains hardly any action whatsoever. No buildings are destroyed, only a couple of guys get eaten. Godzilla come back, all is forgiven. In fact the only decent scene is the cheesy Tyrannosaurus rex vs. crane truck fight at the film's close and even that's only halfway good. I'm struggling to think of positive aspects for this film and I'm coming up blank. The biggest flaw is the lack of likable or interesting characters and characterisation; I know this was meant as a kid's film, but JURASSIC PARK managed it so there's no reason this didn't. I know the budget was low but a good script doesn't cost any more than a bad one, and that's the problem. Only for die-hard dino fans. -
This movie was totally ridiculous yet somehow still good. For reasons never explained, people are blowing up the shoreline of a island that never gets named.Then a woman(who we later find out is the girlfriend of the foreman) comes into the harbor in a row boat. She was out in the ocean in this tiny thing "getting food" and decided to just sail right into the blasting zone. There's lots of white people failing miserably at attempting Hispanic accents, one even sounds french. The real question is why would Pacific islanders have Hispanic accents? So anyway, the blasting uncovers two perfectly preserved dinosaurs. Somehow a brontosaurus and a T-Rex died right next to each other and never decayed. So they drag the dinosaurs onto the beach, ask the town drunk to watch them, and then leave. Oh did i mention the island has an "island manager" and he's evil? And he's not even really in charge, the island governor is but he's away. And of course the manager has some little boy who is not his son that he is raising. The manager finds a caveman because that makes perfect sense.Then a lightning bolt splits in two and hits both dinosaurs and they come back to life. Somehow the caveman comes to life and then we are forced to watch him figure out the hi-tech life of a 1950's third world country, for a long time. Luckily the caveman knows all about dinosaurs and can ride them, probably because they didn't exist at the same time. The story makes no sense(What is the Dinosaurus??) but it's not terrible. Give it a shot.
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mark.waltz18 March 2019Hey, Mr. Scientist, leave those Dino corpses alone!
Especially with an electric storm in the forecast. Don't you realize that electricity, according to Frankenstein, is the way to revive the dead? Even the long dead, fully preserved corpses of the melting ice surrounding a friendly Brontosaurus and a deadly Tyrannosaurus?
For curious island kid Alan Roberts, that means he gets a big new pet in the friendly leaf eating Bronto, getting to rid him like a giant horsey, and a friendly grunting pal in caveman Gregg Martell who is easily scared by the make-up wearing old lady whose home he invades looking for food, ending up in her house dress when evil Fred Engelberg and his men storm in, determined to capture it in hopes of exploiting him. But scientist Ward Ramsey and partner Paul Langton are determined to at least stop the Tyrannosaurus from eating em' all up, and the Brontosaurus ends up being a hero, along with Martell who would have rather remained frozen and deep at the bottom of the Caribbean than in a new world he can't navigate in.
When first seen, they are busy blowing up what is hidden in the bottom of the bay when a boat approaches with Kristina Hanson inside causes then to stop. As typical in this type of science fiction adventure, it is the presence of a beautiful but unwanted female which creates instant danger, and they must stop what they are doing in order to rescue her from possible detonations going off. The rescue of Hanson has Ramsey and Langton locating the frozen dino's, and the explosion has also brought Martell's body to shore. When they call it a night, a tropical storm brings the three visitors from another time back to life, and creates a colorful adventure where the audience hopes for a quick and painful demise for the evil Langton and a happy ending for everybody else, including the happy brontosaurus and the confused caveman.
Fairly decent special effects for its time makes this a well made science fiction adventure where the cute kid (Roberts) steals every moment with his love of dinosaurs, although it is obvious that the young actor, attempting to speak with an accent, is not at all of Spanish origin. It's the stereotypical view of the child as the one with all of the courage, his only desire not to become a toothpick for the hungry tyrannosaurus who hasn't had a brontosaurus burger in over a millennium. Most of the adult characters are basic stereotypes of good and evil, with Martell grunting his way to a heartfelt performance as the caveman who obviously isn't all brute. Don't go in expecting "Jurassic Park" style effects or even Ray Harryhausen, but what is there is quite above average for a film of its type. For me, it's a delightful find that I will more than likely revisit sooner rather than later. -
Coventry9 November 2009"Dinosaurus!" is an unknown but righteously unsung early 60's monster- movie, from the director of "The Blob", which actually has no reason for existing whatsoever. The plot is totally bonkers, the acting performances are atrocious and the special effects – although achieved through old fashioned stop motion techniques – are pitiable. On a tropical island resort, construction workers discover two frozen but perfectly preserved dinosaurs; one herbivore Brontosaurus and one carnivorous T-Rex. Usually in the case of such a fantastic archaeological discovery, all construction works would be terminated at once and for an undetermined period of time, but here the boss of the construction workers simply decides to put them on the beach in order not to damage them as they carry on working. One stormy night and a lightening struck later, the prehistoric giants come to live and run amok on the island. Then, there are some lousy sub plots like the one with the sleazy resort owner trying to make money out of the prehistoric discovery, one with an incredibly annoying island kid befriending the Brontosaurus and even riding around on his back and – last but not least – the wacky adventures of a Neanderthal (who also just happened to wash ashore and defrost all by himself without the help of lighting) in the civilized world. "Dinosaurus!" is a pretty retarded film, but hey, at least you have to admit it's quite original. This really is more of a slapstick comedy rather than a drive-in monster feature, because at a certain point they start throwing pies in the bad guys' faces. Weak! The stop-motion dinosaurs are charming and the stupidity of the script occasionally causes uncontrollable chuckles, but overall this certainly isn't a recommendation.
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hammerogod-496-13745121 November 2018Hey! Rubber dinosaurs can be good for your inner child. In Glorious Color. This semi-jewel of a semi-b movie is a delight with some actual moments of "Wow Factor".
Ignore the geological epoch confusion and look past the fact that Spielberg didn't make it and kick back for 85 minutes that will give you back some of what growing up took away. 6 stars and I was not being generous. -
moviemanMA16 June 2009The title alone is deserving of a 10 rating, but then there is the whole movie thing to watch. Most science fiction movies like this have bad acting but the characters have something admirable. Never really felt connected with any of these people. They were fake and cold. The writing is pretty bad, the effects are okay sometimes and embarrassing the next, and there isn't a lot of action to grab onto. Still there could be something here that works, but they never reached that point. I had hopes that something would come out of it, but it was a slight let down. Still with a name like Dinosaurus it's kind of fun to watch. For those who enjoy the old science fiction romps, this is one for you
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mikecowboy1996-130 November 2007Honestly, 4.4/10?!? It wasn't that bad! I haven't seen this film in awhile and I decided to watch in again today.Its a pretty good film for its time.Sure, the acting is a little cheesy, but its a great movie! Ahh, yes, IMDb's plot for the movie. ''...After undersea explosions near a Caribbean island, prehistoric creatures are unleashed on the unsuspecting population. Freed from his watery tomb, as well, is a very friendly Neanderthal man who proceeds to befriend a local orphan boy. The boy, Neanderthal and irritated dinosaur make for an interesting dramatic climax.'' Couldn't explain the plot any better.The Neanderthal man who has also come back along with the dinosaurs, is actually a caveman! He can give you a good laugh every once in awhile.He is just hilarious.This is an awesome movie to pop in the VCR and watch on a Saturday night.You should really check it out if you're a into dinosaurs, like I am.
10/10! -
Passable effects for the era but it is the caveman that steals the show, particularly when he tries on a dress, and when he runs from a flushing toilet. The look on his face and the way it was shot was a riot. It may be the first time a toilet was ever heard on an American film.
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Flixer19577 February 2009Here's a real laff-riot in which lightning resurrects a brontosaurus, a tyrannosaur and a caveman who proceed to trash a two-bit tropical paradise. Other primitive humans include the usual brawny hero; cheesecake heroine; resident drunk; insipid little kid and a male chauvinist porker who calls various women "my little tamale." These clods were enough to make me root for the monsters.
The animation isn't badfor a flick with a ten-buck budget. The dialog is rife with such gems as "Let's get outa herethis place gives me the creeps!" and "Leave my friend aloneyou bad old tyrannosaurus!" The sappy friendship between the boy and the caveman is enough to gag a maggot. Greg Martell plays the Neanderthal nit-wit who could have made a better film.
Paleontologists claim that the brontosaurus had a brain in it's hindquarters; I could take a cheap shot here, but I'll resist the temptation.
DINOSAURUS! is a welcome addition to any LeBad collector's library.