-RAY HARRYHAUSEN RETROSPECTIVE-
PART 2
COLORFUL FANTASY
December 17, 1958
The legendary Sinbad sails to the island of Colossa to find the cure to a curse inflicted on his princess bride, all while tangling with the threat of dangerous creatures and a deceitful magician.
You know, there's been a heap of legends and tall tales about Sinbad the Sailor, all of them different. Well, the great Harryhausen had his own version, and would go on to tell 3 of his own Arabian Nights stories.
Harryhausen had been trying to get a Sinbad story off the ground for a while sometime after his work on Mighty Joe Young. After getting tired of destroying cities in his previous works, he decided to dust off the project and bring it to life.
Though he initially had reservations about it due to budgetary reasons, Schneer convinced him to make The 7th Voyage of Sinbad his first official film in color as opposed to black and white.
Right from the start, 7th Voyage immediately pulls you in with a fantastic score by acclaimed composer Bernard Herrmann. Herrmann delivers exactly the kind of rousing and exciting music you'd expect in an adventure film, just listening to it will make you wanna start swinging a sword around imagining you're fighting off monsters. The score is so great that at the time of this writing, I currently have the opening overture as my ringtone.
Sinbad is played by Kerwin Mathews who delivers the typical Errol Flynn, swashbuckler swagger that was common in films at the time. Most of the time, the female love interest hasn't left much of an impact in these films, but I absolutely love Kathryn Grant as Princess Parisa. She brings such a warm and charming performance that it's no wonder Sinbad fell for her, I don't even mind that some of the romantic dialogue is dripping in cheese, it's still fun.
Torin Thatcher plays the magician/obvious bad guy, Sokurah. Thatcher had a habit for playing villains and that experience definitely shines here.
The casts of these films have varied in quality, but I feel the fantasy setting of 7th Voyage allows the actors to give more charismatic and larger than life performances.
While not an exact one to one of the original Sinbad tales, 7th Voyage does borrow elements from the 3rd and 5th voyages found in the original 1,001 Nights including encounters with a cyclops and a roc. Harryhausen has mentioned that past films based on the Arabian Nights left a lot to be desired when it came to the creatures, most of the time they came across as cheap and unconvincing or they would talk about them at length only to never show them.
Remember how I said that the Ymir in 20 Million Miles to Earth was originally conceived as a cyclops creature? That design ended up being repurposed, and being made into what remains the most iconic cyclops featured in film.
Harryhausen wanted to see a roc and so he made sure to give us a roc in his movie. He even gave it 2 heads instead of one. Rocs in mythology aren't typically depicted with 2 heads, but his does because shut up, he can do whatever he wants.
One of the most notable sequences in the film is when Sinbad gets into a sword fight with a skeleton brought to life by Sokurah's magic. Kerwin Matthews went through extensive rehearsal with an Italian Olympic fencer, Enzo Greco, only to then have to perform the same actions without Enzo present so Harryhausen could insert the skeleton into the footage and thus, a masterclass in combining acting and special effects was born. Surely there's no way he could top one guy fighting ONE skeleton...right?
Everything from the puppets, the miniature sets and the optical effects are excellent and make a damn good impression for their color debut. Any concerns Harryhausen may have had about how his techniques would look were allayed and from here on, his effects work would be given the name "Dynamation"
The name itself was mostly used for marketing purposes, but it sounded cool and caught on pretty well with the public. Later films would even start calling it "Super Dynamation" or "Dynarama."
You know, there's been a heap of legends and tall tales about Sinbad the Sailor, all of them different. Well, the great Harryhausen had his own version, and would go on to tell 3 of his own Arabian Nights stories.
Harryhausen had been trying to get a Sinbad story off the ground for a while sometime after his work on Mighty Joe Young. After getting tired of destroying cities in his previous works, he decided to dust off the project and bring it to life.
Though he initially had reservations about it due to budgetary reasons, Schneer convinced him to make The 7th Voyage of Sinbad his first official film in color as opposed to black and white.
Right from the start, 7th Voyage immediately pulls you in with a fantastic score by acclaimed composer Bernard Herrmann. Herrmann delivers exactly the kind of rousing and exciting music you'd expect in an adventure film, just listening to it will make you wanna start swinging a sword around imagining you're fighting off monsters. The score is so great that at the time of this writing, I currently have the opening overture as my ringtone.
Torin Thatcher plays the magician/obvious bad guy, Sokurah. Thatcher had a habit for playing villains and that experience definitely shines here.
The casts of these films have varied in quality, but I feel the fantasy setting of 7th Voyage allows the actors to give more charismatic and larger than life performances.
Remember how I said that the Ymir in 20 Million Miles to Earth was originally conceived as a cyclops creature? That design ended up being repurposed, and being made into what remains the most iconic cyclops featured in film.
Harryhausen wanted to see a roc and so he made sure to give us a roc in his movie. He even gave it 2 heads instead of one. Rocs in mythology aren't typically depicted with 2 heads, but his does because shut up, he can do whatever he wants.
One of the most notable sequences in the film is when Sinbad gets into a sword fight with a skeleton brought to life by Sokurah's magic. Kerwin Matthews went through extensive rehearsal with an Italian Olympic fencer, Enzo Greco, only to then have to perform the same actions without Enzo present so Harryhausen could insert the skeleton into the footage and thus, a masterclass in combining acting and special effects was born. Surely there's no way he could top one guy fighting ONE skeleton...right?
The name itself was mostly used for marketing purposes, but it sounded cool and caught on pretty well with the public. Later films would even start calling it "Super Dynamation" or "Dynarama."
In a time where similar films ended up being flops leading to the belief that "costume pictures were dead," The 7th Voyage of Sinbad ended up a success and remains one of the most loved films from Harryhausen's library.
To me, 7th Voyage feels like opening up a storybook and being transported to a fantastic world. Its great characters, excellent set pieces, dazzling special effects and engaging soundtrack makes it a wonderful film that always makes me feel like a kid when watching it.
December 16, 1960
A down on his luck doctor sets out on a voyage to find fortune and build a better life but ends up getting more than he bargained for when a storm washes him ashore on an island inhabited by doll-sized people.
A screenplay for a feature based on Jonathan Swift's 1726 novel "Gulliver's Travels" was in the works and presented to the heads at Universal and promptly rejected. It eventually found its way to Schneer, who along with its writers Arthur Ross and Jack Sher revised the script and would incorporate Harryhausen's Dynamation process.
If you're looking for any comparisons to the original novel, you're gonna be disappointed as I've not read Gulliver's Travels (or any of the books that have been adapted by Harryhausen for that matter.) To my limited knowledge, much like 7th Voyage, 3 Worlds only adapts portions of the original work into the movie. I can only judge this work as a movie, and for what it's worth, what we get is fairly decent if not frustrating at times.
And if you are expecting this to contain all sorts of creatures animated by Harryhausen, you'll probably end up disappointed. This isn't a story about giant creatures, mythological beasts or aliens, but more akin to a fairy tale, a subject that Harryhausen is no stranger to.
But at least we get another rousing score from Bernard Herrmann.
The titular Gulliver is played by a returning actor, Kerwin Matthews. Instead of playing a swashbuckling adventurer, he's a simple doctor eager for adventure and riches, despite the wishes of his wife, Elizabeth (June Thorburn) who's all too eager to just settle down with Gulliver.
But that's not even the biggest problems Gulliver has to deal with (at least not yet...) No, that comes when he meets the Lilliputians from the land of Lilliput, who are about the size of doll figures compared to Gulliver. Even if you've never read or heard of Gulliver's Travels, you've more than likely come across an illustration or even a parody of a giant man tied down on a beach surrounded by little people. And now you know where it's from.
But now allow me to rant about little people for a bit. wait NO! NOT LIKE THAT!- (Might not include this joke)
The Lilliputians, or at least their leaders are a petty little bunch of annoyances, literally starting wars over the slightest inconveniences or questioning sound logic, much to the frustration of Gulliver and most likely the viewer. Even after all the good Gulliver tries to do for the people, another mountain is made out of a molehill until he decides he's had enough and fashions a new boat to escape. Only for him to run into literally bigger problems, as he ends up on an island called Brobdingnag where he is now doll-sized and the inhabitants are giants. Their thing is they see science as witchcraft, which does not bode well for Dr. Gulliver. But at least he gets to reunite with Elizabeth.
As frustrating as these plot points may be, I do understand the social commentary this movie is going for and I say that certain world leaders today could learn a thing or two from this story. It's clear that this movie is aimed toward a younger audience and I don't hold that against it.
While there are not that many stop motion characters in the film, Harryhausen sure got to flex his skills with forced perspective. There are many set pieces that portray Matthews as giant and tiny and even when you can tell where the overlaying is taking place, it still looks well done even today.
There are only 2 stop motion creatures in this movie, one is a squirrel that drags Gulliver into it's hole, and the other is a miniature crocodile that Gulliver must fight off.
The squirrel puppet was actually made using a squirrel Harryhausen purchased from a taxidermist, and to this day remains the oldest Harryhausen creation still in near perfect condition
The 3 Worlds of Gulliver is not a bad movie at all and it certainly does have merit, it's just not really what I'm into. There's a certain idea people have in their head when it comes to Harryhausen movies and this is the one that feels like the oddity among them. Even Harryhausen himself agrees that it's not one of his best.
Still, from what I've seen, 3 Worlds is a popular movie to certain groups of people and I'm truly happy for them for finding enjoyment in a film such as this. If anything, I hope it leads them to discovering more of Harryhausen's work, if they haven't already.
As for those looking for a more creature oriented movie, that's coming up next...
MYSTERIOUS ISLAND
December 20, 1961
A screenplay for a feature based on Jonathan Swift's 1726 novel "Gulliver's Travels" was in the works and presented to the heads at Universal and promptly rejected. It eventually found its way to Schneer, who along with its writers Arthur Ross and Jack Sher revised the script and would incorporate Harryhausen's Dynamation process.
If you're looking for any comparisons to the original novel, you're gonna be disappointed as I've not read Gulliver's Travels (or any of the books that have been adapted by Harryhausen for that matter.) To my limited knowledge, much like 7th Voyage, 3 Worlds only adapts portions of the original work into the movie. I can only judge this work as a movie, and for what it's worth, what we get is fairly decent if not frustrating at times.
And if you are expecting this to contain all sorts of creatures animated by Harryhausen, you'll probably end up disappointed. This isn't a story about giant creatures, mythological beasts or aliens, but more akin to a fairy tale, a subject that Harryhausen is no stranger to.
But at least we get another rousing score from Bernard Herrmann.
But that's not even the biggest problems Gulliver has to deal with (at least not yet...) No, that comes when he meets the Lilliputians from the land of Lilliput, who are about the size of doll figures compared to Gulliver. Even if you've never read or heard of Gulliver's Travels, you've more than likely come across an illustration or even a parody of a giant man tied down on a beach surrounded by little people. And now you know where it's from.
The Lilliputians, or at least their leaders are a petty little bunch of annoyances, literally starting wars over the slightest inconveniences or questioning sound logic, much to the frustration of Gulliver and most likely the viewer. Even after all the good Gulliver tries to do for the people, another mountain is made out of a molehill until he decides he's had enough and fashions a new boat to escape. Only for him to run into literally bigger problems, as he ends up on an island called Brobdingnag where he is now doll-sized and the inhabitants are giants. Their thing is they see science as witchcraft, which does not bode well for Dr. Gulliver. But at least he gets to reunite with Elizabeth.
As frustrating as these plot points may be, I do understand the social commentary this movie is going for and I say that certain world leaders today could learn a thing or two from this story. It's clear that this movie is aimed toward a younger audience and I don't hold that against it.
There are only 2 stop motion creatures in this movie, one is a squirrel that drags Gulliver into it's hole, and the other is a miniature crocodile that Gulliver must fight off.
The squirrel puppet was actually made using a squirrel Harryhausen purchased from a taxidermist, and to this day remains the oldest Harryhausen creation still in near perfect condition
The 3 Worlds of Gulliver is not a bad movie at all and it certainly does have merit, it's just not really what I'm into. There's a certain idea people have in their head when it comes to Harryhausen movies and this is the one that feels like the oddity among them. Even Harryhausen himself agrees that it's not one of his best.
Still, from what I've seen, 3 Worlds is a popular movie to certain groups of people and I'm truly happy for them for finding enjoyment in a film such as this. If anything, I hope it leads them to discovering more of Harryhausen's work, if they haven't already.
As for those looking for a more creature oriented movie, that's coming up next...
December 20, 1961
After escaping from a prisoner camp in a hot air balloon, 5 men get caught in a storm and end up trapped on an unknown island. Fraught with many dangers, including giant creatures, the men must work together to survive and perhaps get back to civilization.
We go from one book adaptation to another, this time it's Jules Verne's 'The Mysterious Island' from 1874. An adaptation of the book had been in the works for some time at Columbia Pictures, and after seeing the success of 7th Voyage and 3 Worlds, as well as noticing how close in tone they were to each other, they decided Harryhausen and Schneer were their guys. Of course, some changes were to be made, such as the removal of certain characters, streamlining the story, and the inclusion of more creatures as obstacles for our survivors to overcome, compliments of Harryhausen.
For our cast, we have an interesting set up.
3 union soldiers: Captain Harding, Neb and Herbert. (Michael Craig, Dan Jackson and Michael Callan) 1 war correspondent: Mr. Spilett (Gary Merrill) and 1 rebel guard: Pencroft (Percy Herbert). This should create some tension considering the story takes place during the actual American Civil War, but considering the situation they find themselves in, they get over the animosity pretty quick and actually manage to get along quite well.
Later they're joined by 2 women marooned on the island by the same storm, Lady Fairchild (Joan Greenwood) and her niece Elena (Beth Rogan.) Every one of these actors makes their characters very likable.
As the film goes on the survivors receive aid from an unseen source and eventually by the third act, that help is revealed to be Captain Nemo (Herbert Lom). That's right, THE Captain Nemo. Mysterious Island acts as a sequel to Jules Verne's previous story "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea." Originally, James Mason was considered for the role, which he previously played in Disney's 1954 film adaptation. But Mason's fee was too much for this production, so the role eventually went to Lom.
But just what is Nemo doing on this mysterious island? Trying to solve world hunger, by creating large versions of animals including a crab, honeybees and even a giant bird, which many people mistake as being a chicken. It's actually a prehistoric terror bird called a Phorusrhacos (FOR-us-Rah-kos)
Of course, Harryhausen's stop motion animation brings these creations to life, most notably, the giant crab. You may look at this crab and think it looks real, and that's because it is real.
Mostly.
The crab puppet was made using a real crab shell after it was put down and the meat inside was replaced with the metal armature. Some scale model pincers and a few close shots of live crabs help to sell the illusion.
Fans of the book may be put off by the fact that this movie deviates heavily from the original source material with the inclusion of the giant creatures. But like I said, never read the book, only judging the movie.
You have nothing, nothing to threaten me with...
Anyways, I quite enjoy Mysterious Island, the cast is great, the story kept me entertained, and the effects are well done.
In my humble opinion, I feel like this, Mighty Joe Young and The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms might be the best examples of appetizer films to show your friends to get them interested in Harryhausen's work before moving on to the good stuff.
Especially...
We go from one book adaptation to another, this time it's Jules Verne's 'The Mysterious Island' from 1874. An adaptation of the book had been in the works for some time at Columbia Pictures, and after seeing the success of 7th Voyage and 3 Worlds, as well as noticing how close in tone they were to each other, they decided Harryhausen and Schneer were their guys. Of course, some changes were to be made, such as the removal of certain characters, streamlining the story, and the inclusion of more creatures as obstacles for our survivors to overcome, compliments of Harryhausen.
3 union soldiers: Captain Harding, Neb and Herbert. (Michael Craig, Dan Jackson and Michael Callan) 1 war correspondent: Mr. Spilett (Gary Merrill) and 1 rebel guard: Pencroft (Percy Herbert). This should create some tension considering the story takes place during the actual American Civil War, but considering the situation they find themselves in, they get over the animosity pretty quick and actually manage to get along quite well.
Later they're joined by 2 women marooned on the island by the same storm, Lady Fairchild (Joan Greenwood) and her niece Elena (Beth Rogan.) Every one of these actors makes their characters very likable.
As the film goes on the survivors receive aid from an unseen source and eventually by the third act, that help is revealed to be Captain Nemo (Herbert Lom). That's right, THE Captain Nemo. Mysterious Island acts as a sequel to Jules Verne's previous story "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea." Originally, James Mason was considered for the role, which he previously played in Disney's 1954 film adaptation. But Mason's fee was too much for this production, so the role eventually went to Lom.
But just what is Nemo doing on this mysterious island? Trying to solve world hunger, by creating large versions of animals including a crab, honeybees and even a giant bird, which many people mistake as being a chicken. It's actually a prehistoric terror bird called a Phorusrhacos (FOR-us-Rah-kos)
Mostly.
The crab puppet was made using a real crab shell after it was put down and the meat inside was replaced with the metal armature. Some scale model pincers and a few close shots of live crabs help to sell the illusion.
You have nothing, nothing to threaten me with...
Anyways, I quite enjoy Mysterious Island, the cast is great, the story kept me entertained, and the effects are well done.
In my humble opinion, I feel like this, Mighty Joe Young and The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms might be the best examples of appetizer films to show your friends to get them interested in Harryhausen's work before moving on to the good stuff.
Especially...
JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS
June 13, 1963
June 13, 1963
Jason, the rightful heir to the throne of Thessaly seeks to reclaim his kingdom from a tyrannical ruler, to do so he must sail to a distant land and find the legendary Golden Fleece in the hope that it will inspire the people to rally to his cause.
Who doesn't love a good story about Greek mythology? Apparently not a younger Harryhausen. But as he got older he did gain an appreciation for them, the heroes, the adventures and the many fantastic creatures featured in them.
It took a bit for him and Schneer to figure out which story they would adapt before eventually landing on the legend of Jason's search for the golden fleece. Little did he know at the time, this film would become his most popular one.
Once again, this movie opens with a bang as Bernard Herrmann gives us another glorious score that gets you in the mood to go on a rousing adventure. This is probably his best work in a Harryhausen film and it would end up being their last collaboration. A fitting send off.
Our titular hero Jason is everything you want in one of these movies with his commanding voice and presence.
Who doesn't love a good story about Greek mythology? Apparently not a younger Harryhausen. But as he got older he did gain an appreciation for them, the heroes, the adventures and the many fantastic creatures featured in them.
It took a bit for him and Schneer to figure out which story they would adapt before eventually landing on the legend of Jason's search for the golden fleece. Little did he know at the time, this film would become his most popular one.
Once again, this movie opens with a bang as Bernard Herrmann gives us another glorious score that gets you in the mood to go on a rousing adventure. This is probably his best work in a Harryhausen film and it would end up being their last collaboration. A fitting send off.
But while Todd Armstrong played Jason, his voice was actually dubbed by a British actor named Tim Turner. Apparently, the executives at Columbia Pictures were worried that Todd's American accent would clash with the accents of the predominantly British cast. This was also done to Nancy Kovack who plays the priestess Medea.
The Argonauts themselves are made up of an ensemble cast of actors, among them is the one and only Hercules (Nigel Green), he may not have the build many of y'all are used to seeing from the character, but he's got the swagger.
Pelias (Douglas Wilmer) is a good villain we want to see defeated and King Aeetes (Jack Gwillim) is a great scenery chewing bad guy.
And of course what Greek myth would be complete without the Gods of Olympus? The main ones are Hera (Honor Blackman,) who aids Jason on his quest, and Zeus (Niall MacGinnis), who tends to play with mortal lives as if it were a literal chess game.
The rest of the stars of the show are Harryhausen's creations, and Jason and the Argonauts contains some of his most ambitious work to date.
One of the first obstacles our Argonauts have to face is the 80 meter (or 230 feet) bronze statue of Talos (the actual model was just over a foot tall.) Inspired by the Colossus of Rhodes, Harryhausen intentionally made his movements slow and lumbering, exactly how a bronze statue would move. Some critics oddly complained about this not realizing that was the point.
Some of the more complex sequences Harryhausen worked on involved the Harpies that torment a prophet named Phineus and the Hydra that guards the golden fleece.
The Harpies are flying creatures, and as such, animating them was no easy task
The Hydra had 7 heads to work with and if that wasn't enough to animate and keep track of, it also had twin tails and the model itself was about 3 feet long.
But somehow, someway, Harryhausen was able to take these complex beasts and make them look marvelous on screen.
But nothing Harryhausen has done will compare to the sequence that many including myself consider to be his magnum opus, the skeleton fight.
You thought Sinbad fighting one skeleton was impressive? Try Jason and 2 of his Argonauts fighting 7 at once. Like in 7th Voyage, the actors had to rehearse the scene with stuntmen standing in for the skeletons, then do it all again without them. As for Harryhausen, animating the skeletons was an undertaking worthy of any hero of myth, it took him almost 4 months to fully complete and even still, the most amount of work he would get in a single day equated to only a few seconds of footage. But it seems to have been worth it in the end as it was and still is, in my humble opinion, the greatest piece of stop motion animation ever put to film.
Actor Tom Hanks himself is quoted as saying: "Some people say Casablanca or Citizen Kane. I say Jason and the Argonauts is the greatest film ever made."
There's a lot to love about Jason and the Argonauts including the characters, the creatures, the wonderfully made sets and the score. But, if I had to give one nitpick about the movie, it would have to do with the ending, or lack thereof. After the skeleton fight is over, the story just stops. We don't get to see Jason return to Thessaly with the fleece and try to take back the kingdom from Pelias. It doesn't affect my overall enjoyment of the movie, I just wish there was more of it.
Apparently there are some continuations in comic book form, but I haven't read those and can't comment on them. I am interested though. But as it stands now, I love Jason and the Argonauts. I will say that it is not my number one favorite, but I will agree it is THE quintessential Harryhausen film.
FIRST MEN IN THE MOON
August 6, 1964
The Argonauts themselves are made up of an ensemble cast of actors, among them is the one and only Hercules (Nigel Green), he may not have the build many of y'all are used to seeing from the character, but he's got the swagger.
Pelias (Douglas Wilmer) is a good villain we want to see defeated and King Aeetes (Jack Gwillim) is a great scenery chewing bad guy.
One of the first obstacles our Argonauts have to face is the 80 meter (or 230 feet) bronze statue of Talos (the actual model was just over a foot tall.) Inspired by the Colossus of Rhodes, Harryhausen intentionally made his movements slow and lumbering, exactly how a bronze statue would move. Some critics oddly complained about this not realizing that was the point.
Some of the more complex sequences Harryhausen worked on involved the Harpies that torment a prophet named Phineus and the Hydra that guards the golden fleece.
The Harpies are flying creatures, and as such, animating them was no easy task
The Hydra had 7 heads to work with and if that wasn't enough to animate and keep track of, it also had twin tails and the model itself was about 3 feet long.
But somehow, someway, Harryhausen was able to take these complex beasts and make them look marvelous on screen.
You thought Sinbad fighting one skeleton was impressive? Try Jason and 2 of his Argonauts fighting 7 at once. Like in 7th Voyage, the actors had to rehearse the scene with stuntmen standing in for the skeletons, then do it all again without them. As for Harryhausen, animating the skeletons was an undertaking worthy of any hero of myth, it took him almost 4 months to fully complete and even still, the most amount of work he would get in a single day equated to only a few seconds of footage. But it seems to have been worth it in the end as it was and still is, in my humble opinion, the greatest piece of stop motion animation ever put to film.
There's a lot to love about Jason and the Argonauts including the characters, the creatures, the wonderfully made sets and the score. But, if I had to give one nitpick about the movie, it would have to do with the ending, or lack thereof. After the skeleton fight is over, the story just stops. We don't get to see Jason return to Thessaly with the fleece and try to take back the kingdom from Pelias. It doesn't affect my overall enjoyment of the movie, I just wish there was more of it.
Apparently there are some continuations in comic book form, but I haven't read those and can't comment on them. I am interested though. But as it stands now, I love Jason and the Argonauts. I will say that it is not my number one favorite, but I will agree it is THE quintessential Harryhausen film.
FIRST MEN IN THE MOON
August 6, 1964
Two men collaborate on a daring trip to reach the moon. But while they may be the first men to set foot on the surface, they soon find out that they are in fact, not alone...
You may remember that I previously mentioned that Harryhausen wanted to work on an adaptation of H.G. Wells' "The War of the Worlds" but never got the chance. He would try to adapt other Wells stories before finally settling on 1901's "The First Men in the Moon."
Never read it, yadda, yadda, you know the routine by now...
Unlike the 1953 film version of The War of the Worlds, First Men in the Moon isn't updated to a modern setting and given that it was being made just shy of the actual point in history where men would actually land on the moon, it really doesn't make sense to update it. There is however a clever framing device in which the UN sends their own rocket to the moon in 1964 (alternate timeline, just go with it) only to discover a faded Union Jack flag, evidence that they are in fact, not the first men on the moon. The only surviving main character is tracked down and the rest of the movie is a flashback to 1899 Victorian England.
Our main cast consist of only 3 principal characters. Arnold Bedford (Edward Judd), his fiancé Kate Callender (Martha Hyer) and their inventor neighbor Joseph Cavor (Lionel Jeffries.)
Cavor has invented a paste like substance he calls "Cavorite", anything Cavorite is applied to loses its gravity causing it to shoot up into the air. You can probably see where this is going. Being in debt, Bedford allows Cavor to rent out their cottage to continue his experiments, even enticing Bedford once he sees the potential of the Cavorite and the promise of rare elements once they reach the moon.
This is probably the funniest of the films Harryhausen has worked on. There's quite a bit of slapstick humor during the experiments with the Cavorite as well as the manufacturing of it that goes quite badly, much to Kate's annoyance.
Much of the science and "tech" in the movie may seem odd and questionable, but keep in mind, this is based on a story written in 1901, we didn't know then what we know now. Or as MST3K would say: Repeat to yourself "It's just a show, I should really just relax." That being said, I quite like the craft they use to get to the moon, a big metal sphere with rail car buffers on it acting as shock absorbers. It's a neat concept that works in a fantasy setting.
Once we do get to the moon, that's when the tone of the film shifts from humorous to a bit more serious. As it turns out, the moon is inhabited by anthropomorphic, ant-like beings called Selenites. The Selenites seem all too curious about their new visitors while both Bedford and Cavor have their own methods of how to handle the Selenites, and without spoiling things I'll just say it doesn't go great.
As far as effects work goes, I love the sets used for the surface and interior of the moon. Again, different from what we know now, but pretty close.
Much like Gulliver, there isn't a lot of stop motion featured here. The Selenites are mostly portrayed by child actors wearing costumes but we do get some shots of them using stop motion and unfortunately, the difference between the effects is painfully obvious. Sure, the suits look like something out of the early Star Trek episodes but at the same time, trying to animate dozens of them in one scene all at once and then match it to the actor's motions would've probably made Harryhausen faint. Perhaps the Selenites should've been strictly suit actors (despite Harryhausen's apparent dislike of the guy in a suit method) and the stop motion should've been saved for only the Mooncalf.
What's a Mooncalf you ask? It's a giant caterpillar that lives on the moon and acts as a food source for the Selenites. It only appears for one scene though, which is disappointing.
When I set out to collect every Harryhausen film on DVD, not only did I not know about this movie, but it was quite hard to find. I eventually did come across it in a box set of other Harryhausen films being sold for just a little over the price for what Amazon wanted for it at the time, so that was a big win for me. To be honest, I don't remember being so positive about my first ever viewing of this film. I watched it once and then never thought about it again.
I couldn't tell you what my mindset or mood was at the time that led me to do that, but that made me sort of dread the idea of watching it again for this retrospective. But here we are now and honestly, I found myself really enjoying First Men in the Moon. It's not a perfect movie and I definitely prefer some of Harryhausen's other works over it, but if taken for what it is, you too may find it to be a fun, out of this world adventure.
You may remember that I previously mentioned that Harryhausen wanted to work on an adaptation of H.G. Wells' "The War of the Worlds" but never got the chance. He would try to adapt other Wells stories before finally settling on 1901's "The First Men in the Moon."
Never read it, yadda, yadda, you know the routine by now...
Cavor has invented a paste like substance he calls "Cavorite", anything Cavorite is applied to loses its gravity causing it to shoot up into the air. You can probably see where this is going. Being in debt, Bedford allows Cavor to rent out their cottage to continue his experiments, even enticing Bedford once he sees the potential of the Cavorite and the promise of rare elements once they reach the moon.
This is probably the funniest of the films Harryhausen has worked on. There's quite a bit of slapstick humor during the experiments with the Cavorite as well as the manufacturing of it that goes quite badly, much to Kate's annoyance.
Much of the science and "tech" in the movie may seem odd and questionable, but keep in mind, this is based on a story written in 1901, we didn't know then what we know now. Or as MST3K would say: Repeat to yourself "It's just a show, I should really just relax." That being said, I quite like the craft they use to get to the moon, a big metal sphere with rail car buffers on it acting as shock absorbers. It's a neat concept that works in a fantasy setting.
Much like Gulliver, there isn't a lot of stop motion featured here. The Selenites are mostly portrayed by child actors wearing costumes but we do get some shots of them using stop motion and unfortunately, the difference between the effects is painfully obvious. Sure, the suits look like something out of the early Star Trek episodes but at the same time, trying to animate dozens of them in one scene all at once and then match it to the actor's motions would've probably made Harryhausen faint. Perhaps the Selenites should've been strictly suit actors (despite Harryhausen's apparent dislike of the guy in a suit method) and the stop motion should've been saved for only the Mooncalf.
What's a Mooncalf you ask? It's a giant caterpillar that lives on the moon and acts as a food source for the Selenites. It only appears for one scene though, which is disappointing.
When I set out to collect every Harryhausen film on DVD, not only did I not know about this movie, but it was quite hard to find. I eventually did come across it in a box set of other Harryhausen films being sold for just a little over the price for what Amazon wanted for it at the time, so that was a big win for me. To be honest, I don't remember being so positive about my first ever viewing of this film. I watched it once and then never thought about it again.
I couldn't tell you what my mindset or mood was at the time that led me to do that, but that made me sort of dread the idea of watching it again for this retrospective. But here we are now and honestly, I found myself really enjoying First Men in the Moon. It's not a perfect movie and I definitely prefer some of Harryhausen's other works over it, but if taken for what it is, you too may find it to be a fun, out of this world adventure.
Ranking:
We got some pretty big hits this go around. The only real loser here was The 3 Worlds of Gulliver, but again, not the worst film, just my least favorite.
We're in the home stretch now, my friends. Come back next time as we look at the final 5 films of Ray Harryhausen's illustrious career.
We're in the home stretch now, my friends. Come back next time as we look at the final 5 films of Ray Harryhausen's illustrious career.
Till next time, I have been your host Gryphon
and thank you for joining me here in my lair.
So long...
and thank you for joining me here in my lair.
So long...
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