When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth (1970) Roaring Radio Spots!

The beautifully detailed mother dinosaur given life by Jim Danforth. Model in front of a Ray Caple glass painting with rear-projected image of Victoria Vetri and egg shells skillfully blended through careful painting and lighting. The image is projected on a translucent screen located about one foot behind the glass painting which is located behind the model on the animation table. Through creative focusing and the body language and eye lines of the model, the image appears in front. A split screen adds in the foreground. Movie Magic at its finest!

Move over, Ray Harryhausen…there’s a new kid on the block!

I remember it was back in 1971 when a bunch of us went to the movies and saw the newest dinosaur feature. When we came out, we were dumbstruck and nobody spoke. Finally, my brother, Ambrose, said, “I can’t believe what we just saw. I never thought I’d see dinosaurs that realistic that weren’t animated by Ray Harryhausen.”

We finally came out of our stupor and began to discuss what we had just seen: intricate blue-screen composite shots; the most realistic dinosaurs we had seen in a long time; flawless split-screen Dynamation-type scenes, and the most realistically animated mother dinosaur. The movie? When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth.

Many discussions about the movie followed for the next few days. We even went to see it again to be sure we weren’t just over-imagining things. No, our initial impressions were correct. Whoever was in charge of the special effects had done a fantastic job, and it wasn’t until later we learned all about Jim Danforth.

Jim Danforth poses with the model Plesiosaur.

Jim Danforth had gotten his start as a member of Project Unlimited and had worked on George Pal’s The Time Machine. He had later achieved recognition for his animation of the Loch Ness Monster in The Seven Faces of Dr. Lao, even receiving an Academy Award nomination. Now, he was tapped to helm the effects for Hammer’s sequel to One Million Years B.C., since Ray Harryhausen was tied up with The Valley of Gwangi. Jim came to the production late, and found he had to revise many of the background shots that had already been filmed to accommodate his techniques. This meant having to create many glass paintings to flesh out the images. When things got hectic and time became short, Jim called on Ray Caple and others to assist with the paintings, and he asked friend David Allen to assist with the animation, bringing the Chasmosaur and giant crabs to life. Fortunately, Roger Dicken of Hammer’s Bray Studio, handled the model making, and they were superb.

Model maker and special effects technician Roger Dicken and Jim Danforth pose with the model Rhamphorhynchus.

The attention to detail that Danforth brought to the production is obvious in the special effects shots. Using an improved rear projection screen, the composite shots with the animation models showed an increased brightness and finer grain presentation. The beach sequence with the captured (temporarily!) Plesiosaur is outstanding in its complexity. Danforth improved on the lighting balance between the model and screen which added an enhanced sense of depth and realism. That sequence is probably the showstopper of the entire movie.

But the thing that impressed us most about the movie was the excellent stop motion work Danforth was able to achieve with the models, especially the emotion he was able to impart to his mother dinosaur in the sequences of her interaction with her unusual “newborn”, actress Victoria Vetri. I remember reading in an old magazine interview years ago where Jim was saying he often had to get down on his hands and knees in the living room and act out the part of the dinosaur so he could get a feel for the movements he would have to impart to his model, adding, “My wife thinks I’m nuts.”

The highly detailed Chasmosaur model animated by David Allen. Live action, model and glass paintings filmed in an animated tracking shot.

We talked about the movie for days on end, realizing we had seen something special, an advancement in stop motion composite effects. We discussed things almost in whispers, as if we were being blasphemous to the god of stop motion, Ray Harryhausen. But there was no denying it. The effects and models were better, enough so to warrant Jim’s second Academy Award nomination.

Later on, in 1981, we were delighted to learn that Ray Harryhausen himself asked Jim to help him when he got behind on Clash of the Titans. Jim did some of the Kraken sequence and most of the Pegasus animation. All was well.

Overall, When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth was good, and was even somewhat easy to follow despite the use of the “caveman” language. The women were gorgeous, the photography and landscapes effective, and the dinosaur sequences above par. For special effects fans, each scene was a technical marvel, showing just how great a scene could be when all creative ideas were thrown into the mix.

So now, straight from Cousin Estil’s footlocker, I invite you join me as we travel back in time and listen to three radio spots highlighting the days When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth!