The Beast of Hollow Mountain
Encyclopedia
The Beast of Hollow Mountain is a 1956 scifi/horror western
about an American
cowboy
living in Mexico
who discovers his missing cattle
are being preyed upon by an Allosaurus
. The Allosaurus would later attack local villagers in a town.
The first film to show dinosaurs and cowboys in the same picture it is notable for being based on a story idea by special effects innovator Willis O'Brien
. It used a form of stop motion
called replacement animation to bring the dinosaur to life. O'Brien co wrote the script under the pseudonym
El Toro Estrella, O'Brien was also to have originally done the special effects for this movie but this did not happen for reasons unknown.
story idea that inspired the basis for his script for this film also inspired his earlier unmade script "The Valley of the Mist" which would later be made as The Valley of Gwangi
by O'Brien's protégé Ray Harryhausen
.
While the bulk of the stop motion
work was done with replacement animation the close ups of the dinosaur were filmed using an articulated puppet.
This was the first film with stop motion effects shot in Wide Screen and color.
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
about an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
cowboy
Cowboy
A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the vaquero traditions of northern Mexico and became a figure of...
living in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
who discovers his missing cattle
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
are being preyed upon by an Allosaurus
Allosaurus
Allosaurus is a genus of large theropod dinosaur that lived 155 to 150 million years ago during the late Jurassic period . The name Allosaurus means "different lizard". It is derived from the Greek /allos and /sauros...
. The Allosaurus would later attack local villagers in a town.
The first film to show dinosaurs and cowboys in the same picture it is notable for being based on a story idea by special effects innovator Willis O'Brien
Willis O'Brien
Willis Harold O'Brien was an Irish American pioneering motion picture special effects artist who perfected and specialized in stop-motion animation. He was affectionately known to his family and close friends as "Obie"....
. It used a form of stop motion
Stop motion
Stop motion is an animation technique to make a physically manipulated object appear to move on its own. The object is moved in small increments between individually photographed frames, creating the illusion of movement when the series of frames is played as a continuous sequence...
called replacement animation to bring the dinosaur to life. O'Brien co wrote the script under the pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
El Toro Estrella, O'Brien was also to have originally done the special effects for this movie but this did not happen for reasons unknown.
Production
The Willis O'BrienWillis O'Brien
Willis Harold O'Brien was an Irish American pioneering motion picture special effects artist who perfected and specialized in stop-motion animation. He was affectionately known to his family and close friends as "Obie"....
story idea that inspired the basis for his script for this film also inspired his earlier unmade script "The Valley of the Mist" which would later be made as The Valley of Gwangi
The Valley of Gwangi
The Valley of Gwangi is a 1969 American western-fantasy film directed by Jim O'Connolly and written by William Bast. The film is also known as Gwangi, The Lost Valley, The Valley Time Forgot, and The Valley Where Time Stood Still...
by O'Brien's protégé Ray Harryhausen
Ray Harryhausen
Ray Harryhausen is an American film producer and special effects creator...
.
While the bulk of the stop motion
Stop motion
Stop motion is an animation technique to make a physically manipulated object appear to move on its own. The object is moved in small increments between individually photographed frames, creating the illusion of movement when the series of frames is played as a continuous sequence...
work was done with replacement animation the close ups of the dinosaur were filmed using an articulated puppet.
This was the first film with stop motion effects shot in Wide Screen and color.