1 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/king_dinosaur.JPG]] |
2 | |
3 | ->'''Ralph:''' Well, we did it.\ |
4 | '''Richard:''' Yeah, we did it... we brought [[StuffBlowingUp civilization]] to Planet Nova. |
5 | |
6 | ''King Dinosaur'' is a 1955 ScienceFiction BMovie produced and directed by quickie king Creator/BertIGordon for Creator/LippertPictures. The film was shot over seven days in [[BronsonCanyonAndCaves Bronson Canyon]], Griffith Park and the Benedict Canyon area. The story is predicated on the notion that a new solar system has set up shop "a half-year's rocket flight away" from our own. A group of intrepid scientists turned space travelers -- zoogeographer Richard Gordon (Douglas Henderson), mineralogist Nora Pierce (Patti Gallagher), physician Ralph Martin (Bill Bryant) and chemist Patricia Bennett (Wanda Curtis) -- blast off (via stock footage of Germany's V-2 rocket) to explore the earth's new neighbors. |
7 | |
8 | Upon landing on one of the planets (actually the mountains surrounding UsefulNotes/LosAngeles) the scientists confront all manner of outsized reptiles (courtesy of clips from ''Film/OneMillionBC''). When the planet's "dinosaurs" threaten our heroes, the huge lizards are dissipated by an atomic-bomb blast (more library footage). Having made the planet safe for colonization (?), the space travelers return to Earth. |
9 | |
10 | For the ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'' episode see [[Recap/MysteryScienceTheater3000S02E10KingDinosaur here]]. |
11 | |
12 | !!King Troposaur: |
13 | * AllPlanetsAreEarthLike: The only apparent difference is the bacteria. |
14 | * ArtisticLicenseBiology: The "giant bee" is actually an Orthoptera, probably a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerusalem_cricket Jerusalem cricket]]. |
15 | * ArtisticLicensePaleontology: Dick notes that the giant iguana is identical to the ''Tyrannosaurus rex''. Um... no?[[note]]'''Servo:''' ''(firmly)'' That's an iguana from Pet World.[[/note]] He also claims that ''T. rex'' lived 125 million years ago, which is almost 60 million years too early. |
16 | * BeeAfraid: Especially giant, superimposed bees. |
17 | * ChekhovsGun: The atomic battery. Its description in the introductory stock footage (including conspicuous mention of its explosive potential) all but screams at the audience "Remember This For Later!" |
18 | * ClothingDamage: Both Ralph and Nora get some of this in separate animal attacks; but Dick tops everyone when he has to [[ShirtlessScene tear his entire shirt off]] to make a tourniquet. |
19 | * DeusExNukina: The atomic battery is used as a bomb in order to escape the giant lizards in the climax (see page quote). |
20 | * HardWorkMontage: Ralph and Pat testing the atmosphere of Planet Nova. |
21 | * ItsAllMyFault: Ralph's near death-by-gator comes as a side result of his and Pat's sneaking off to snog in the night. Pat is so distraught by this that she is [[NeutralFemale unable to help patch him up afterward]]. |
22 | * {{Jerkass}}: [[MeaningfulName Dick]] spends a lot of time pushing the women around -- literally. [[Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000 The 'bots]] call him out for this. |
23 | * [[StuffBlowingUp Lizards Blowing Up]] |
24 | * MightyWhitey: It's a TheFifties sci-fi BMovie, so it's fairly inevitable. |
25 | * NeutralFemale: Invoked and enforced by Dick; when the ladies volunteer to share night watch duties, he quickly shoots the idea down. |
26 | * OmnidisciplinaryScientist: Not so much for their respective scientific fields per se (although the zoologist does a good job doctoring up the doctor), but rather the mission as a whole; note the rocket's complete and total lack of '''astronauts.''' |
27 | * PseudoCrisis: Several: |
28 | ** Ralph is attacked early on by an alligator and injured badly; however, he's pretty much fully recovered within a few scenes (two days' time, in-story). After that, his weakened state becomes essentially an InformedFlaw. |
29 | ** The giant bee; they simply shoot it dead, although it did take a lot of shots. |
30 | ** At one point, a snake slides and shimmies across a sleeping Ralph's body while Dick looks on helplessly. After a minute, the snake gets bored and departs of its own volition. |
31 | * ReptilesAreAbhorrent: And not just the giant ones; Pat very nearly has a complete meltdown when a snake gets fresh. [[note]]To be completely fair, of course, lots of folk have strong snake phobias.[[/note]] |
32 | * ScreamingWoman: For cryin' out loud, Pat! |
33 | * ShirtlessScene: Dick needed to wrap a wound. |
34 | * StockFootage: |
35 | ** Not unlike ''Film/TheDeadlyMantis'' (which would feature in [[Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000 MST3K]] some years later), ''King Dinosaur'' opens with about ten minutes of stock footage. Unlike the latter, however, here the stock footage is actually relevant to the story at hand -- it details construction of the rocket that will take the scientists to Planet Nova. The opening also includes a callout to the [[ChekhovsGun atomic battery]] and its explosive potential. |
36 | ** The giant bee is clearly taken from another film, seeing as it never appears in the same shot as the characters. |
37 | * ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill: In order to outrun a giant iguana, the scientists... plant an atom bomb. Makes sense. |
38 | * TitleDrop: When comparing the giant iguana to Tyrannosaurus Rex, Dick appends the appellation "King Dinosaur!" |
39 | * UnusuallyUninterestingSight: One of the scientists cheerfully says that she doubts they'll see any race of super beings -- just after they'd been attacked ''by a bee the size of a car''. FacePalm. |
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