''Valley of the Dragons'' (UK title: ''Prehistoric Valley'') is a black and white 1961 American

science fiction film Science fiction (or sci-fi) is a film genre that uses Speculative fiction, speculative, fictional science-based depictions of phenomena that are not fully accepted by mainstream science, such as Extraterrestrial life in fiction, extraterrestria ...

loosely based on

Jules Verne Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the ''Voyages extraor ...

's '' Off on a Comet'' and heavily dependent on stock footage from the movies '' One Million B.C.'', ''

King Dinosaur ''King Dinosaur'' is a 1955 American science fiction film starring William Bryant and Wanda Curtis with narration by Marvin Miller. It was co-written, produced, and directed by Bert I. Gordon, in his directorial debut. The film was featured on ...

'', '' Cat-Women of the Moon'' and ''

Rodan is a fictional monster, or ''kaiju'', which first appeared as the title character in Ishirō Honda's 1956 film of the same name, produced and distributed by Toho. Following its debut standalone appearance, Rodan went on to be featured in numer ...

''. Director Edward Bernds says the film was built around stock footage from ''One Million B.C.''

Plot

Two men preparing for a

duel A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people with matched weapons. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the rapier and later the small sword), but beginning in ...

in 1881

Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...

, Irishman Michael Denning and Frenchman Hector Servadac, are swept from the face of the Earth by a passing

comet A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that warms and begins to release gases when passing close to the Sun, a process called outgassing. This produces an extended, gravitationally unbound atmosphere or Coma (cometary), coma surrounding ...

and find themselves on another world with

cavemen The caveman is a stock character representative of primitive humans in the Paleolithic. The popularization of the type dates to the early 20th century, when Neanderthals were influentially described as "simian" or "ape-like" by Marcellin Boul ...

and prehistoric animals. They try to find a way back to Earth. The men have encounters with giant reptiles and spiders before being separated after an attack from an angry

mammoth A mammoth is any species of the extinct elephantid genus ''Mammuthus.'' They lived from the late Miocene epoch (from around 6.2 million years ago) into the Holocene until about 4,000 years ago, with mammoth species at various times inhabi ...

. Servadac finds refuge with the River People and falls for a beautiful blonde, Deena. Denning falls in with the Cave People, where he falls in love with brunette Nateeta. The two men are reunited rescuing the Cave People from attacking

dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic Geological period, period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the #Evolutio ...

s with an

avalanche An avalanche is a rapid flow of snow down a Grade (slope), slope, such as a hill or mountain. Avalanches can be triggered spontaneously, by factors such as increased precipitation or snowpack weakening, or by external means such as humans, othe ...

. They persuade the River People and Cave People to stop fighting and settle down with their respective women. They vow to try and get on the Earth the next time the comet approaches in seven years.

Cast

Cesare Danova Cesare Danova (March 1, 1926 – March 19, 1992) was an Italian television and screen actor. He was best known for his roles in '' The Captain's Daughter'' (1947), ''Viva Las Vegas'' (1964), '' Chamber of Horrors'' (1966), ''Mean Streets'' (1973 ...

as Hector Servadac *

Sean McClory Séan Joseph McClory (8 March 1924 – 10 December 2003) was an Irish actor whose career spanned six decades and included well over 100 films and television series. He was sometimes billed as Shawn McGlory or Sean McGlory. Early years Mc ...

as Denning *

Joan Staley Joan Staley (born Joan Lynette McConchie; May 20, 1940 – November 24, 2019) was an American actress and model. Early life Staley was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the daughter of James and Jean McConchie. Her father was a minister, and ...

as Deena *

Danielle De Metz Danielle De Metz (born 27 July 1938) is a French actress who appeared in movies and television during the 1960s and early 1970s. Career Movie columnist Louella Parsons reported that film director Jean Negulesco met De Metz when he was in Paris, ...

as Nateeta * Gregg Martell as Od-Loo *

Gil Perkins Gilbert Vincent Perkins (24 August 1907 – 28 March 1999) was an Australian film and television actor. Early life As a teenager, Perkins was a trackman and an athlete. He ran away from home at a young age and joined the crew of a Norw ...

as Tarn/doctor * I. Stanford Jolley as Patoo *Michael Lane as Anoka * Roger Til as Vidal *Mark Dempsey as Andrews *Jerry Sunshine as Leclerc *Dolly Gray as Mara *

Jack Elam William Scott "Jack" Elam (November 13, 1920 – October 20, 2003) was an American film and television actor best known for his numerous roles as villains in Western films and, later in his career, comedies (sometimes spoofing his villaino ...

as head caveman (uncredited)

Prehistoric Creatures featured

* ''

Dimetrodon ''Dimetrodon'' ( or ; ) is an extinct genus of sphenacodontid synapsid that lived during the Cisuralian (Early Permian) Epoch (geology), epoch of the Permian period, around 295–272 million years ago. With most species measuring long and ...

'' (live-acted by an

alligator An alligator, or colloquially gator, is a large reptile in the genus ''Alligator'' of the Family (biology), family Alligatoridae in the Order (biology), order Crocodilia. The two Extant taxon, extant species are the American alligator (''A. mis ...

with an attached spine sail) * ''

Doedicurus ''Doedicurus'', from Ancient Greek δοῖδυξ (''doîdux''), meaning "pestle" and oυρά (''ourá''), meaning "tail", is an extinct genus of glyptodont from South America containing one species, ''D. clavicaudatus''. Glyptodonts are a member ...

'' (live-acted by the

Nine-banded armadillo The nine-banded armadillo (''Dasypus novemcinctus''), also called the nine-banded long-nosed armadillo or common long-nosed armadillo, is a species of armadillo native to North America, North, Central America, Central, and South America, making ...

) * Giant man-sized Spider * ''

Megistotherium ''Megistotherium'' is an extinct genus of hyaenodont belonging to the family Hyainailouridae that lived in Africa and possibly Asia as well. It first appeared in Early Miocene to late Middle Miocene from 22.5 to 12.0 million years ago, existing ...

'' (live-acted by a

white-nosed coati The white-nosed coati (''Nasua narica''), also known as the coatimundi (), is a species of coati and a member of the family Procyonidae (raccoons and their relatives). Local Spanish names for the species include ''antoon'', ''gato solo'', ''pi ...

) *

Monitor lizard Monitor lizards are lizards in the genus ''Varanus,'' the only extant genus in the family Varanidae. They are native to Africa, Asia, and Oceania, and West African Nile monitor, one species is also found in south America as an invasive species. A ...

, possibly the Australian " Devil Dragon" * ''

Pterodactylus ''Pterodactylus'' (from ) is a genus of extinct pterosaurs. It is thought to contain only a single species, ''Pterodactylus antiquus'', which was the first pterosaur to be named and identified as a flying reptile and one of the first prehis ...

'' (stock footage of the giant, flying monster,

, from the movie "

") * ''

Tyrannosaurus Rex ''Tyrannosaurus'' () is a genus of large theropoda, theropod dinosaur. The type species ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' ( meaning 'king' in Latin), often shortened to ''T. rex'' or colloquially t-rex, is one of the best represented theropods. It live ...

'', portrayed by a

Blue iguana The blue iguana (''Cyclura lewisi)'', also known commonly as the Grand Cayman ground iguana, the Grand Cayman blue iguana, and the Cayman Island rock iguana, is an endangered species of lizard in the family Iguanidae. The species is endemic to ...

* ''

Woolly mammoth The woolly mammoth (''Mammuthus primigenius'') is an extinct species of mammoth that lived from the Middle Pleistocene until its extinction in the Holocene epoch. It was one of the last in a line of mammoth species, beginning with the African ...

s'' In the movie, called ''

Mastodon A mastodon, from Ancient Greek μαστός (''mastós''), meaning "breast", and ὀδούς (''odoús'') "tooth", is a member of the genus ''Mammut'' (German for 'mammoth'), which was endemic to North America and lived from the late Miocene to ...

s'' (live-acted by customized

Asian elephant The Asian elephant (''Elephas maximus''), also known as the Asiatic elephant, is the only living ''Elephas'' species. It is the largest living land animal in Asia and the second largest living Elephantidae, elephantid in the world. It is char ...

Production

The film was produced by Al Zimbalist who says he was given a copy of the Verne novel that his 16 year old son Don had found in a London bookshop.By MURRAY SCHUMACH Special to The New York Times. (1961, Feb 03)
"HOLLYWOOD MINES THE GOLD IN VERNE"
''New York Times'' Director Edward Bernds says the novel had not been published in the US due to its

antisemitism Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

. Jules Verne adaptations were in vogue at the time ever since the success of ''Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea'' and ''Around the World in 80 Days''. Zimbalist had the rights to footage for '' One Million B.C.'' (1940). Zimbalist and his partner Bryan Roberts formed a company to adapt the novel. "Jules Verne is a bigger name than

Marlon Brando Marlon Brando Jr. (April 3, 1924 – July 1, 2004) was an American actor. Widely regarded as one of the greatest cinema actors of the 20th century,''Movies in American History: An Encyclopedia''

," said Zimbalist. "Maybe bigger. Verne has never had a flop. And there is no limit to how much money you can make with Verne. Look at ''

Around the World in 80 Days ''Around the World in Eighty Days'' () is an adventure novel by the French writer Jules Verne, first published in French in 1872. In the story, Phileas Fogg of London and his newly employed French valet Passepartout attempt to circumnavigate ...

''. Fantastic. Verne is for any size budget. If you want to spend millions, like

Mike Todd Michael Todd (born Avrom Hirsch Goldbogen; June 22, 1907 – March 22, 1958) was an American theater and film producer, celebrated for his 1956 ''Around the World in 80 Days (1956 film), Around the World in 80 Days'', which won an Academy ...

, you can spend. If you want to spend less than a million, like me, that's okay, too. With Verne you don't have to have a

Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe ( ; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; June 1, 1926 August 4, 1962) was an American actress and model. Known for playing comic "Blonde stereotype#Blonde bombshell, blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex ...

." "Verne is the purest kind of escapist," said Zimbalist, adding that "whatever you say about his imagination and his genius, he just did not have a good storyline." Bernds wrote a ten-page treatment, which Zimbalist took to Columbia Pictures to obtain finance. Bernds then wrote the script. He said the only contribution Al Zimbalist's son Don made to the film was finding the original novel in the bookshop; Don Zimbalist gets a "story by" credit but Bernds says this was only because his father asked for it. It was shot in "Living Monstascope" on the Columbia backlot.Scheuer, P. K. (1961, Jan 23)
"Marshall reported a 'miracle' find"
''Los Angeles Times'' Bernds says making the film at Columbia was inefficient because the movie had to absorb studio overhead and he would have gotten greater production value for the budget if the film had been made outside. He says Columbia executives had a clause where if the film went over budget, Zimbalist and Roberts would forfeit their fees. However he says he was saved by the fact that Zimbalist ensured the amount of company overhead was fixed, and that the filmmakers could use a left over jungle set from Columbia's ''

The Devil at 4 O'Clock ''The Devil at 4 O'Clock'' is a 1961 American adventure film directed by Mervyn LeRoy and starring Spencer Tracy and Frank Sinatra. Based on a 1958 novel with the same title by British writer Max Catto, the film was a precursor to '' Krakat ...

'' (1961) that cost half a million to make; the entire film was shot on that set. The movie was completed on budget. Bernds re-used a spider from his earlier film '' World Without End'' (1956).

Reception

Bernds says the film was financially successful and had a long run on television. Bernds believed that, in residual cheques for television showings over the years, ''Valley of the Dragons'' gave him more income than his script work on the Elvis Presley picture ''

Tickle Me ''Tickle Me'' is a 1965 American musical comedy Western (genre), western film directed by Norman Taurog and starring Elvis Presley as a champion rodeo bull rider and bronco buster. Presley won a 1966 Golden Laurel Award as best male actor in ...

''.

References

External links

Valley of the Dragons
at

Internet Movie Database IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...

IMDb.
Valley of the Dragons
at

TCM Movie Database Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie-oriented pay-TV network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasting campus in the Midtown business district of ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Valley of the Dragons 1961 films American science fiction films Films based on French novels Films based on works by Jules Verne Films directed by Edward Bernds Films set in the 19th century Films set in Algiers American historical films 1960s historical films Comets in film Films about extraterrestrial life Columbia Pictures films 1960s science fiction films Avalanches in film Giant monster films Films about cavemen Films about dinosaurs 1960s English-language films 1960s American films English-language science fiction films English-language historical films