Review of Gorgo (1961) by Jeffrey D — 09 Feb 2008

One of the greatest monster movies ever made, and original for its time as far as its story goes - matched by its authentic special effects (here the reptilian and humanoid features are blended seamlessly), solid acting, fast-paced direction and thundering score.

After he sparked the Atomic Age era of creature features with THE BEAST FROM 20000 FATHOMS (which also launched the careers of writer Ray Bradbury, stop-motion animator Ray Harryhausen and thousands of superb follow-ups like GODZILLA and THEM!), director Eugene Lourie decided to make a film where the monster lived in the end (in response to his daughter weeping to the dinosaur's death in BEAST).

A 65-foot dinosaur, freed from volcanic eruptions off the coast of Ireland, attacks nearby sea villages until salvage vessel divers capture and deliver it to London for public exhibition in the circus.

However, it's discovered too late that this creature is in fact an infant, and its 200' parent comes to rescue it, reducing London to fire and chaos in doing so (a theme Steven Spielberg ripped off in THE LOST WORLD: JURASSIC PARK - and he apparently ripped off Gorgo's roaring sound effect for the T-Rex roar in JURASSIC PARK, as well as a music piece to Gorgo destroying Big Ben that became the "shark machine" theme heard in JAWS).

A classic, not to be missed, even by creature-feature non-devotees.