The Last Dinosaur (1977) Review

You wouldn’t expect the studio behind Rudolph and Frosty the Snowman to put out a live action monster movie, but that’s exactly what Rankin/Bass Productions did in 1977. Supposedly aimed at older kids, this movie is a great deal more adult in its themes than expected. Ostensibly about a big game hunter getting a chance to hunt a dinosaur, the story is really about being a relic in a changing modern world.

Rankin/Bass Productions had a long running association with Japanese studios with both their animated and stop motion children’s specials being produced in the land of the rising sun. But that wasn’t the only kind of content made for the American producers. In the late 1960s, King Kong Escapes was made as a live action joint production taking advantage of the cheaper suit acting for giant monsters pioneered in Gojira.

In fact, The Last Dinosaur has a direct connection to that classic movie through the special effects studio founded by Eiji Tsuburaya, creator of the effects of the early Godzilla series and television’s Ultraman. Providing all the miniatures and dinosaurs, their work imbues the movie with the kaiju spirit.

The film opens with a dark room with a home movie comprised of big game hunting footage being shown over a fireplace. Hints of shag rug complete the impression of a 1970s make out den and sure enough when the lights come on it’s there. You will not mistake the setting for another time period, that’s for sure.

A pretty brunette in a pink blouse appears to be the trophy girlfriend of the much older and wealthy owner of the residence. He paws her for a bit before handing her his photo scrapbook to peruse while he goes to check on what the guys up front are doing. A quick pullback reveals that this is a room on a plane, which is very impressive.

Then we find out it is actually a model plane from the external shot. Okay, being just a little snarky there, but sometimes the Japanese use of models to just use models doesn’t look too great and this is one of those occasions.

The credits roll while the young woman leafs through the life of our main character, Masten Thrust, Jr. That name is also a giveaway of which decade this was made in, come to think of it. Played by Richard Boone of Have Gun, Will Travel fame, Masten is a man’s man according to the clever device used to show his backstory. Every page shows a part of his life through photos and newspaper clippings. Even his personality shows via the short and humorous comments on each page.

Just to make sure you understand that Masten is the title character, Nancy Wilson (not of Heart) belts out a very Shirley Bassey like ode to the owner of Thrust Industries. How do we know the company name? It’s hard to miss on the model airliner.

This is all kitschy fun, but unnecessary thanks to the actions of the billionaire once they land in Japan. Handing a plane ticket home to the doxy and a golden cartridge, Masten dismisses the floozy of the moment while failing to remember where he picked her up. Then when he meets a blond reporter named Francesca Banks (Joan Van Ark), the man blows her off thinking she’s another bimbo wanting a hookup. Well, she does, but not the kind he’s thinking of.

It is clear that women’s liberation was a movement he didn’t notice happened or more likely didn’t care about. Temperamental and impatient, the man only focuses on what he’s after and for the moment it isn’t a blond. No, he’s after something else entirely.

Now it wouldn’t be a proper B-movie without some “SCIENCE!” in it. Arcing electricity has always been a cheap out for some special effects, so we are presented with a serious looking man staring at fluctuating blue current. Chuck Wade (Steven Keats) is the lone survivor of a oil exploration expedition in the Artic and just wait until you see him emote. Also entering the picture is Dr. Kawamoto (Tetsu Nakamura), an old friend of Masten’s and so far the only person he’s shown any respect to.

What follows is possibly my favorite press conference depicted in a motion picture. I won’t spoil it, other than to say it made of manliness and dinosaur hunting. Oh, correction, dinosaur spotting. It appears that there may be a PC side to Masten after all.

Yeah, right. Would you trust a noted big game hunter only taking photos after he introduces a Masai tracker named Bunta (Luther Rackley)? Yes, he has the best intentions, obviously. So the big game hunting scientific research party is formed with Masten, Bunta, Chuck, Dr. Kawamoto, and a media representative to be named later constituting its members.

Much to Thrust’s ire, Banks is the one the media picked to go. He’s never taken a woman on safari and isn’t about to change his ways. One amusingly ridiculous seduction later and she’s on the team. Never underestimate the power of a blond bimbo – even if she is a liberated bimbo.

Once thankfully freed from that “romantic” interlude, the movie starts getting down to business. That means miniature models, of course. I have to say the work done on the effects varied in quality quite a bit. The model airliners and drilling platform were not very convincing.

Yet some of the miniatures looked pretty good and the first hint of that was the introduction of the Polar-Borer. Their ride to the undiscovered country looks pretty good in the launch bay, I have to say. Meanwhile, the control room appears to have been recycled from one of Toho’s many science fiction films or perhaps Ultraman. Even for the mid-70s it is pretty quaint.

Nothing said advanced like a laser did back then. Therefore the borer does not just have a drill in front, but a laser drill. Even if it seems silly now, that added cred to the movie for us scifi kids. Today, I forgive it because it gave us one of the prettier effects shots in the movie.

Before I abandon the subject of the Polar-Borer, it must be pointed out how the interior set, model, and full scale prop all appear to be different dimensions. And by different, I mean Stonehenge set from This is Spinal Tap different…

Okay, enough with the boring stuff. Once the group emerges inside the volcanic lake we finally get to what kids of all ages were waiting for: dinosaurs! I think that’s supposed to be pteranadon flying over the lake, but hey I didn’t expect accuracy even when I saw this as an seven year old.

As usual for this kind of story, the first encounter doesn’t go well. This leads to tension between Masten and an obviously jealous Wade. The younger scientist seems to have fallen in love at first site with photographer Frankie, as she’s now called. He also is more than a little on edge since he was the only survivor from the previous expedition. Funny how many movies use the sole survivor character in order to generate conflict.

Once the initial round of shouting is done with, the group decides to do what they came here for – look for a tyrannosaurus rex. Along the way a mishap demonstrates why every expedition should watch where they step which then leads to some highly improper hugging of Frankie by Chuck. While Masten may be awfully old for the photographer, Wade comes off like one of the creepier guys that hung out in singles’ bars back in the disco era.

There will be consequences, you can tell. In fact, an immediate one is the arrival of local cavemen. Played by Japanese actors, they have an amazing amount of fake hair glued to their chests and arms. The dirty primitives are not pretty, to say the least.

Well, except one very pretty cavegirl. She shows signs of some intelligence and the camera lingers on her in a meaningful way. No, it isn’t ogling her, so she must be important to the plot.

I have to say I really enjoyed the first appearance of the tyrannosaurus rex. How it occurs is both humorous and menacing in equal parts. I thought it might be just a happy accident of writing or directing, but it turns out to set the tone for the rest of the film. In something of an easter egg, sometimes the monster sounds like a much more famous radioactive lizard prone to stomping Tokyo.

When the hunting instincts of Bunta and Masten kick in, things begin to go wrong for the group. They are going to need something more than a spear and hunting rifle to deal with the prehistoric beast. Wait, weren’t they supposed to be studying it?

Yep, Wade promptly starts ranting at his boss about it and receives a blisteringly funny reply due to restricting the language for the target audience. “You DING DONG! We were about to get killed back there!” shouts Masten in an unforgettable reply. What makes it great is that Boone delivers it in a believable fury.

Things are about to go from bad to worse, but first a nature film. In an actually impressive scene, we are shown the massive predator drinking from a stream and taking advantage of a fish swimming by. Honestly, this was something straight out of the brilliant Walking with Dinosaurs, but done with a man in a rubber suit rather than CGI. It is the beginning of following the dinosaur for awhile and leaving the main characters behind.

Of course our new lead takes the time to dispose of one of the main characters and as usual, the scientist bites it early. At least he seemed happy to have found some strange mushrooms before his unfortunate demise. Hey, it was the 1970s after all.

Focusing on the tyrannosaurus rex for an extended period changes the atmosphere of the movie considerably. Part of this is due to the directing chores being handed off from Alex Grasshoff to Tom Kotoni for the suit acting scenes. Now we are in the world of the dinosaurs without humans and get a feeling for what their brutal lives are like. Nice touches include the tyrannosaurus messing with the Polar-Borer, the bone yard that is his lair, and a classic battle with a triceratops.

It all comes off as strangely authentic and rather engrossing. That may sound ridiculous, but the movie does something very rare in B-movies – it gets better as it goes on.

Eventually the humans return to the picture when the four main characters find their way back to a devastated camp. Masten is horrified that a creature with a brain the size of a pea has killed one of the greatest minds of the century. He seems genuinely bereaved by the death of Dr. Kawamoto and vows revenge. Like he needs an excuse to kill the dinosaur.

The others would rather just leave, but with the Polar-Borer now missing they are trapped in a hostile world. That realization of their situation produces one of the better shots in the movie, which is a moody look at the mist rising in the lake while the camera slowly pulls back to show just how small the humans are.

With no weapons, shelter, or hope of rescue they are going to have to survive against the king of the dinosaurs. Now the story really begins.

Thoughts

The Last Dinosaur made a profound impression upon my seven year old mind when it was shown on television in early 1977. Being a fan of films like The People that Time Forgot and At the Earth’s Core not to mention the Godzilla series, I had expected a silly diversion. What I got was something that started out like that, yet had a hidden undercurrent of social commentary that was quite topical for the time.

Yeah, I was a weird kid, but Masten fascinated me as did the efforts to survive that filled the third act. I never did see the movie again after that first airing, but thanks to a post at a great blog about Seventies science fiction and fantasy called Space: 1970 I found out that a made to order DVD was available from Warner Archives. So twenty five years after seeing it I had the movie in my possession.

It is always an interesting experience to watch something many years later, especially if it is from your childhood. Fully expecting this to be disappointing, but determined to add it to my collection in a fit of nostalgic irrationality, it turned out to be a pleasant surprise.

While it could never be accused of being great cinema for a wide variety of reasons, it isn’t a stupid movie. To be more precise, it gets more intelligent once the setup is dispensed with. Idiocy abounds early, yet the ending elevates the flick from being just another monster movie aimed at the kiddies.

Much of that has to be credited to the performance of Richard Boone (very distantly related) who was nearing the end of his life. There’s a poignancy in his portrayal of the aging Masten that makes the character believable and even oddly attractive. Gruff, domineering, and thoroughly set in his ways, Thrust is a man out of time in a changing world he doesn’t belong in anymore.

I wish I could say the same about the rest of the acting. Joan Van Ark was never a great actress and her limited skills were stretched to the limit in the part. Steven Keats is terrible, simply terrible in the movie. There was a school of acting in vogue back then that featured over emoting complete with theater style broad hand gesturing that I’m glad died out. Keats is of that school, so it doesn’t help that his whining character is unsympathetic as well.

Rackley did better despite having no dialogue. His Masai tracker is likeable and competent right off the bat. However, Bunta does manage to be surprising as the film unspools. His actions and stoic expressions reveal him to be as aggressive as Masten, which explains their friendship. While the white hunter gives orders, they aren’t always listened to and the tracker gets a terrific moment late in the movie indicating he isn’t the servant he appears to be.

Effects work is a mixed bag, like I wrote earlier. It does get better as it goes, much like the plot does. There are some impressive scenes for its time which is quite an accomplishment given the small budget. Of course this was meant to be a theatrical film and was one outside of the United States, so it wasn’t television level effects.

Due to the bloody fights with the tyrannosaurus rex and some fooling around, I’d say this unrated film is PG in content. Depending on your kids, I’d say higher single digits and up can handle it.

I recommend The Last Dinosaur to kaiju movie fans, nostalgic members of Generation X, and B-movie buffs. It isn’t a great film, but it is a lot of fun and has more to it than meets the eye.

Technical

Warner Brothers Archive made to order DVD is a barebones affair with only a rudimentary menu allowing you to play the movie. There are no dedicated scenes to jump to. Instead, you can jump ahead to every ten minute mark using your remote control.

It is a single layer DVD, so don’t expect out of this world visual quality. While pan and scan is nearly dead, we now live in an era of the 16:9 crop for less popular titles. That means the original 1.85:1 aspect widescreen has been cropped to 1.78:1. It is a minimal loss of screen real estate, but I like to see things the way they were originally presented.

Colors are decent and almost vibrant, but there are scratches and dirt to be seen. Given the age and rarity of the film, this isn’t surprising and we’ll never see a restored version. Contrast is good with the image being sharp throughout.

Audio is English Dolby Digital Mono and is clear, which is great for Masten’s rants. There are no subtitles in any language.

The running time of 1 hour 46 minutes is the full version never previously released in the United States. I believe there was a previous VHS release of the television edit which was eleven minutes shorter and pan & scanned.

BEWARE! HERE BE SPOILERS!!!

 

 

 

 

 

One of the scenes I remembered from my childhood viewing was the introduction of the cobbled together crossbow and how it changed the dynamic with the marauding cavemen. As an adult, I really like the improvised spears and shields along with how the natives began copying the newcomers. The way the caveman leader toppled is still a great moment.

I had forgotten Hazel (Masumi Sekiya) though. Even though I was young, I always noticed the pretty women in B-movies and this omission from my memories is inexcusable. She gets no lines of dialogue, but long before Quest for Fire was made she was a convincing primitive learning new things.

The boys mocking Frankie for creating the first domestic servant was fairly amusing too.

The first return of the T-rex was a rather good scene that emphasized brains over brawn. That theme was another thing that I liked about the movie all those years ago and I still do. Watch for the dinosaur to go flying in great sequence involving a rock, a vine, and gravity.

Building the catapult was another thing I really enjoyed as a kid. Gadgets were always entertaining and one that throws rocks was really cool. Still is.

Bunta’s best moment of the movie has to be his silently stopping Masten from killing Chuck. Frankly, I couldn’t blame the hunter for wanting to at this point.

And there’s the dweeb now. Notice how small the Polar-Borer prop is and the lack of propulsion openings in the back. It’s like the miniatures crew and prop guys were handed different plans.

Ah, poor heartsick Masten. He’s fallen for Frankie and when she tries to talk him into leaving, it results in his asking her to stay to be Eve to his Adam. It’s a last ditch effort by the two. In her confused way, she loves him, but Chuck is young and supposedly virile.

It amazed me the catapult worked and even more so that it scored a direct hit. Check out the rubber costume denting in from the prop rock.

Masten looks like the broken man he is after the failure to kill the dinosaur. He’s used his last gambit, Bunta is dead, and the gal he likes is leaving him for a dweeb. This is why women should never be taken on safari.

In the end, the grizzled billionaire mans up to wave goodbye at a torn Frankie when she and Chuck leave for civilization. Watching him from the sidelines is another gal crushing on him after having rightly pegged him as the alpha of the tribe. Her earlier effort to get close to him had been loudly rebuffed, yet she keeps trying.

It all ends with an audible sigh as the last dinosaur shambles into the forest with his new girlfriend.