JLRVancouver As cowboys vs. dinosaurs movies go, "The Beast of Hollow Mountain" isn't all that bad. While not as interesting nor as well done as its spiritual descendant, "The Valley of Gwangi" (both originated from an idea of Willis O'Brien's), BHM has surprisingly good colour cinematography as well as a good script and reasonable acting. Of course, the centerpiece is the Mexican-munching allosaurus. The special effects here are erratic: some of the walking scenes are very good (for the era) but the big rubber feet undo much of the movie magic and the size of the Beast's tongue seems to vary from scene. Overall: not a great film by any stretch, but watchable and enjoyable.

Michael O'Keefe Jimmy Ryan (Guy Madison) is an American cowboy working in Mexico and is upset about missing cattle. To be exact, cattle and farmers are mysteriously disappearing in southern Mexico near the location of Hollow Mountain. It is said to never have been explored and the swamp at its base is said to claim the lives of anyone brave enough to snoop around its banks. Ryan and a couple of cowboys will search for missing cattle and discover strange tracks. A giant prehistoric dinosaur appears and is obviously the attacker of farms, ranches and villages.Directed by Edward Nassour and Ismael Rodriquez with special effects by innovator Willis O'Brien's stop motion techniques animating the dinosaur. It is said that this film is one of the first and few American/Mexican co-productions.Other players: Carlos Rivas, Mario Navarro, Patricia Medina, Julio Villarreal, Eduardo Noriega and Pascaul Garcia Pena.

Scott LeBrun "The Beast of Hollow Mountain" would likely have more appeal for any viewer who first saw it at a young and impressionable age. If you're seeing it for the first time as an adult, like this viewer, you may well still find it to be fairly charming, an interesting combination of the monster movie and Western genres. The beast of the title, a dinosaur, doesn't show up until 3/4 of the way into the movie, and until then we get a likable enough human drama with a touch of mystery and mysticism: just WHO, or WHAT, is responsible for the disappearances of cattle in Mexico?One of those eager to find out is American rancher Jimmy Ryan (amiable Guy Madison, often to be seen with a smile on his face). In the meantime, Jimmy finds employment for local drunk Pancho (Pascual Garcia Pena) and loves the sweet Sarita (lovely Patricia Medina), although she's agreed to marry another man, Enrique Rios (Eduardo Noriega), a rival of Jimmy's in more way than one, and a constant thorn in his side.Co-director Edward Nassour does the decent stop motion animation in this reasonably entertaining little diversion; the concept originated with the legendary stop motion specialist Willis O'Brien of "King Kong" fame. The colourful CinemaScope photography is quite gorgeous, giving us an eyeful of all of the flavour of the Mexican locations; there's a lot to take in. The script by Robert Hill is dialogue heavy so less patient viewers may fidget a little while waiting for the dinosaur to show up. But things do get pretty exciting once it does.Madison and Medina are highly engaging leads, and the supporting cast features some fine performers. Julio Villarreal has a solid presence as friendly old Don Pedro, but Noriega captures the lions' share of the attention playing a man who turns out to be a real piece of work. The audience will be primed and ready to see this human antagonist get his comeuppance.This Mexican-American production is fun stuff - nothing great, but very easy to take while it lasts and it doesn't overstay its welcome at a running time of 80 minutes.Seven out of 10.

JessieTambay This was one of my favorite films when I was a child growing up in the 1950s. It was SO scary then. It's actually a pretty good movie. The story has all the right elements and is perfect for family popcorn and movie night. My little grandson watches it with me and enjoys it as much as I did at his age. I have made all my friends watch it, and they, good-naturedly, holler out their favorite "bad" lines of dialogue.After all these years, I still get a kick out of watching it. I have one of the original movie posters framed and on my wall (56/360) and not one person, ever, commented on why I have a big picture of a dinosaur on my wall. I think that says more about me than about my friends.