When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth (1970)

Country of Origin: UK
Year of Production: 1968 - 1969
Running Times: 100 mins
Format: Technicolor 35mm
Ratio: 1.66:1
Sound: mono

PRODUCTION
Production Company: Hammer Film Productions Limited
Producer: Aida Young
Production Manager: Christopher Sutton

SCRIPT
Script: Val Guest
Story: J.G. Ballard

DIRECTION
Director: Val Guest
2nd Unit Director: Jim Danforth
Assistant Director: John Stoneman

PHOTOGRAPHY
Director of Photography: Dick Bush
2nd Unit Camera Operator: Johnny Cabrera

EDITING AND POST-PRODUCTION
Editor: Peter Curran

MUSIC
Music Supervisor: Philip Martell
Music: Mario Nascimbene

SOUND
Sound Recordist: Kevin Sutton
Dubbing Editor: Frank Goulding
Sound System: RCA Sound Recording

MAKE UP AND COSTUMES
Make Up: Richard Mills
Hair Supervisor: Joyce James
Costume Designer: Carl Toms
Wardrobe Master: Brian Owen-Smith

SPECIAL EFFECTS
Special Effects: Dave Allen, Allan Bryce, Roger Dicken, Martin Gutteridge, Brian Humphrey, Garth Inns, Brian Johncock (real name: Brian Johnson)

VISUAL EFFECTS
Special Visual Effects: Jim Danforth
Visual Effects Assistant: Dave Allen

DESIGN AND SET CONSTRUCTION
Art Director: John Blezard
Construction Manager: Albert Blackshaw

MISCELLANEOUS
Continuity: Josephine Knowles
2nd Unit Continuity: Susanna Merry

LOCATIONS
Studio: Shepperton Studios Limited, Shepperton, Middlesex, England, UK
Locations: The Canary Islands, Spain

CAST
Victoria Vetri (Sanna)
Robin Hawdon (Tara)
Patrick Allen (Kingsor)
Drewe Henley (Khaku)
Sean Caffrey (Kane)
Magda Konopka (Ulido)
Imogen Hassall (Ayak)
Patrick Holt (Ammon)
Jan Rossini (rock girl)
Carol-Anne Hawkins (Yani)
Maria O'Brien (Oman)
Connie Tilton (sand mother)
Maggie Lynton (rock mother)
Jimmy Lodge (fisherman)
Billy Cornelius, Ray Ford (hunters)

PLOT SUMMARY

A huge chunk of space debris breaks away from the Sun and winds up in Earth orbit as the Moon. The priests of a prehistoric tribe believe that Sanna is to blame for this cosmic cataclysm and decide to sacrifice her. She flees her people, the priests in hot pursuit, and she teams up with caveman Tara and tames a couple of dinosaurs before a tidal wave, caused by the new gravitational pull exerted by the moon, threatens devastating climate changes...

Despite an original treatment from the unique mind of SF writer J.G. Ballard, Hammer's second dinosaur opera proved to be yet another bog-standard prehistoric soap. Vetri heads a cast of virtual unknowns who camp it up in designer rags and answer to ludicrous names like Sanna, Khaku and Ulido. Ballard's original treatment was reputedly extensively re-written by a rapidly fading Val Guest who directs this turgid sleep-inducer as though he's doped up to the eyeballs on Mogadon. Vetri looks great, but even grunting a few nonsense syllables seems to have stretched her meager acting abilities to the very limit. The whole venture brings a new meaning to the word 'tedious'. Jurassic Park it most certainly isn't...

UK
Theatrical Distributor: Warner Brothers
Video Distributor: Warner Home Video

USA
Theatrical Distributor: Warner Brothers

Finland
Rating: K-12

Germany
Rating: 12

Portugal
Rating: M/12

UK
When the film was released (all too briefly) on video, Warner Home Video had mysteriously removed all of Vetri's rather innocuous nude scenes!

USA
Rating: G

1972
Academy Awards, USA
Best Effects, Special Visual Effects (Jim Danforth, Roger Dicken) - nominated

1968
October
14: UK - principal photography begins

1969
January
9: UK - principal photography ends

1970
October
25: UK - theatrical release

1971
January
1: West Germany - theatrical release

March
Day Unknown: USA - theatrical release

May
21: Finland - theatrical release

1999
December
11: UK - television broadcast (on BBC2)

Enter an age of unknown terrors, pagan worship and virgin sacrifice...

Als Dinosaurier die Erde beherrschten - German title
Cuando los dinosaurios dominaban la Tierra - Spanish title
Akita, dinosaurukset tulevat - Finnish title
Quando i dinosauri si mordevano la coda - Italian title
Gdy dinozaury wladaly swiatem - Polish title
Quando os Dinossauros Dominavam a Terra - Portugese title
Akita - solens förbannelse - Swedish title
Quano les dinosaures dominaient le monde - French title

REMAKE OF
One Million B.C. (1940)
One Million Years B.C. (1966)

SEE ALSO
Caveman (1981)
Jurassic Park (1993)

FOOTAGE INCLUDED IN
Beauties and Beasts (1970)

INCLUDES FOOTAGE FROM
The Lost World (1960)

MAGAZINES

Cinefantastique vol.1 no.3 (Summer 1971) pp.26-27 (USA)
review

Dark Terrors no.3 p.17 (UK)
note

Dark Terrors no.9 (November 1994) p.22 (UK)
illustrated article

Films and Filming vol.17 no.4 (January 1071) p.60 (UK)
review

The Guide 11 - 17 December 1999 p.53 (UK)
review (by Paul Howlett)

Hollywood Reporter vol.203 no.33 (22 November 1968) p.19 (USA)
credits

Hollywood Reporter vol.214 no.32 (20 January 1971) p.3 (USA)
review

The House That Hammer Built no.6 (December 1997) pp.346-348 (UK)
illustrated credits, synopsis, review

Kine Weekly no.3286 (3 October 1970) p.19 (UK)
review

Monthly Film Bulletin vol.37 no.442 (November 1970) p.234 (UK)
credits, synopsis, review

Motion Picture Herald vol.241 no.3 (24 February 1971) p.552 (USA)
credits, review

Nouveau Cinemonde no.1774 (21 January 1969) pp.26-29 (France)
review

Today's Cinema no.9844 (2 October 1970) p.9 (UK)
review

Variety 6 November 1968 p.26 (USA)
note

Variety 14 October 1970 p.28 (USA)
credits, review

BOOKS

The Hammer Story p.107
illustrated review (by Marcus Hearn and Alan Barnes)

KEYWORDS

dinosaurs, prehistoric, eclipses, stone age, cavemen, the moon

Last Updated: 15 October, 2008