The Beast of Hollow Mountain (1956)

What a hat!, 18 April 2017

And I thought Valley of the Gwangi was the only Cowboy/Dinosaur movie out there - WRONG! Thanks to the new MST3K, I was able to catch The Beast of Hollow Mountain – a first time viewing for me. In this one, American rancher Jimmy Ryan (Guy Madison) and partner Felipe Sanchez (Carlos Rivas) are working cattle on their ranch in Mexico. When their cattle begin disappearing, Jimmy and Felipe suspect that either (a) the cattle are disappearing in the nearby swamp surrounding Hollow Mountain or (b) the cattle are being taken by Jimmy's nemesis, Enrique Rios (Eduardo Noriega). Rios is jealous because Jimmy has eyes for his fiancé, Sarita (Patricia Medina). As it turns out, neither is the true answer of what is happening to the cattle. Instead, Hollow Mountain has more than a dangerous swamp to fear. There's also the titular Beast – a giant Allosaurus.

It's not great, but as my rating indicates, The Beast of Hollow Mountain isn't all that bad either. It's hard not to compare the movie with Valley of the Gwangi. Both have cowboys, horses, and dinosaurs. I may need to revisit Gwangi because, despite the rating I gave it, I remember enjoying it a bit more than this movie. As for what I like about The Beast of Hollow Mountain, it's a great looking movie. The widescreen shots are often stunning. The cinematography really shines. The acting, while not Academy Award level, is more than competent. The actors give what I would call very earnest performances. I especially enjoyed the work of Carlos Rivas. He was also a standout in The Black Scorpion. The stop motion dinosaur work is also competent for this kind of movie, especially when you consider the budgetary limitations they were working with. It's not seamless and wouldn't stand up to today's CGI, but I enjoyed it. Finally, there's that sombrero worn by Felipe. What a hat! They needed a widescreen format just to get it completely in frame. I want that hat!

On the negative side, I'll just mention two things. First, the film takes an eternity to get to the dinosaur. The movie is at least 2/3 over before there's even a hint that there might be something else going on with the cattle. Second, while I enjoyed the stop motion Allosaurus, the close up of the feet was ridiculous. The dinosaur feet looked more like some house shoes my son might wear. Totally unbelievable.

5/10