Captain's Theatre LAST DINOSAUR

Like King Kong Escapes, it's a Japanese Studios/Rankin Bass co-production!

Unlike King Kong Escapes, it didn't have an American theatrical release!

In fact, it went straight to network TV, specifically, ABC!

...and then to video store shelves!

Co-produced by Rankin-Bass and Tsuburaya Productions, this 1977 film was conceived and scripted by novelist/cartoonist William Overgard.
The film even has a James Bond-style title theme sing by Nancy Wilson...

The "Last Dinosaur" in the theme is actually arrogant multi-millionaire Maston Thrust Jr (Richard Boone) who has been financing oil-drilling operations in the Antarctic which inadvertantly drilled into a pocket of primordial jungle.

Discovering supposedly-extinct dinosaurs and other creatures like mastodons inhabiting the area, Thrust is now leading a scientific expedition in a modified drilling device back to (supposedly) catalogue the animals.

Needless to say, things don't go according to plan...

The expedition discovers cataloging the creatures to be less of a priority than simple survival, a situation exacerbated by the self-centered Thrust who believes he can solve any problem!

I'd say more, but it's fun to see the 5-minute long Japanese theatrical trailer that really plays up the creatures (and all the dialogue is in English)!

Note: The DVD release is of the 106-minute wide-screen theatrical release seen in English-speaking countries including Australia, Great Britain, and Canada, not the pan-and-scan/edited TV movie version!

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The Last Dinosaur

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Captain's Library & Theatre ONE MILLION BC

Before One Million Years BC...

...there was One Million BC!

The 1966 Hammer film (whose comic adaptation we presented HERE and HERE) was an extensively-rewritten remake, but the character names and relationships are the same!

Like the remake, the original was a big-budget spectacular, though the original's dinosaur special effects were achieved by using animals with prosthetic attachments and stuntmen in costumes!
There was even a (never-reprinted) two-part comic adaptation of the film, which appeared in Dell's Crackajack Funnies 25 & 26 (1940) which we unearthed and now present for your enjoyment!

Sadly, the writer and artist (or writer/artist) is/are currently-unknown!

Bonus: the trailer for the movie!
Note: the trailer is colorized, the actual movie is b/w!

We Hope You've Enjoyed Our Month-Long Marathon of Dinosaur-Themed Movie/TV/Audio Productions and Their Tie-In Comics...but It's Not Over Yet!
Be Here Friday, the Day Before Halloween for...
Nope, We Aren't Going to Tell You!
You'll Have to Be Here to See It!

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One Million BC

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Captain's Library: ONE MILLION YEARS BC (Now in COLOR) Conclusion

Previously: dinosaurs, cavemen, beautiful women in fur bikinis...

Cover from the first publication in House of Hammer #14 (1978) by Brian Lewis

The adaptation does downplay the human (or caveperson) side of the story to emphasize the spectacular dinosaur battles.

So we don't get to see Bolton rendering the (censored in America but not England) erotic dance sequence or the Raquel Welch/Martine Beswicke catfight.

After One Million Years BC, there were two other caveman/dinosaur epics from Hammer Films, When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth and Creatures that Time Forgot, both of which used dinosaur stock footage from this film and featured beautiful women (including a Playboy Playmate) in fur bikinis!

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One Million Years BC
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Captain's Library: ONE MILLION YEARS BC (Now in COLOR) Part 1

We Presented the Original b/w Version of This Comic Adaptation of Hammer's One Million Years BC  HERE...

...and we recently found that it was reprinted...in glorious color...but with a couple of modifications to avoid licensing restrictions! 

To Be Concluded...Wednesday!

Adaptation script by Steve Moore 

Art by John Bolton

Color art by Tim Smith

Published in Eclipse's John Bolton's Halls of Horror #2, 1985

While the movie is a remake of the already-classic 1940 film One Million BC (which we have a surprise about coming Friday!), and features kool stop-motion dinosaurs animated by the legendary Ray Harryhausen, the big selling point was Raquel Welch, who also appeared, in slightly more clothes (skintight scuba gear), in another classic sci-fi flick, Fantastic Voyage, that same year.
The film's poster and a blowup of the promo photo (left) it was based on became best-selling posters adorning bedrooms, dorm rooms, and dens of genre film buffs and/or fans of beautiful women.
The outdoor scenes were filmed on the Canary Islands in the middle of winter, when the average daily temperature was 60-65 degrees...except this was a cooler-than-normal winter!
Lots of goose bumps!
Roughly nine minutes were cut from the American version, including a provocative dance by co-star (and two-time James Bond girl) Martine Beswicke.
Despite several restorations done for the domestic laser disc and DVD releases, the missing footage is not available on the US DVD (but it was on the laser disc).  If you have a multi-region player, you can see it on the British DVD!
Hammer did two other prehistoric epics which featured stock footage from this film: When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth and Creatures the World Forgot.
Though both pix featured scantly-clad cavewomen including a Playboy Playmate, neither was as successful.

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One Million Years BC
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