The Incomplete Works of Jim Danforth and David Allen in Men Behind the Monsters Forum

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The Incomplete Works of Jim Danforth and David Allen

Author	Comment
Whatsallthis		#21	[-]
Oct 7 08 12:19 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Did you notice the Lucille Ball animated puppet on Allen's shelf? I remember that animated sequence at the beginning of Here's Lucy (or was it The Lucy show?) I forgot he did that! Didn't he also do the stop-motion chuck wagon for the Chuck Wagon dog food commercials, or was that Danforth? "How can I handcuff a bloomin' shirt??!?"
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Aupperle		#22	[-]
Oct 7 08 6:25 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Whatsallthis wrote: Did you notice the Lucille Ball animated puppet on Allen's shelf? I remember that animated sequence at the beginning of Here's Lucy (or was it The Lucy show?) I forgot he did that! Didn't he also do the stop-motion chuck wagon for the Chuck Wagon dog food commercials, or was that Danforth? Jim Danforth animated Lucy opening though I don't recall the name of that particular series. I know that Harry Walton and Bill Hedge worked on the Chuck Wagon dog food commercials at various times and I wouldn't be surprised if David Allen did too. The photo of David in the above post was taken in the front upper loft at Stage 6 of Cascade Pictures in Hollywood around 1969. Check out Harry Walton's http://www.vfxmasters.com/ for more info on early commercials and TV shows that used stop motion. Jim Aupperle Last Edited By: Aupperle Oct 7 08 9:39 PM. Edited 6 times.
Dr Spyclops	The Lucy Riddle Solved...	#23	[-]
Oct 7 08 6:59 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts
Whatsallthis		#24	[-]
Oct 9 08 12:11 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Oh no, no, no... Here's Lucy! "How can I handcuff a bloomin' shirt??!?"
Ayresona Alien		#25	[-]
Oct 20 08 12:41 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I remember visiting the shop with Paul Gentry, and watching Dave Allen show his assistant how the primeval alien with the ray gun would stealthily walk in the scene they were working on. A rare experience I will never forget. Homer: "Hmmm, 2 bucks and it only transports matter, huh?"
propsculptor		#26	[-]
Jan 19 10 7:45 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I worked on "David Allen's The Primeval's restoring the torn Foam Latex of one of his Stop-Motion Lizard Puppets while I worked at Full Moon Productions, the Production was Huge, they even created a Giant Yeti! It's really a shame that the film could not be completed before David passed away, I'm sure everyone would have enjoyed seeing the completed project especially David after all the trouble trying to get it made! Propsculptor (David Mosher)
BijouBob8mm	A peek at THE PRIMEVALS	#27	[-]
Jan 20 11 4:52 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	�� �� You can see some Primevals footage on the Japanese box set of Jack the Giant Killer, Caveman & Robot Jox. Chris Endicott was kind enough to send me the extras disk from said box set. Wish MGM would have given those the same treatment Stateside. Last Edited By: BijouBob8mm Jan 20 11 4:56 PM. Edited 1 times.
Aupperle		#28	[-]
Jan 20 11 6:19 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	BijouBob8mm wrote: �� �� You can see some Primevals footage on the Japanese box set of Jack the Giant Killer, Caveman & Robot Jox. Chris Endicott was kind enough to send me the extras disk from said box set. Wish MGM would have given those the same treatment Stateside. That footage in the posted clip dates back to about 1968 when PRIMEVALS was known as RAIDERS OF THE STINE RING. I think that's Bill Stromberg (director of CRATER LAKE MONSTER) who stumbles out of the bushes with a spear in his back. For anyone who cares about technical minutia of stop motion the first shot of the lizard man jumping into scene was filmed as a front and back light traveling matte. Jim Aupperle Last Edited By: Aupperle Jan 20 11 6:36 PM. Edited 4 times.
Jonatwork		#29	[-]
Jan 20 11 11:44 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	People here are probably sick of me writing "I remember this from CFQ when I was a kid!" but I believe the issue devoted to PRIMEVALS was the first CFQ I ever bought. That alone made me interested, because I kept wondering when this cool-looking move would be released. Over the years as I drifted away from my reading in FX technology and SF film in general, I kept wondering about this. I didn't know Dave Allen had died until long after the fact, and while I didn't know him he was one of the folks I was rooting for over the years. I disagree that this shouldn't be somehow completed and released just because it'll look hokey. I could EASILY imagine this being championed by some film critics as being a throwback to pre-CGI effects. It wouldn't make billions, but I think Allen made the movie to be seen, and his work deserves it--forget the rest of his work, the photos of this movie in that CFQ are terrific and interesting. Just keep Jesse Franco away. I rarely use this term in conjunction with films, but his DON QUIXOTE is indeed and abortion. I am a huge Welles fan, and I haven't been able to bring myself to watch this a second time. Thanks to those who knew Mr. Allen and have brought up this subject again. I haven't thought of it in a long time and figured there must only be a few scraps of this around. But it certainly seems something could be made of what he did film, if I'm reading those who know right.
Rakshasa		#30	[-]
Jan 21 11 9:25 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Here's a few really cool stills: Links To All The Classic Monster Stills I've Posted: http://monsterkidclassichorrorforum.yuku.com/topic/30758 Last Edited By: Rakshasa Jan 21 11 9:27 AM. Edited 1 times.
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BijouBob8mm		#31	[-]
Jan 21 11 9:30 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I think that's Bill Stromberg (director of CRATER LAKE MONSTER) who stumbles out of the bushes with a spear in his back. Funny, Jim; I just ran CRATER LAKE MONSTER back-to-back with PLANET OF THE DINOSAURS very recently. (I remember CRATER LAKE playing on a double bill with SLITHIS at the drive-in when I was in high school.) For a long time I had no idea that RAIDERS OF THE STONE RING and THE PRIMEVALS were the same. (For some reason I thought the one was a Jim Danforth story and the other a Dave Allen project.) As I posted elsewhere, when Hammer thought about doing ZEPPLIN VS. PTERADACTYL from the concept, I wonder how the public would have reacted to that. (The primary characters in the Hammer project were the crew of a Zepplin that had been sent to bomb London during World War I...would audiences have really rooted for "the bad guys" in that, no matter how perilous their situation? THE LAND THAT TIME FORGOT avoids this by having U.S. and British citizens aboard the U-boat with the German crew.) People here are probably sick of me writing "I remember this from CFQ when I was a kid!" Wish I had seen that issue of CFQ that put the spotlight on THE PRIMEVALS. For years the magazine was very hard to find in my area. (Still kick myself for not picking up more back issues, back in the day.) Same with CineMagic. Every so often I'd be lucky enough to stumble across a CFQ in the bookstores of one of the local universities. Last Edited By: BijouBob8mm Jan 21 11 11:09 AM. Edited 2 times.
horrorfilmx		#32	[-]
Jan 21 11 9:54 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I'd love to see Primevals finished. I think a bunch of effects guys should band together to finish the film, if only as a tribute to Allen. I'd be happy to sign on. Regarding Franco (for whom I almost worked once) --- he's a strange critter isn't he? Like Ray Steckler (only more so) there's clearly talent under all the garbage. Years ago I watched Wells' Chimes at Midnight and the scenes that really stood out were the battle scenes. It wasn't until years later I discovered that Franco directed them. If you can direct the best scenes in an Orson Wells movie, you ain't no slouch. Has anyone mentioned the Timegate clip on Phil Tippet's YouTube page?
BijouBob8mm		#33	[-]
Jan 21 11 12:09 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Has anyone mentioned the Timegate clip on Phil Tippet's YouTube page? You mean this one? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-hTrCouba0 (Because of its length, just over 11 minutes, I didn't embed it here. Includes clips, plus a look behind the scenes.)
Aupperle		#34	[-]
Jan 21 11 10:38 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	BijouBob8mm wrote: For a long time I had no idea that RAIDERS OF THE STONE RING and THE PRIMEVALS were the same. (For some reason I thought the one was a Jim Danforth story and the other a Dave Allen project.) As I posted elsewhere, when Hammer thought about doing ZEPPLIN VS. PTERADACTYL from the concept, I wonder how the public would have reacted to that. I think that Jim Danforth was more involved with the project when it was in the RAIDERS OF THE STONE RING stage back in the early days. Somewhere I have a photo of Jim's version of the lizard man and it doesn't look at all like the one David used. Jim Aupperle
horrorfilmx		#35	[-]
Jan 22 11 12:05 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Aupperle wrote: I think that Jim Danforth was more involved with the project when it was in the RAIDERS OF THE STONE RING stage back in the early days. Somewhere I have a photo of Jim's version of the lizard man and it doesn't look at all like the one David used. Jim Aupperle A still of Danforth's lizard man is shown in SPFX's cover story on him (and can be seen sneaking up behind Holmes in the cover painting). It is, in my opinion at any rate, a great improvement over Allen's but I believe it caused a certain amount of friction between the two.
BijouBob8mm		#36	[-]
Jan 24 11 9:59 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	That's one of my favorite issues of SPFX. That, along with another issue from around the same time, probably gave us more info on Danforth's unrealized projects than has appeared anywhere else. A still of Danforth's lizard man is shown in SPFX's cover story on him (and can be seen sneaking up behind Holmes in the cover painting). It is, in my opinion at any rate, a great improvement over Allen's No disrespect toward the late David Allen intended, but I think Danforth's version does use an anatomical design that comes across as more realistic/naturalistic.
jamesbrummel		#37	[-]
Jan 28 11 9:21 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	horrorfilmx wrote: Regarding Franco (for whom I almost worked once) --- he's a strange critter isn't he? Like Ray Steckler (only more so) there's clearly talent under all the garbage. Years ago I watched Wells' Chimes at Midnight and the scenes that really stood out were the battle scenes. It wasn't until years later I discovered that Franco directed them. If you can direct the best scenes in an Orson Wells movie, you ain't no slouch. Glad you brought that up. In Gemis a Plaisir (or something like that) the opening sequence is just brilliant. Then...crap. Frustrating but pretty exciting to find an amazing scene or performance or line of dialog in a pile of junk. Or one great film by an otherwise terrible director/actor/whatever. I always think of Russ Tamblyn's monologue in Satan's Sadists as an example.
Aupperle		#38	[-]
Jan 29 11 2:15 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Jim Danforth's memoir is due out this summer. "Dinosaurs, Dragons & Drama: The Odyssey of a Trick-Film-Maker (Book One: The Outward Journey)" Book One covers films like The Time Machine, "Davey and Goliath," Master of the World, Jack the Giant Killer, The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grim, 7 Faces of Dr. Lao, through the completion of "When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth," plus teenage experiments and childhood influences, etc.
acker j forestman		#39	[-]
Jan 29 11 6:41 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	horrorfilmx wrote: I'd love to see Primevals finished. I think a bunch of effects guys should band together to finish the film, if only as a tribute to Allen. I'd be happy to sign on. Regarding Franco (for whom I almost worked once) --- he's a strange critter isn't he? Like Ray Steckler (only more so) there's clearly talent under all the garbage. Years ago I watched Wells' Chimes at Midnight and the scenes that really stood out were the battle scenes. It wasn't until years later I discovered that Franco directed them. If you can direct the best scenes in an Orson Wells movie, you ain't no slouch. Has anyone mentioned the Timegate clip on Phil Tippet's YouTube page? Franco worked as a 2nd Unit Director on CHIMES, and shot various battle action inserts for the Battle of Shrewsbury sequence. The real genius of that sequence was in the editing, which Welles spent several months laboring over. THE PRIMEVALS could be assembled similar to the 1993 documentary IT'S ALL TRUE, which very successfully presents Orson Welles' unfinished South American "Good Neighbor Policy" project produced during the early days of WWII.
Sid Terror		#40	[-]
Jan 31 11 1:18 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Dr Spyclops wrote: It's strange how Danforth and Allen's careers somewhat parallel Willis O'Brien's, with so many promising projects never coming to fruition. That is the way of the business and how it always has been. Now it is tougher than ever. I was talking to a longtime friend and writer the other day about this. He is an Academy Award nominee and still can't get an original idea green-lighted. With the major studios making less films than ever per year and with most of the fantasy film projects that they want to take a chance on being remakes (which leaves both me and him out because we won't take remake writing assignments) the business is only going further down the crapper. "It's better to have accomplishments remarkable enough to be put in question, than to have no accomplishments at all."
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The Incomplete Works of Jim Danforth and David Allen