The Ghost of Slumber Mountain

The Ghost of Slumber Mountain is a 1918 film written and directed by special effects pioneer Willis O'Brien, produced by Herbert M. Dawley, and starring both men. It is the first film to show live actors and stop-motion creatures together on the screen and is often cited as a trial run for The Lost World. An advertising tagline for the film read "These giant monsters of the past are seen to breathe, to live again, to move and battle as they did at dawn of life." [sic] The film attracted the interest of Watterson R. Rothacker, founder of the Industrial Motion Picture Company, who was so impressed by the film's special effects, he joined forces with O'Brien to create the dinosaurs of The Lost World (1925), a classic that advanced the development of special effects techniques.

Plot

Most of the full plot is unknown. Author and explorer Jack Holmes (Dawley) tells his two young nephews about an adventure he had in the woodlands around Slumber Mountain, near the Valley of Dreams. Jack and his partner Joe (along with their dog Soxie) find a cabin belonging to the late hermit Mad Dick, who Joe once saw carrying a strange telescope-like instrument. That night at their campsite, Jack imagines a voice calling to him which leads him back to the old hermit's cabin. Jack searches the cabin and finds the instrument. Upon doing so, the ghost of Mad Dick (O'Brien) appears and instructs him to use it to look at the peak of Slumber Mountain. The device allows him to look back into the past, seeing a Brontosaurus followed by a strange small winged bird eating a snake. Two Triceratops fight before his eyes, then a Tyrannosaurus kills and partially eats one of the Triceratops. The triumphant beast notices Jack and begins chasing him. Jack shoots the animal to no avail. Just as the creature is about to pounce upon him, Jack wakes up to find himself next to his still sleeping friend Joe at the campsite. It is then revealed that Jack had dreamed it all. The children then tackle him for thinking up such a good tall tale. ==Cast==

Cast

• Herbert M. Dawley as Jack Holmes, Author / Explorer • Willis O'Brien as Dick "Mad Dick", The Hermit • Alan Day and Chauncey Day as The Two Nephews • Soxie the dog as Himself ==Prehistoric creatures featured==

Prehistoric creatures featured

• Brontosaurus • Giant Bird (possibly Phorusrhacos or Gastornis) • Triceratops • Tyrannosaurus • Pteranodon ==Reception==

Reception

The Ghost of Slumber Mountain was a box office hit, grossing over $100,000 on a $3,000 budget. The film is available as a supplementary material item on the 2017 The Lost World Blu-ray disc from Flicker Alley. The supplementary material includes The Ghost of Slumber Mountain in a new 2K HD restoration by the "Dinosaur Museum". What remains of The Ghost of Slumber Mountain was preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2012. The scene of the Tyrannosaurus fighting the Triceratops was featured in 3-D Dinosaur Adventure, where it was dubbed over by voice actors to give it a more humorous tone. ==See also==

Source: Wikipedia ↗

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