I wonder how they stuck that backfin onto the crocodile (or was dat a gator?) so well that it didn't come off in the fight scene. And I don't think it's very nice how they put some kind of fur on that elephant. They just didn't care too much about animal welfare in them days.
Gotta go... sexy lady swimming scene that reviewer mentioned is on!
Spirit gum, I hope. That comes off easily. Otherwise it was probably glue, not so good. They certainly had no concern for the well-being of the poor animals they not only stuck stuff on but crushed and mangled in the earthquake sequences.
However, those effects scenes were actually done for One Million B.C., the 1940 film from which Valley of the Dragons lifted all its monster footage (except the shots of Rodan). So blame that film's producer, Hal Roach, for any harm done to those lizards and elephants, who never even received residuals for all the times their scenes from One Million B.C. were used as stock shots in other sci-fi movies.
What was the animal that ate the snake? Looks like some type of tapir, but I can't place it.
shareI wondered about that too. At first I thought it was a mongoose (which do eat snakes) but the tail and some other things don't look right. I don't think it's a tapir because they're larger, I believe. It was a pretty sickening scene, though.
shareLate reply but, coatimundi.
shareIf you look at the alligators back that was made up as a dimetrodon, you can see a healthy application of latex that also covers most of its back. If it was just the fin, it would have come off, but since it covered 50% of its back and is a thin film, it allows the texture of the scales to be seen. As someone else mentioned, if the edges started coming up, most likely spirit gum was used to keep them down.
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