One of my all time favorites.

Let's be realistic.

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

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.

This was one of my favorite films when I was a child growing up in the 1950s. It was SO scary then. It's actually a pretty good movie. The story has all the right elements and is perfect for family popcorn and movie night. My little grandson watches it with me and enjoys it as much as I did at his age. I have made all my friends watch it, and they, good-naturedly, holler out their favorite "bad" lines of dialogue.After all these years, I still get a kick out of watching it. I have one of the original movie posters framed and on my wall (56/360) and not one person, ever, commented on why I have a big picture of a dinosaur on my wall. I think that says more about me than about my friends.

I like dinosaur movies. I like The Valley of Gwangi. This is barely either. Sure it has a dinosaur. Sure it has cowboys. Sure it takes place in that land of prehistoric adventure(Mexico)(?) But let us not get too carried away here. First of all - for much of the film - absolutely nothing happens except for a rather lame fight between Guy Madison as an American rancher versus the wealthy Mexican rancher who loves pretty(and perky) Patricia Medina. I mean nothing happens. We do not even get a real hint of the dinosaur until forty-five minutes into the film when Pancho gets a formal dinner invitation. Do we see the dinosaur then? Oh no. It does not appear for another ten minutes and its screen time is definitely limited. The dinosaur is done with that lost art - stop motion animation. It is done okay for its time. in fact the denouement of the film was pretty cool with the quicksand and guy Madison on a rope. I also liked the scene with the dinosaur skidding down a cliff and trying to get Panchito and Medina in a cabin. If more had been done with this, the film would have been markedly improved. Notwithstanding all of that, the film was fairly entertaining despite its legion of flaws. The acting is over-the-top from Madison giving his best good-guy cowboy impression(whilst secretly lusting after another man's woman" to Pascaul Garcia Pena doing one of the drunkest buffoonish characters on screen. Medina is over-the-top too - but boy what a top to see! Her bulletted blouse nearly explodes! The Beast of Hollow Mountain is interesting for nothing else than seeing some early stop motion animation techniques used. the film could have used the dreadful "let's dress up a lizard" technique but chose not to. I see many comparing this to Harryhausen's Gwangi - truly. I see little similarities. That is a very good film. This one, is at best, okay.

This is just a great movie! I have spent many years in the remote areas of Mexico (Oaxaca, Chiapas, Michoacan, Guerrero, Guanajuato, Durango, etc. and have lots of extended family there. My niece (dual Mexican/American citizen) is actually an actress in Mexico. The portrayals of life in a Mexican pueblo of the time is reasonably realistic. The acting is generally believable. In short, a great movie of the genre. I am enjoying it immensely!As for the special effects, there is a reason why Harryhausen was an acolyte of O'Brien. They were both innovators in the domain of stop-motion animation, a field in which my sister-in-law has continued to contribute as the producer of such subjects as "The California Raisin" commercials, etc.