The Dinosaur and the Missing Link: A Prehistoric Tragedy

Plot

In this prehistoric comedy, two cavemen rivals, The Duke and Stonejaw Steve, compete for the affections of Miss Araminta Rockface. Their rivalry intensifies when Steve defeats The Duke by throwing him into boiling water. A third suitor, the unassuming Theophilus Ivoryhead, enters the scene, leading to more comedic confrontations in Miss Rockface's cave dwelling. When the group discovers that Wild Willie the Missing Link has eaten all their food, they must hunt for their own dinner, leading to misadventures with desert quail and an encounter with a dinosaur's tail that sets up further comedic chaos.

Historical Background

This film was created during World War I, a time when the film industry was rapidly evolving and experimenting with new techniques. 1917 was a pivotal year for cinema, with feature films becoming more common and technical innovations advancing rapidly. The United States had just entered the war, and films were increasingly used as both entertainment and propaganda. Animation was still in its infancy, with most animated shorts being simple hand-drawn cartoons. O'Brien's use of stop-motion with three-dimensional models was groundbreaking, representing a significant departure from the dominant 2D animation styles of the time. The film's prehistoric setting also reflected the contemporary fascination with paleontology and recent discoveries of dinosaur fossils, which had captured the public imagination.

Making Of

Willis H. O'Brien was a former newspaper cartoonist and amateur sculptor who discovered stop-motion animation through experiments in his garage. For this film, he worked with extremely limited resources, often borrowing equipment and creating his own animation tools. The models were constructed using materials he could find locally, including wire from hardware stores and clay from art supply shops. O'Brien would spend hours in dark rooms, sometimes working by candlelight, carefully moving his models fractions of an inch between exposures. The production was so low-budget that he often served as his own camera operator, lighting technician, and model maker. Despite these limitations, O'Brien's innovative approach to creating lifelike movement in inanimate objects was already evident, showing the early signs of the genius that would later revolutionize special effects cinema.

Visual Style

The cinematography for this early stop-motion film was rudimentary but effective, using fixed camera positions typical of the era. The lighting was basic but carefully controlled to maintain consistency between frames, a crucial requirement for stop-motion animation. O'Brien used simple backdrops painted on canvas to create the prehistoric environments, with careful attention to depth perception to make the small models appear larger than life. The camera work was straightforward but precise, ensuring that each frame matched perfectly with the next to create smooth animation.

Innovations

This film pioneered several important technical innovations in stop-motion animation. O'Brien developed early methods for creating smooth, lifelike movement in three-dimensional models using ball-and-socket armatures that allowed for precise positioning. He also experimented with different materials for model construction, discovering that rubber and clay combinations provided the best balance of flexibility and stability. The film's success in creating believable movement in small models demonstrated the potential of stop-motion as a narrative tool, influencing countless future animators and special effects artists. The techniques developed for this film would be refined and expanded upon in O'Brien's later, more ambitious projects.

Music

As a silent film from 1917, this movie would have been accompanied by live music during theatrical exhibitions. Typical accompaniment would have included a pianist or small orchestra playing popular songs of the era, classical pieces, or improvised music that matched the on-screen action. The comedic nature of the film would have called for light, playful music during the funny moments and more dramatic scoring during the action sequences. Some theaters might have used sound effects created by live performers to enhance the dinosaur appearances and fight scenes.

Memorable Scenes

• The scene where Stonejaw Steve throws The Duke into a pot of boiling water, which was achieved using actual steam and hot water for realistic effect. The comedic timing of the action and the surprised reactions of the other characters made this a standout moment in early animation history.

What Critics Said

Contemporary reviews from 1917 praised the film's technical innovation and comedic timing, with trade publications noting the remarkable lifelike quality of the animated models. The Motion Picture News called it 'a fascinating display of moving picture trickery' while Variety highlighted its 'amusing prehistoric antics.' Modern critics and film historians recognize the film as an important early work that showcases O'Brien's developing talent and the birth of stop-motion animation as a cinematic art form. The film is now studied in film schools as an example of early special effects innovation and the evolution of animation techniques.

What Audiences Thought

Audiences in 1917 were reportedly delighted and amazed by the film's animated sequences, which were unlike anything they had seen before. The combination of humor with the novelty of moving dinosaur and caveman figures made it a popular attraction in vaudeville houses and early movie theaters. Contemporary accounts suggest that audiences were particularly fascinated by the realistic movement of the models and couldn't understand how the effects were achieved. The film's short length and comedic content made it ideal as part of mixed bills that included live performances and other short films.

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