King Dinosaur

Plot

Four astronauts in 1960 travel to a planet called Nova that has just entered Earth's solar system. The crew begins studying the planet to see if it's suitable for a possible Earth colony. After first discovering normal Earth animals such as a kinkajou and an alligator, they soon encounter and battle giant insects, an enormous snake, prehistoric mammals, dinosaurs, and - on an island - the titular character, King Dinosaur, a giant Iguana. Eventually, the scientists blow up the island with an atomic bomb, killing all of its inhabitants, rendering the only dinosaur inhabitants of Nova extinct.

Cast

Production

The film was directed over a seven-day period by Bert I. Gordon and was Gordon's debut. The camera and other pieces of equipment were borrowed and the cast worked for deferred salaries.

The scene of the attacking mammoth was stock footage recycled from the film One Million BC.

There were only four actors in this film. The rest of the band and soldiers were just military stock footage, as was the footage of the atomic bomb explosions.

Mystery Science Theater 3000

The film was featured in a second season episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000 in December 1990.