The Ghost of Slumber Mountain
Encyclopedia
The Ghost of Slumber Mountain was a 1918
film, written and directed by special effects pioneer Willis O'Brien
, produced by Herbert M. Dawley, and starred both men; Dawley played Uncle Jack Holmes, while O'Brien played the ghost of Mad Dick the Hermit. Although most of the film itself is lost, it is often cited as a trial run for The Lost World
.
In the version available today, Holmes (Dawley) is telling his nephews about an adventure he had in the woodlands around Slumber Mountain, near the Valley of Dreams. He found the cabin belonging to the late hermit Mad Dick, who Holmes's friend Joe once saw carrying a strange telescope
-like instrument.
That night, Holmes investigated the cabin and found the instrument. Upon doing so, the ghost of Mad Dick (O'Brien) instructs him to use it to look on the peak of Slumber Mountain. When he does, he seemingly looks back into the past, seeing a Tyrannosaurus
and a Triceratops
doing battle. The Tyrannosaurus proves triumphant, and after killing the Triceratops, somehow breaks the time barrier (unless the instrument had done that itself) and begins chasing Holmes.
But it was all just a dream...
1918 in film
The year 1918 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*Following litigation for anti-trust activities, the US Supreme Court orders the Motion Picture Patents Company to disband....
film, written and directed by special effects pioneer Willis O'Brien
Willis O'Brien
Willis Harold O'Brien was an Irish American pioneering motion picture special effects artist who perfected and specialized in stop-motion animation. He was affectionately known to his family and close friends as "Obie"....
, produced by Herbert M. Dawley, and starred both men; Dawley played Uncle Jack Holmes, while O'Brien played the ghost of Mad Dick the Hermit. Although most of the film itself is lost, it is often cited as a trial run for The Lost World
The Lost World (1925 film)
The Lost World is a 1925 silent film adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle's 1912 novel of the same name. The movie was produced by First National Pictures, a large Hollywood studio at the time, and stars Wallace Beery as Professor Challenger. This version was directed by Harry O...
.
Plot
Most of the plot is unknown; The Ghost of Slumber Mountain originally took up 3000 feet of film, equivalent to approximately 30 minutes, but Dawley cut it to only 11 minutes in length, though a restored version runs approximately 19 minutes. Why he butchered the film to such a degree is unknown.In the version available today, Holmes (Dawley) is telling his nephews about an adventure he had in the woodlands around Slumber Mountain, near the Valley of Dreams. He found the cabin belonging to the late hermit Mad Dick, who Holmes's friend Joe once saw carrying a strange telescope
Telescope
A telescope is an instrument that aids in the observation of remote objects by collecting electromagnetic radiation . The first known practical telescopes were invented in the Netherlands at the beginning of the 1600s , using glass lenses...
-like instrument.
That night, Holmes investigated the cabin and found the instrument. Upon doing so, the ghost of Mad Dick (O'Brien) instructs him to use it to look on the peak of Slumber Mountain. When he does, he seemingly looks back into the past, seeing a Tyrannosaurus
Tyrannosaurus
Tyrannosaurus meaning "tyrant," and sauros meaning "lizard") is a genus of coelurosaurian theropod dinosaur. The species Tyrannosaurus rex , commonly abbreviated to T. rex, is a fixture in popular culture. It lived throughout what is now western North America, with a much wider range than other...
and a Triceratops
Triceratops
Triceratops is a genus of herbivorous ceratopsid dinosaur which lived during the late Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous Period, around 68 to 65 million years ago in what is now North America. It was one of the last dinosaur genera to appear before the great Cretaceous–Paleogene...
doing battle. The Tyrannosaurus proves triumphant, and after killing the Triceratops, somehow breaks the time barrier (unless the instrument had done that itself) and begins chasing Holmes.
But it was all just a dream...
Box office
The Ghost of Slumber Mountain was a box office hit, grossing over $100,000 on a $3,000 budget.External links
- The Ghost of Slumber Mountain at the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...