The Ghost of Slumber Mountain

Infobox Film
name = The Ghost of Slumber Mountain


image_size =
caption =
director = Willis O'Brien
producer = Herbert M. Dawley
writer = Willis O'Brien
narrator =
starring = Herbert M. Dawley
Willis O'Brien
music =
cinematography =
editing =
distributor =
released = November 17, 1918
runtime = 19 minutes
country = USA
language = Silent films
English intertitles
budget =
website =
amg_id =
imdb_id = 0009105

"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".

Plot

Most of the plot is unknown; "The Ghost of Slumber Mountain" originally took up 3000 feet of film, equivalent to approximately 90 minutes, but Dawley cut out almost all of it, reducing 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-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...

Box Office

"The Ghost of Slumber Mountain" was a box office hit, grossing over $100,000 on a $3,000 budget. ["Willis O'Brien-Creator of the Impossible" by Don Shay. "Cinefex #7" R.B Graphics. 1982. Pg.13]

References

External links

* [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0009105/ "The Ghost of Slumber Mountain"] at the Internet Movie Database
* [http://www.1000misspenthours.com/reviews/reviewse-g/ghostofslumbermountain.htm Extended plot synopsis and behind-the-scenes]