The Valley of Gwangi (1969)

Miguel!
Miguel!
Miguel.
Miguel.
Gwangi.
No, no.
Leave it. He who takes
from Gwangi the evil one is cursed.
- Only by an old woman's tongue.
- I tell you...
...if he does not go back
to the Forbidden Valley...
...we shall all suffer a terrible fate.
My eyes are blind,
but I can still see the signs.
Keep your superstitions
to yourself, old woman.
Fool.
One day he will learn
to obey the law of Gwangi...
...or like his brother, he will perish.
Howdy, ma'am.
- Carry your case, seor?
- Don't bother me, boy.
- But don't you need a guide?
- No, don't need a guide.
- What about an interpreter?
- Or an interpreter.
- You need a horse?
- Now look, boy, I told you...
...I don't need anything.
Now get lost, comprende? Adis.
There is no money in that, seor.
- You want to do something for me?
- Lf the money is right.
- Tell me where the arena is.
- Two miles out of town.
- Two miles?
- You'll need that horse, seor.
And a guide.
You're a real hustler. I bet
your pappy sends you out hustling...
...while he stays home taking a siesta.
No, seor, my papa is dead.
I run my own business.
My name is Lope.
Okay, Lope, you and me
will do some business together.
- Now how about getting me that horse?
- Ten pesos, seor.
And 5 more for the saddle.
The first million's
always the toughest, Lope.
Ladies and gentlemen...
...I now have the honor to present...
...the lovely and talented star
of our show...
...riding Wonder Horse Omar...
...Miss T.J. Breckenridge.
- Well, I'll be.
- Hey, Tuck. Tuck Kirby.
Hi, there.
Now, what in the name of Sam Hill
brings you around here?
Up to no good, that's for sure.
You don't seem glad to see me, Champ.
About as glad as a dying mule
to see a vulture.
I'm no vulture.
Bird on the wing, maybe.
Yeah, flying to the next quick buck.
Well, it looks like you finally made it.
- I make out all right.
- All you care about is yourself...
...no matter who gets hurt.
I still care what happens to T.J.
Yeah, always did.
Fussing around her like a mother hen.
Her daddy was a friend. Somebody's
gotta protect her from guys like you.
- Running out on her like you did.
- You weren't sorry to see me go.
Nope, but it darn near broke T.J.'s heart.
Yeah. From what I hear,
you're not doing so good by her either.
Not enough customers
to pay the bill.
We don't need any big shot coming
telling us how to run this show.
- Now, why don't you just go back...
- Wait a minute.
Well, that's her tune.
That's the grand finale, isn't it?
Well, now, I'm surprised
you remembered.
Well, excuse me, I gotta see this.
For old times' sake, you understand?
Carlos.
Hurry up with that ramp.
- Howdy there, partner.
- Ex-partner.
And to what do we owe
this unpleasant surprise?
- I'm just looking around.
- For trouble.
They say it comes in threes.
I wonder what the next two will be.
Hey, you can't go in there!
Get out.
- Been a long time, T.J.
- Do you want to get killed?
You're the one
who's always trying it out there.
Don't start that again.
You and me are gonna have
a nice little talk...
...or I might just
put you across my knee.
Fat chance. This is T.J., remember?
Sure, I remember.
- Lf you don't mind, I'd like to change.
- Well, go on, go ahead.
Hey, you hesitated up there,
before the jump.
The sight of you would upset
your own mother.
- Not pulling much of a crowd.
- We play Villarosa next.
Things will be better there.
- You sure?
- Sure, I'm sure.
- Why is that?
- What do you care?
You've got your own business now.
Yep. That's right. A one-man operation.
Sitting in a nice office,
buying and selling acts...
...instead of getting knocked off
horses for 10 bucks.
- It's half the risk, twice the pay.
- So mind your own business.
I'm doing just that.
Got a deal for you, T.J.
Get you off the hook with
this broken-down, moth-eaten rodeo.
- Lf you got a brain, you'll take it.
- Thanks.
Buffalo Bill wants to buy Omar
the Wonder Horse.
He's offering a good price.
- And you get 10%, right?
- Twenty.
Well, you're not getting
one thin dime out of me.
And Buffalo Bill is not getting Omar.
And you needn't think you can come...
...busting in here like some hick-town
horse-dealer trying to ruin my show.
There's people depending on me:
Champ, Carlos, Bean, Rowdy.
But you wouldn't know much
about loyalty, would you?
- This is business.
- You play your con tricks...
...and I'll stick to horse tricks.
Now beat it.
My, my. Always did look
sweet in a temper.
- Get out, I said.
- All right, I've hotter irons in the fire.
You just keep struggling, leaping off
platforms into a pot of water.
Break your neck if you want to.
Makes no difference to me.
Good.
Just worried about that horse up there.
Wouldn't like anything to happen to him.
Excuse me.
Good for you, T.J. You should've done
that a long time ago. Thrown him out.
I say! Hello, there. Over here, sir!
- Someone you know?
- A client of mine, Professor Bromley.
- What's he doing out there?
- He digs for old bones and things.
Hello!
Sounds like he dug himself
into trouble. Come on.
- I say, thank heavens you came along.
- What has happened, professor?
"What has happened, professor?"
You know very well what has happened.
- Rosita?
- Rosita. Rosita's my mule.
She absolutely refused to budge.
Then she kicked me.
- I don't know where she's gone now.
- You hurt?
Well, there are no bones broken,
but it's frightfully painful.
Oh, I don't believe we've met.
My name is Bromley.
- Hi, name's Tuck Kirby.
- How do you do?
Hey, hop on, we'll give you a ride back.
Well, perhaps Lope's mount
might be a little more practical.
Wait, my boy.
Up.
Right.
You ought to know better than
to get behind a stubborn mule.
Your advice comes
a little late, Mr. Kirby.
Look, professor,
Rosita's found her way home.
Vicious beast.
Give me your shoulder, Lope.
I'd say you could use
a good, stiff drink.
You're right, Mr. Kirby.
It's in the trunk there.
Lope tells me you're one of these
archaeologist fellows.
Well, he's pretty near the mark.
Actually...
...I'm a paleontologist.
- We dig deeper.
- My father used to say...
...it is not good to dig up the past.
Let sleeping dogs lie, eh?
We're not gonna get very far
that way, are we?
- That depends on where you want to go.
- The bottom of things, of course.
What Darwin did with
his theory of evolution...
...I intend to do with
my theory of humanoids.
- "Humanoids"?
- It means, "man-like."
It's believed amongst paleontologists
that man evolved a million years ago.
I intend to prove it was
many eons before that.
If you'd like to look in that trunk, you'll
find a piece of rock. Will you get it?
That's it.
Now look at the fossil.
The impression left in the rock.
- That looks like some sort of footprint.
- Precisely, it's an Eohippus.
- Eo...?
- Eohippus.
The so-called dawn horse.
The ancestor of our present-day horses.
I never saw a horse small enough
to leave a print like that.
Did you notice it had three toes?
Over the period of evolution,
horses have grown larger.
And that center toe has become
the hoof as we know it.
What is more incredible
is the fossil beside it.
I am convinced that
is the tibia of some humanoid...
...that existed at the same time
as the Eohippus.
Possibly more than 50 million years ago.
- You found this thing around here?
- In the foothills.
This is my whole life, Mr. Kirby,
but I need time and money.
My resources,
both financial and physical...
...are running precariously low.
Well, professor, what you
need is a good rest.
Yes, Mr. Kirby.
Thank you for your kindness.
Lope.
I'll bet you didn't know that
was your middle toe, did you?
- T.J.?
- Yeah?
- Can I speak to you a moment?
- Of course.
In private.
You want that money I owe you.
Don't worry, you'll get it.
We'll pack them in
with our new attraction.
Yes, El Diablo will be
a big success...
- Quiet. That's between us.
- It's not only money.
- What else?
- Us. Together. You and me and Diablo...
In the meantime, let's see
how we go in Villarosa.
Hi there, hon.
I thought I told you to go.
- It's about that deal.
- So go!
You've been thinking about it?
Nothing has been further from my mind
with the possible exception of you.
Hey, toro.
Hey, toro. Hey, hey, toro.
Lope!
Hey, hey, toro.
Tuck!
Darling, are you all right?
Cut it out, Tuck, if you want me
to get on with the repairs.
You know it's not easy
for me to keep still with you...
...hanging around me like that.
Who was that fella
jumped the bull, anyway?
- Oh, Carlos.
- I'm glad he was there.
- He saved your life.
- Yeah.
Why did you walk out on me, Tuck?
I was ready to sell out, to marry you.
That's all I ever wanted.
I don't know.
I know I didn't want to.
Getting married is like
being a horse tied up in a corral.
I never could take being
all roped up like that.
T.J., you know what?
I just know you're gonna sell me Omar.
That's right. You've got a deal.
Wait a minute. What's going on?
Nothing. Anything for you, baby.
Don't give me any of that "baby" stuff.
What's the pitch?
- Carlos brought me a new act.
- What kind of an act?
- Stick around. Come to the opening at...
- No, no, I mean now.
All right, I'll show you tonight.
But first the patient must rest,
or he might have a relapse.
- And relapses can be fatal.
- T.J., I want to know...
Now lie still.
Doesn't it hurt to move?
Terrible.
Meet El Diablo.
Well, if that don't beat all.
You want a little sugar, don't you?
- Where'd you ever get a critter like that?
- Carlos found him.
Must have been in a gold mine,
because that's what he is. Solid gold.
It took a while to train him, but now
he's about ready for his debut.
Well, what's the act?
We strap a platform onto Omar's back,
and El Diablo waltzes on top.
A horse dancing on horseback.
That's gonna be a humdinger.
I can see it all now. Presenting El Diablo,
the world's only miniature horse.
We are on our way to a fortune.
- Amazing.
- It's absolutely astounding.
Yeah, it was those three toes
that started me thinking.
And four on its hind feet.
- Great Scott, it could be-
- Yeah, an Eo... What's it?
- Hippus.
- Eohippus. Yes.
Eohippus, if you are one...
...what are you doing here 50 million
years after you should be extinct?
It could be a freak of nature, of course.
Well, is there any way you can tell?
By checking its origin.
If I could prove that this
is the genuine article...
...I shall undoubtedly
receive a knighthood...
...for the greatest scientific
discovery of the age.
The greatest scientific discovery
of the age?
- T.J. Doesn't know what she's got.
- Sir Horace Bromley.
It'll look great in lights.
- Galileo, Newton, Darwin, Bromley.
- Buffalo Bill, Barnum and Bailey.
- Bromley.
- Or the Ringling Brothers.
Yes. Yes. We'll play one off
against the other.
- Sell to the highest bidder. They'll beg.
- Possibly Lord...
- We'd make a killing.
...Bromley.
We must find out where
this little horse came from.
Yes, let's go find this guy Carlos.
- Impossible.
- But my dear fellow...
...I have no commercial interest
in El Diablo. I'm a scientist.
I don't care what you are.
T.J. Has given away our secret.
- Destroying all my dreams.
- Oh, come now, be reasonable.
Reason is something my people
do not understand.
That witch Tia Zorina tells them
superstitious nonsense about El Diablo.
- They believe it.
- At least show us the camp.
I don't want any more trouble.
You've caused enough already.
- Well, thanks for your help, Carlos.
- What help?
"Tia Zorina. Camp."
We can sure find where that camp is.
- How?
- Why, Lope.
- Lope?
- Sure. Listen, that kid...
...could find a needle in a haystack
and sell it for a profit. I'm not kidding.
Madam, I'm prepared to pay
a guide handsomely.
To lead you to the Forbidden Valley?
No. Not for all the gold in the world.
- What's this Forbidden Valley?
- From there came the little horse...
...and until he is returned,
a great evil will fall upon us.
- Rubbish!
- I tell you, unless the little horse...
...is returned, we shall all
suffer the curse of hell.
Superstitious claptrap. There's nothing
hocus-pocus about that little horse.
Don't you realize we've discovered
a living specimen of the Eohippus?
- What, that thing really is an Eohippus?
- Of course.
Well, naturally we shall have
to prove it by scientific research.
Well, we aren't getting any scientific
research done here, are we, professor?
If you can't help me,
perhaps I can help you.
If you knew where the little horse
was hidden, what would you do?
Return it to the Forbidden Valley.
Well...
A centavo for your thoughts, seor.
Oh, hi, Lope.
You look unhappy, seor.
Well, I got a problem, Lope.
I've been wrestling with it for hours.
Sometimes it helps to tell an amigo.
Well, it's like this, amigo:
I made a big discovery last night.
If I tell this friend about it,
it could help her a lot.
She could make a fortune.
But if she makes a fortune
it might not help me.
I can't figure out why I'm trying
to help a friend make a fortune...
...when all I gotta do is be quiet
about it and make a fortune myself.
- Savvy?
- I savvy very well, seor.
- I can't understand it.
- Love.
No! Love's for Latins.
When my mama was alive
she used to tell me:
"Lope, when you help someone
you love you help yourself."
Here, limonada, for free advice.
You sure do know how
to help yourself, Lope.
What's the big discovery, seor?
Oh, no, no, no.
You'll end up wanting a cut.
Why? I'm doing fine on my own.
Yeah, I see, and widening your horizons.
- Sorry, seor?
- I mean, you're going on a journey.
- With the professor.
- With the professor?
I must meet him tonight with the mule,
outside the arena.
Well, that's it, amigo.
No more figuring.
I got the feeling that a friend of mine
is in need of some help right now.
Come on, come on!
- Hey, Tuck!
- Tuck, what's the hurry?
Lope, come here.
We are in luck, chico.
They've got it.
Kirby, let them go! Don't be a fool, man!
Come on, chico,
we mustn't lose them.
What happened?
- He hit me.
- Who?
- Your friend, Kirby.
- What?
I caught him with my people
stealing El Diablo.
- Stealing?! Why, the dirty...
- No, no. Not Tuck.
- We just saw him with our own eyes.
- He's no good, T.J.
Champ, get Bean and Rowdy.
You bet.
Whoa!
Come on!
Look here.
Tuck's got company.
We're headed in the right direction.
He's working with the professor.
They were speaking of scientific interest.
Scientific interest, my eye!
Tuck wants El Diablo for Buffalo Bill.
- You should have listened to me, T.J.
- He's right, T.J.
That Tuck is the lowest.
All right, all right!
He was right. I was wrong.
- Lf we stand here we'll never catch him.
- I know where they're heading.
- There's a shortcut.
- To where?
Forbidden Valley.
Help!
Now, professor,
where's that little horse?
- I don't know.
- You don't know?
Sir Horace, when your king finds out
you're a low-down horse thief...
...he'll give you a touch of the sword,
all right. Yeah, just about there.
You're gonna tell me where El Diablo is.
You can make it easy or hard.
That's up to you.
- Well, the gypsies took him.
- You put them up to it.
Well, yes, in a way,
but it's going to benefit all of us.
Oh, now, is that a fact?
- El Diablo...
- Is the property of Miss Breckenridge!
I'm protecting her interests.
Well, so am I.
Don't you see, we must follow
the gypsy trail to the Forbidden Valley.
Where there is one Eohippus,
there must be others.
At least two, the sire and the mare.
Possibly more.
Just think what you
and Miss Breckenridge could do...
...with a dozen Eohippi.
From now on we're partners?
Oh, no, professor. I make it a rule never
to shake hands with an anxious man.
I'll join you, but no deals.
- Seor Kirby!
- Hey, hi there, Lope.
Say, what's the price of water
around here?
- One peso. To you, half.
- Okay.
Fly, little one. Fly home to your master.
This circle of mountains,
jagged peaks, deep cliffs...
...could be the perfect barrier
against man and the elements.
Huh, no wonder they call it
the Forbidden Valley.
Yes.
Might be the answer to many things.
Like what?
We shall soon see, Mr. Kirby.
We'll camp here tonight,
start out first thing in the morning.
What's that?
Quick, the horses!
- Where's Rosita?
- Seor Kirby, professor, look!
There's blood all around.
Ho! Ho, boy, ho!
Yeah, the gypsies stopped here,
let El Diablo run off that way.
Seor Kirby! Professor!
Now, how'd they get here?
I was afraid of something like this.
Champ, I just caught myself
a horse thief.
Now hold on, T.J. You don't think
I had anything to do with that?
Look, the Eohippus!
Easy. Easy. Steady.
No, that's no good.
Let's chase him on horseback.
Go get him.
- Hey, need any help?
- Not from you.
- I've got it!
- Take your thieving hands off him.
He's mine.
Whatever you say, T.J.
Tuck Kirby, I could shoot you.
Keep after him, Champ.
Hey, we got him cornered.
The devil we have.
I can see daylight in there.
He must have gone clear through.
Yeah, that's that because we're not.
Looks like the end of the road.
It opens into another whole valley
through there.
Wider inside. Wide enough
for the horses.
Take up the slack easy.
Take her away.
Okay, that did it!
Come on, boys.
Now, ain't that something?!
Man, oh, man!
Champ!
Whoa. Here, what's this?
- I never saw tracks like that.
- Hey, Champ!
Do you see what I see?
Holy... What's that?
It looks like a plucked ostrich!
Let's get him for the show.
What the...?
- I'm gonna try and find the others.
- Right.
- It's hideous.
- Oh, it's beautiful.
- What kind of bird is it, professor?
- Oh, no bird.
A giant pterodactyl, a flying reptile.
It's been extinct
for over 50 million years.
Then what's it doing here?
Precisely.
What is it doing here?
- Where are the others?
- There!
Let's get out of here!
Gwangi.
- Take off, T.J.
- Lope's hurt.
Can you ride? Get on a horse, boy!
- Come on, professor. No time for that.
- I can't go now.
There's a big lizard back there,
heading this way. Get aboard.
Leave me alone, Mr. Kirby.
I'm not leaving now.
Come on, Tuck.
Okay, professor, it's your funeral.
Great Scott!
I see what you mean, Mr. Kirby.
By George! A styracosaurus!
Whoa!
All right, Champ, take a look.
Okay up here. Room for the horses
and everything.
- Let's get up there.
- What about the professor?
Nothing we can do for him now.
Just hope he's still alive.
Rowdy, you must be plumb loco.
- Now what'd I do?
- Come here.
These cartridges are blanks.
They're the blanks we use in the show.
No wonder the rifles didn't do any good.
How was I to know? You expect
to wake a fella ready for a shootout?
Hey, forget it.
Here, maybe we can use these.
- See if you can cut that into a spear.
- I don't take orders from no horse thief.
All right, now tell me, just what
do you mean, a horse thief?
All right, break it up.
That's enough.
We'll settle all this later.
No, we'll settle it right now. Lope?
It was the professor and the gypsies.
Carlos said you did it.
Carlos?
You never did bring anything
but trouble to T.J. All right.
Stop it! Where do you think you are,
civilization?
We all got to stick together
until we get out of this.
In all my travels I never saw
nothing like that 2-ton lizard.
If we could just get him back alive.
Yeah, the only thing I want
to get back alive is me.
That does it.
What are you doing out of the cave?
You wanna get yourself killed?
Not anymore.
- What's that for?
- Well, it's a trap.
In case one of those little lizards
decides to mosey up this way.
A hole in the ground
could swallow me up too.
You can't tell a friend from an enemy,
cockeyed female.
Don't they sleep nights?
Come on! Come on!
- It's gone.
- Yeah, temporarily.
Tuck, I've decided.
I'm going to sell out.
Well, that's great,
if we ever get back to Omar.
Not just Omar. The whole show,
lock, stock and barrel.
That's what you wanted, isn't it?
- Well, sure, sure.
- Oh, sound happier.
Well, I don't know, T.J.
I've been on my own so long.
I've been on my own too.
Well, I know, I know, but not like me.
I mean, really on my own.
I've had to con and pitch,
hustle my way into whatever I am now.
I don't even know where that is.
Tuck, I don't care.
Don't you understand?
All right.
All right, T.J.
I'll tell you. I've been looking
for something...
...all my life.
- Yes?
It took a lot of finding,
but I finally found it.
- Yes?
- The most beautiful...
...galdarndest ranch you ever saw.
- Ranch?
- Yeah, in Wyoming.
Don't you see, we could
both sell out, buy the place...
...build it up to a really big ranch,
raise a bunch of cattle and horses.
And kids, maybe?
Yeah!
You talking about settling down?
Sure you can make it, Tuck?
Well, I won't know
till I give it a try, will I?
Bean, Rowdy, bring torches! It worked!
I say up there, watch your step.
There seems to be a bit of a drop here.
I need some water before we set out.
Be right back.
- You shouldn't have let him go alone.
- His idea.
Come on!
Bean! Rowdy!
Get spears! Get spears!
Get the horses!
Bean, Rowdy, saddle up!
Got him!
Go to the other side!
Pull on the rope! Pull!
Pull that rope!
Go on, get clear!
Get clear!
Pull that rope! Get clear!
Pull on that rope! All the way!
Pull it!
Get another rope on him!
Pull that rope!
Hold on!
Another rope should do it!
Hold it steady!
Hold him! Hold him!
They've got him, professor!
They've got him!
Steady now, steady!
Keep the ropes tight!
Keep them tight!
Come on, professor!
Come on!
The ropes, keep them tight!
All right, clear out! Let go!
Rowdy, come on!
Steady those horses!
Can't get through!
Keep those horses steady!
Tuck, Carlos!
Can't get through here!
Go back to the professor.
There's no way through!
There's no way through!
We gotta go back!
We're gonna lug this critter back alive!
T.J., you're gonna have the greatest
main attraction that any circus...
What's the matter?
Where's Carlos?
Champ!
It is as I foretold.
Gwangi has killed Carlos
just as he killed his brother Miguel.
- Well, how'd you know that?
- In a dream, I saw it.
The great jaws snapping,
the riderless horse. He was doomed.
And so will you be doomed,
all of you...
...unless the evil one is set free!
Balderdash, my good woman
He's no more evil than an alligator.
The only thing that's evil about him
are his jaws.
Spells? He can cast no spells!
All right, come on, let's move out.
Defy the law and perish!
In the name of world science,
I beg you, I implore you, to think again.
- Later. We've got a show to put on.
- A show! A show?
It's disgraceful to think of putting this
creature on display in a cheap circus!
- We can do what we like. He's ours.
- He belongs to us all, to mankind.
- To scientific research!
- Easy, professor.
You can do your research in the time we
give you. Follow us on our world tour!
You must be mad, raving mad.
World tour!
We'll see what the Royal Society
has to say about this.
- What's this about a world tour?
- I've got it all figured out.
- We play London, Paris, Madrid, and...
- Wait a minute.
- Forgetting something, aren't you?
- Oh, yes, New York.
No, not New York, Wyoming!
That ranch!
- We talked about it, remember?
- Yes, but that was before.
Look, T.J., this show
was going to be it.
The reason I helped you was so that
all of you could get paid off handsome.
- From a show that's really worth buying.
- But now it's worth saving.
Tuck, can't you see?
We can do the tour, then buy the ranch.
No. No, we can't.
Not you and me. Not now.
- Same old Tuck.
- Oh, no, not the same old Tuck!
But a new kind of T.J.,
suddenly caught up in a world of glitter.
Leave me out. That dreamboat's
on the rocks before it sails.
As you like.
As you like?!
- Well, that's it.
- I guess it is.
Figures.
Well, I'm sorry for you.
You're heading for a place I just left.
I know that place.
I don't think you're gonna like it much.
Seorita, you must go after Mr. Kirby.
He's a very proud man
and he'll never come back.
Tuck!
Quiet him down!
Quiet him down!
Please, seor,
I'm doing the best I can!
Pedro, ready with that fanfare music.
Stand by, boys. When that goes up
you'll get the picture of your lives.
Ladies and gentlemen!
I have the honor...
...to make the most important
announcement of this...
To make the most important
announcement of the era!
What you are about to see
has never been seen before, I repeat...
...has never been seen before
by human eyes!
Captured and brought back alive...
...by Miss T.J. Breckenridge!
Let her rip, boys.
Let her rip!
Gwangi the Great!
Living wonder of the prehistoric era!
Get that curtain down!
Can you get that curtain down?
Stop him!
What is happening?
No, you're supposed to play!
- Champ! I know what's happened.
- Gwangi's loose!
Well, get some rifles!
The doors! The doors!
Lope!
Get in there!
Push!
Quick, out the back way!
I'll try and lock him in.
- This door's barred from the inside!
- The other is too!
We've gotta get in there!
Come on!
Go!