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7th Voyage Of Sinbad Original Early Production Dragon Maquette

Currency:USD Category:Memorabilia / Movie - Memorabilia Start Price:50.00 USD Estimated At:1,500.00 - 2,000.00 USD
7th Voyage Of Sinbad Original Early Production Dragon Maquette
7th Voyage Of Sinbad Original Early Production Dragon Maquette - The legendary special effects wizard Ray Harryhausen so dominates the features he's involved in that most people don't realize that someone else actually gets credit for directing his films, and he does the special effects. However, the films are always advertised with his name above the title. This is because his use of his own "Dynamation" is so visually stunning that it overtakes the full production, making his films "Harryhausen" productions. One of his greatest was "The 7th Voyage of Sinbad" (1958) in which Sinbad the Sailor (Kerwin Mathews) and his crew must return to the Island of Colossa to obtain a special eggshell to be used in a potion to turn his beloved Princess Parisa (Kathryn Grant) back to normal size after she has been shrunk by the evil Sokurah the Magician (Torin Thatcher). One of the most exciting and visually stunning sequences is at the end of the film where Sinbad and the Princess are trying to escape out of the Valley of the Cyclops, and at the entrance of Sokurah's cave are confronted by the Cyclops. Sinbad releases the Dragon, which does battle with the Cyclops as Sinbad and the Princess escape. The ensuing battle between the Dragon and the Cyclops is a masterpiece of stop-motion special effects. Harryhausen would spend months creating drawings for his creatures, and then even more time creating special models until he was satisfied with the look. This is a truly rare maquette, since it is the original maquette of the Dragon. Harryhausen did camera tests with this version and felt it looked more like one of his iconic dinosaurs than a mythical fire-breathtaking dragon, so for the final version, he changed the back scales to more resemble the armored Stegosaurus. He also added "devil" horns, and special horned eyebrows, and gave the chest and belly a more reptilian texture. This original Harryhausen maquette comes from the celebrated collection of Jerry Neeley, well-known film historian, writer, collector and owner of the famous "Jerry's Video" in Los Feliz, CA. Customers, collectors and throngs of industry people would come from around the world to talk to Jerry, whose knowledge and memory were encyclopedic and also visit his collection. The original Dragon Maquette includes a Letter of Provenience from Jerry Neely's widow and co-owner of his various video and memorabilia shops. (Approx 19"x12").