*THE ANIMAL WORLD (1956) Ray Harryhausen's and 50 similar items

Vintage original 11 X 14 in. US title lobby card from the classic 1950's prehistoric animal-themed stop-motion documentary, THE ANIMAL WORLD, released in 1956 by Warner Bros. and directed by Irwin Allen. Written by Irwin Allen, this documentary showcases the world's many different animal species, both past and present. It is unrestored in good- condition only as shown. This film contains the first color work of stop-motion animator Ray Harryhausen in a feature film. This was also the second and last time he worked under his mentor, Willis H. O'Brien, who supervised the stop-motion animation in this film (the first was Mighty Joe Young (1949)). It is interesting to note that in the 26-year partnership between producer Charles H. Schneer and special effects artist Harryhausen (which had just begun the previous year at Columbia Pictures with It Came from Beneath the Sea (1955)), The Animal World is one of just two films (the other being One Million Years B.C. (1966)) of Harryhausen's work during that time frame which Schneer did not produce. In interviews following his retirement, Harryhausen indicated the film "ran into a censorship problem" apparently from the Hays Office. The criticism centered on the sequence of a Ceratosaurus killing a Stegosaurus then fighting a second Ceratosaurus. The criticism centered on the violence of the fight sequence. Harryhausen noted the film's live action animal sequences were similarly bloody, hence the viciousness of the dinosaur battle.