PHENOMENALITY: *marvelous*
MYTHICITY: *fair*
FRYEAN MYTHOS: *drama*
CAMPBELLIAN FUNCTION: *sociological*
THE BEAST OF HOLLOW MOUNTAIN introduced the still popular trope of "cowboys vs. dinosaurs," courtesy of master animator Willis O'Brien, who's credited with the basic story-idea and who may have contributed some scenarios though other animators took over the project. Consequently the T-Rex of the title receives only the most basic stop-motion animation.
Surprisingly, the interactions of the human characters do all the heavy lifting here. There are no scientists around to wonder how a T-Rex managed to live in Mexico for millions of years, apparently feeding off whatever people or animals ventured near its mountainous domain. Instead, most of the running time is devoted to the struggles of American expatriate cowboy Jimmy Ryan, who's moved to Mexico to run his own ranch. By so doing he locks horns with a Mexican rancher, Enrique, both because Jimmy is underselling Enrique on beef prices and because the cowboy has attracted the interest of Enrique's fiancee Sarita. Jimmy, a consummate all-American nice guy, doesn't initially intend to steal Sarita, but he just can't help looking better than his irritable Mexican competition.
While all of this melodrama is going on in town (including a big fight-scene between Jimmy and his enemy), people and animals continue to disappear around Hollow Mountain. Since the Beast can't move far from its stomping grounds, it takes quite a bit of time for the cowboys to cross paths with the prehistoric predator. However, despite the shaky animation, the finale provides a novel method of dino-destruction. Enrique gets killed, clearing the way for Jimmy and Sarita. The end.
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