History Film / TheValleyOfGwangi

* StockDinosaurs: ''Allosaurus'' (or possibly ''Tyrannosaurus rex''), ''Ornithomimus'', ''Styracosaurus'' and ''Pteranodon'' are all stock.

* SeldomSeenSpecies: The discovery of the small horse-like ungulate ''Eohippus'' is what triggers the plot.

* ArtisticLicensePaleontology: Even Harryhausen himself seemed confused as to exactly what kind of dinosaur Gwangi was supposed to be.

* EscapedAnimalRampage
* EverythingsBetterWithDinosaurs: Though, Gwangi's victims might think otherwise.

* KillItWithFire: How Gwangi dies at the end of the film.

* ChildrenAreInnocent: Lope, by virtue of being the most honest character among the entire cast. Sure he conned Tuck, but he really needed the money.
* CryForTheDevil: Lope sheds tears of grief for Gwangi as he is consumed by the flames in the burning church.

* RealityEnsues: [[spoiler:Tia Zorina sends her dwarf assistant to release Gwangi from his cage, but once Gwangi kills him, Tia Zorina, as a blind old woman standing by the entrance tunnel of an amphitheatre, can't find her way out of there, and ends up being run over by audience members fleeing through the tunnel.]]

* HerbivoresAreFriendly: Averted hard. The styracosaurus hates ''everyone.''

* InfantImmortality: The little boy Lope survives both the ''Pteranodon'' attack in the middle of the movie, and Gwangi's rampage near the end. Pretty much anyone else who crosses the Dinosaurs' path aren't so lucky.

* DumbDinos: Gwangi is of the marauding-monster variety - he leaves a styracosaurus and an elephant he kills uneaten before targeting humans. The first instance gets him captured. The second ultimately gets him killed.

* InformedSpecies: Gwangi is supposed to be an ''Allosaurus'', but he looks more like a ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' with three fingers. Though this was a common mistake back then.

* SuperPersistentPredator: Gwangi kills other dinosaurs and an elephant but leaves them to go after humans. Maybe it really was evil... Or this was based on something that [[RealityIsUnrealistic happens with real-world predators]], Gwangi saw the movement of prey animals constantly, all around him, so he kept attacking out of confusion and fear. "Didn't I kill you already?"
* UngratefulBastard: Gwangi, twice humans risk themselves to help or protect him, and twice he shows his gratitude by eating them.

* CharacterAsHimself: The titular Allosaurus / TyrannosaurusRex is credited as Gwangi in the end credits.

* InformedSpecies: Gwangi is supposed to be an ''Allosaurus'', but he looks more like a ''TyrannosaurusRex'' with three fingers. Though this was a common mistake back then.

* StockDinosaurs: ''Allosaurus'' (or possibly ''TyrannosaurusRex''), ''Ornithomimus'', ''Styracosaurus'' and ''Pteranodon'' are all stock.

* ''TyrannosaurusRex'': Though billed as an ''Allosaurus'', Gwangi doesn't really look like one.

* KillItWithFire

* CharacterAsHimself: The titular Allosaurus/TyrannosaurusRex is credited as Gwangi in the end credits.

* CharacterAsHimself: The titular Allosaurus is credited as Gwangi in the end credits.

* DumbDinos: Gwangi is of the marauding-monster variety - he leaves a styracosaurus and an elephant he kills uneaten before targeting humans.

* WhatEverHappenedToTheMouse: T.J.'s Eohippus just disappears after leading the characters to the valley. It's never seen or even mentioned again.

* DumbDinos: Gwangi is of the marauding-monster variety - he leaves an elephant he kills uneaten before targeting humans.

* {{Redubbing}}: The actress playing T.J. had such a thick Israeli accent, she had to be redubbed.

* {{Spexico}}: The movie was shot in Cuenca, Spain.

* SelfFulfillingProphecy: The gypsy woman predicts that the "spirit of evil" (''i.e.'' Gwangi) must return to the valley or there will be much death. When the circus ignores her, she sends another gypsy to try and free Gwangi ''[[IdiotBall in the middle of the main act]]'', which does indeed result in lots of death.
* StarringSpecialEffects
* SuperPersistentPredator: Gwangi kills other dinosaurs and an elephant but leaves them to go after humans. Maybe it really was evil... Or this was based on something that [[RealityIsUnrealistic happens with real-world predators]], Gwangi saw the movement of prey animals constantly, all around him, so he kept attacking out of confusion and fear. "Didn't I kill you already?"
* ''TyrannosaurusRex'': Though billed as an ''Allosaurus'', Gwangi doesn't really look like one.
* UngratefulBastard: Gwangi, twice humans risk themselves to help or protect him, and twice he shows his gratitude by eating them.

* CaliforniaDoubling: The movie was shot in Cuenca, Spain.

The idea had already been done years earlier in the movie "The Beast of Hollow Mountain" but "Gwangi" is the better known of the two. 'Gwangi' was originally conceived by Willis O'Brien, the man who did the special effects for ''Film/KingKong1933''.

'''''The Valley of Gwangi''''' is a 1969 American film about cowboys fighting an Allosaur (not a Tyrannosaur, though it is often mistaken for one). The film is known for its StopMotion Animation creature effects provided by Creator/RayHarryhausen.

* InformedSpecies: Gwangi is supposed to be an ''Allosaurus'', but he looks more like a ''TyrannosaurusRex'' with three fingers.

* DomesticatedDinosaurs: Attempted twice, succeeds with the Eohippus. But fails with Gwangi himself.

* {{Greed}}: Both Tuck and Bromley catch a bad case of this when they see the Eohippus. T.J. isn't immune either, once Gwangi is caught she planned on using him to make a fortune in her show. Needless to say, in the end nobody got what they wanted.
* InfantImmortality: The little boy Lope survives both the Pteranodon attack in the middle of the movie, and Gwangi's rampage near the end. Pretty much anyone else who crosses the Dinosaurs' path aren't so lucky.

* PrehistoricMonster: Gwangi himself, of course, but also a KidnappingBirdOfPrey Pteranodon and even the Styracosaurus hassles the humans!

* ShoutOut: Later on, Gwangi appears not on the warpath and he scratches the side of his head, just as the Tyrannosaurus in ''Film/KingKong1933'' did.

* StockDinosaurs: Allosaurus (or possibly TyrannosaurusRex), Ornithomimus, Styracosaurus and Pteranodon are all stock.

* TyrannosaurusRex: Though billed as an Allosaurus, Gwangi doesn't really look like one.