Harryhausen: The Lost Movies

In an interview with Dalya Alberge of The Observer, Walsh revealed that "There is so much unseen material for a project called The Force of the Trojans – from sketches, including a talking sphinx, to a screenplay – that there are plans to make a film based on its epic story of love and betrayal. John Walsh is one of the trustees of the Ray and Diana Harryhausen Foundation – the largest animation archive of its kind outside of the Walt Disney Studios, with an estimated 50,000 items."[1]

Walsh told Stack magazine that Harryhausen also turned down David Lynch’s Dune and Star Wars, although he did assist in managing the animations on The Empire Strikes Back.[2]

Syfy revealed the plans to bring into production some unmade titles such as The Force of the Trojans with the formation of a new film company, Ray Harryhausen Films Ltd.[3]

Flavorwire described the romantic view of lost projects “In some ways, pining for unmade movies is the purest form of movie love - because we can never be disappointed by the outcome of a promising-sounding project. We've looked back longingly at several such almost-movies, so we're kind of the target audience for Harryhausen: The Lost Movies”[4]

The Daily Telegraph showed the variety of projects offered in the book. “Within the pantheon of the unmade films, there are other works that fit the Harryhausen mould – a few Sinbads and dinosaur epics, ideas that encapsulate his passion for monsters. There was King Kong v Frankenstein (1958), a seemingly ludicrous monster mash with a surprisingly thoughtful script about the dangers of animal experimentation, and Food of the Gods, based on an obscure H. G. Wells story (The Food of the Gods and How It Came to Earth) in which Godzilla-sized chickens and bees terrorise a small English town.”[5]

Animation Magazine said the “This off-screen side of an incredible career is brought to life with never-before-seen artwork, sketches, photos and test footage from the Foundation’s archives.”[6]

Starburst Magazine considered the difficulty in getting film projects made. “What’s perhaps most frustrating about Ray’s career is how difficult he often found it to get projects off the ground. By their very nature his particular brand of film-making was time-consuming and expensive and his career seemed to stutter when films like Valley of Gwangi failed to find an audience and he was often forced to head back to the sanctuary of the bankable Sinbad series instead of pursuing richer ideas elsewhere which he just couldn’t get financed.”[7]

Screen Anarchy chose Harryhausen The Lost Movies as one of their top ten books of 2019[8]

In The Sunday Times Walsh also discussed with journalist Jean West about bringing unmade film project Force of the Trojans to cinema screens. “It is likely that this will involve Hades and the four horsemen of the apocalypse: Death, Famine, War and Pestilence. Also, my plan is to have the final battle as a face-off between stop- motion and CGI.”[9]

Published in September 2019 by Titan Books.[10]

• Harryhausen: The Lost Movies at IMDb
• Ray Harryhausen Foundation
• Official Facebook