Mike Hankin begins an epic two-part feature on the making of Clash of the Titans, Ray Harryhausen’s final feature film adventure...

Itseems unbelievable when you realise that Clash of the Titans was only Ray Harryhausen’s second foray into the world of Greek mythology. Released in 1963, Jason and the Argonauts is now regarded as a classic of the fantasy genre and arguably Harryhausen’s most popular film, but it hardly set the box-office alight at the time. We now see it as containing possibly Harryhausen’s most iconic sequence, when the hero Jason and his two companions fight seven, sword-wielding skeletons atop an ancient cliff-top and is still highly rated as one of the best special effect images put on the screen.

Above: Laurence Olivier as the indomitable Zeus, he was quite ill at the time of filming and would often go and lean on his tall, burly co-star Pat Roach, saying, “Let me draw some of your strength, dear boy”

The whole film is filled with fantastic apparitions, from giant bronze statues and screaming harpies to a seven-headed Hydra, but the timing of the release, at the end of a plethora of Italian sword and sandal epics, undoubtedly hampered its box-office potential. Many people wondered why it was, that despite the closing remarks of the God Zeus, suggesting Jason would have further adventures and undoubtedly meet more mythological creatures, a sequel was not forthcoming. It seems the reason was mostly economics.

Step forward Beverley Cross, who had been a writer on Harryhausen’s earlier Greek mythology adventure. With early publicity looking promising for the success of Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger (1977), Columbia Studios wanted more of the same and for a while Harryhausen and Cross began collaborating on a new adventure for the ancient seafarer to be called, Sinbad and the Seven Wonders of the World.

The premise was exciting enough, with a mixture of several mythologies of the ancient world, which combined would provide Sinbad with encounters with a mechanical statue of Zeus, the dragon of Rhodes, the skeletal horses of Mausolus, the Sphinx and other entities.

The story offered incredible opportunities for spectacular imagery, as Sinbad would visit the sites of the wonders of the ancient world in search of seven golden panels that, when assembled into a pyramid shape, would reveal the secret of eternal life. The urgency added to the tale, was that several people, one of whom was Sinbad’s fiancée, Princess Scheherazade, were being held hostage by the villain of the piece, until he came into possession of these seven pillars of wisdom.

At the same time, Beverley Cross, who was a scholar of Greek mythology, was also trying to interest Harryhausen in another tale, that of Perseus and the Gorgon. Harryhausen needed little convincing, as this particular story had been on his mind for some time. It took a little while, but finally the pair convinced Harryhausen’s partner Charles Schneer and, in turn, Columbia Pictures, that this was the project they should back. But with the need for a greatly increased budget, Columbia quickly withdrew, leaving Schneer and Harryhausen to look for new backers.