Valence House Museum, Dagenham

Dynamation maestro Ray Harryhausen’s classic stop-motion creatures from movies including Clash of the Titans and The Valley of Gwangi are showcased in this compact exhibition.

Dagenham man Alan Friswell carved a career by creating models for Hollywood movies and then found out Ray Harryhausen was looking for someone to conserve his famous models. Tasked with working on Lope from The Valley of Gwangi, Alan suitably impressed Ray, leading to further preservation work. It’s a sad fact that latex and rubber perish over time, and if artists like Alan hadn’t stopped (and in some cases reversed) the ravages of time, all that would be left would be the skeleton armature.

This single-room exhibition, tucked away in a gallery in Dagenham’s Valence House, features a menagerie of Ray’s creatures, as well as some originals by Alan. Housed in glass cabinets, you can get really close to these treasures to appreciate just how detailed and intricately structured they are.

Star of the show is arguably Bubo the owl from Clash of the Titans – one of the four used in the film, this metal and armature model was the largest stop-motion one. He’s joined by Pegasus the flying horse, beautifully detailed in goat fur and dove feathers and one of only two models used in filming. And then there’s Medusa, looking resplendent with rattle-snake tail. It’s easy to believe that the armature features 150 joints, each snake in her hair meticulously being manoeuvred frame by frame.

My favourite Harryhausen film is Jason and the Argonauts, so what a treat to confront the three-foot long, seven-headed and double-tailed beast. It’s magnificent in close-up, and those who recall the film will know that the beast spawned skeleton warriors, two of which are also on display, crouched and ready for action with their bespoke shields and swords.

The lesser-known cowboys vs dinosaurs flick The Valley of Gwangi is well-represented with Dwarf horse Eohippus (a tiny fur and latex marvel restored by Alan in 2012) and the already mentioned Lope, the boy picked up by a pterodactyl. There’s also an Ornithomimus and resin models of the eponymous Gwangi and fight opponent Styracosaurus.

Elsewhere there’s Alan’s model of the Grand Lunar from First Men in the Moon, a resin stand-in Ceratosaurus from One Million Years BC and a Nautiloid Cephalopod from Mysterious Island where Alan created a new shell to attach to the existing main body. You can also scrutinise some charcoal and pencil illustrations by Ray from The Valley of Gwangi and Clash of the Titans.

While looking around, I bumped into Terry Marison, who at 10 years old played a Selenite in Ray’s First Men in the Moon. He recalled happy days on the set and what a thrill it is for him to see the models so close to where he lives.

Kudos to The Ray and Diana Harryhausen Foundation for leasing the use of the models in this, part of the wider worldwide #Harryhausen100 celebrations leading up to the centenary of his birth on 29 June 2020. The exhibition runs Tuesday to Saturday until 30 June 2018. Booking is not required and admission is free.

Verdict: Dagenham might be a bit of a trek for visitors from Central London, but if you’re a local, or really happy to travel to see these celluloid celebrities, it’s a lovely, compact exhibition that will light up the nostalgia circuits and take you back to bank holiday TV double-bills or formative trips to the cinema. 8/10