The Skeleton

Creator: Ray Harryhausen

Film: The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad 1958

Skeleton Video Clip

Sokurah the Magician, having captured the miniaturised Princess Parisa, Lures Sinbad with the magic lamp to his Domain. He instructs Sinbad to bring the tiny Princess to a casket whereby having placed her inside, he transforms her back to her normal size using the egg shell from a baby two headed Roc and some potion he had already prepared. In exchange for transforming the Princess to full size, Sokurah demands the magic lamp from Sinbad. Not trusting Sokurah, Sinbad tells him he will have it when they are safely aboard their ship.

As they begin to leave the Magicians chamber, Sokurah commands a hanging skeleton to fall onto its feet whereby he begins to manipulate the tired bones as a puppet master instructing his marionette.Sokurahs finger movements and icy glare bring the skeleton to life and with the magicians commands of “ Kill, Kill him” it moves to take a shield and sword from a chamber column ready to do battle with Sinbad. The skeleton slowly turns to face his enemy and the battle commences. Fierce swordplay ensues as glass and is broken and Sinbad manages to knock the sword from the skeletons bony hand. Like a frizzbie the shield is hurled by the skeleton into some shelving behind Sinbad. Princess Parisa looks on in the background.The skeleton retrieves his sword and follows Sinbad out of the chamber to a spiral staircase, which leads to a dead end of considerable height. The two figures continue to fight as the skeleton begins to over power Sinbad to get ahead. Finally passing on the stairwell, the skeleton continues up the stairs hotly pursued by Sinbad only to find that he has nowhere to go once he reaches the top. Sinbad strikes the Skeleton with his sword and the bones smash on the rocks below.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Skeleton Facts

 

 

• Kerwing Mathews had to be part of something called Shadow-Boxing in which an actor performs along an actor or creature in this case that is not really there to film the sequence.

 

• According the Mr. Mathews this entire sequence to choreographed in a routine of 8 beats almost like a dance, this in turn made it easy for Mr. Harryhausen to add the fighting skeleton.

 

• Mr. Harryhausen's father did the armature for this creature and shipped to the film set in which the animation took place.

Credit: An Animated Life

By Tony Dalton