749. 1941 Willis O ' Brien Gwangi preproduction diorama. In November, 1941, stop-motion animation maestro Willis O'Brien attempted to interest RKO production chief, David O. Selznick, in creating Gwangi, an ambitious Technicolor effects extravaganza O'Brien predicted would eclipse all his previous creations. The story was pure O'Brien: a clash between modern civilization and the primeval world resulting in prehistoric monsters run amok – this time squaring off with cowboys in the North American Badlands. To prove the imaginative concept, O'Brien and Kong artists including Mario Larrinaga, Marcel Delgado and matte painter Jack Shaw created a series of impressive large-scale dioramas depicting the key action setpieces that would thrill audiences in this spectacular saga of cowboys vs. dinosaurs in the American Wild West. Sadly, the United States was plunged into the horrors of World War II on December 7, 1941 - literally a month to the day following the completion of the Gwangi dioramas. Although the effect was lost on Selznick, the dioramas made a huge impression on the youthful Ray Harryhausen, who remembers seeing them set up on an RKO soundstage. Harryhausen would eventually make O'Brien's lost masterwork himself in 1969, entitled Valley of the Gwangi, so these unusual dioramas can be considered preproduction art for both projects. Discovered in the rafters of the former-RKO scenic department at Culver Studios just before the building was razed, this spectacular piece, depicting two cowboys under attack by the title Allosaurus framed against the majestic rocky plains of the Badlands, was saved. This diorama represents the only extant example of the famed multiplane matte painting environments that brought The Lost World, King Kong and Mighty Joe Young to cinematic life. This remarkable find was painstakingly cleaned and restored by fine artists working side by side with film historians referring to the only surviving set of original Gwangi storyboards and an extremely rare story treatment to discern the action of the scene depicted. The fearsome Allosaurus was developed directly from O'Brien's storyboards. The result is a true one-of-a-kind work of cinematic art that bridges the gap between two special effects legends, Willis O'Brien and his protégé, Ray Harryhausen.