RONAN COGHLAN: My Harryhausen experience

When a mere youthful cinemagoer I used to make a special beeline for the films of Harryhausen. The stop/go motion of his figures fascinated me. When hideous monsters threatened Jason and the Argonauts, Sindbad the Sailor and other such luminaries I was always thrilled; but what added to the thrills was the slightly jerky movement of the monsters. The mighty Talos did not shimmy forth, but walked witha slightly awkward tread, as though locomotion was something he had to think about. Likewise the Minator and that hominid with a single horn which seemed to turn up in many of the films. You see, the fact that the movement was not a hundred per cent natural gave these creatures a ghastly otherworld dimension, endowing them with a sense of menace they would otherwise have lacked - a sense of menace not to be found in the suave computerised monsters of the modern screen.

One day, on quitting the cinema, I decided I was going to be a stop/go monster making my way down the main street of Dublin. I moved, but injected a jerkiness into my tread, which I hoped duplicated the slightly artificial movements of Harryhausen's monsters. I thought my gait might even slightly intimidate the passers-by.

A middle-aged lady approached me.

"Oh, you poor little boy," she exclaimed. "Have you wet yourself? You must go home quickly and get some dry underwear. You are walking in what looks a very uncomfortable way."