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One Million B.C.
Tumak, der Herr des Urwalds / Cave Man / Man and his Mate / Battle of the Giants / The Cave Dwellers
USA 1940
produced by Hal Roach, D.W. Griffith for Hal Roach Studios/United Artists
directed by Hal Roach, Hal Roach jr
starring Victor Mature, Carole Landis, Lon Chaney jr, Conrad Nagel, John Hubbard, Nigel De Brulier, Mamo Clark, Inez Palange, Edgar Edwards, Jacqueline Dalya, Mary Gale Fisher, Norman Budd, Harry Wilson, John Northpole, Lorraine Rivero, Harold Howard, Ricca Allen, Adda Gleason, Edward Coxen, Ben Hall, Creighton Hale, Audrey Manners, Rosemary Theby, Patricia Pope, Chuck Stubbs
written by Mickell Novak, George Baker, Joseph Frickert, narration written by Grover Jones, music by Werner R. Heymann, visual effects by Roy Seawright, Jack Shaw, Frank Young
review by Mike Haberfelner
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Available on DVD! To buy, click on link(s) below and help keep this site afloat (commissions earned) |
Always make sure of DVD-compatibility!!!
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Now: A group of wanderers lose their way in the mountains and stumble upon a cave
inhabited by a professor (Conrad Nagel), who soon starts to lecture his
unexpected guests on the cavepaintings he has been spending his time
deciphering, telling a story of love and dinosaurs and everything else -
one million B.C. ... One million B.C.: Tumak (Victor Mature) is a young
warrior of the savage Rock People, who only live on the principle of
survival of the fittest, with the strongest hunter of the tribe, Okhoba
(Lon Chaney jr) - Tumak's father, incidently -, also being the natural
leader. One day, Tumak raises his hand against his father, and is expelled
from the tribe for this. After an accident he floats down the river
unconscious, until he is finally picked up by Loana (Carole Landis) of the
Shell People, a much more civilized and gentle tribe that has also
experienced a certain technological progress: The tribe has spears for
weapons, the Rock people only wooden clubs. Loana nurses Tumak back to
health and teaches him the principles of sharing and caring, and eventually, Tumak does good when he saves a young girl
from a dinosaur. And yet, Tumak is fascinated by the tribe's (only) spear,
which is owned by his rival for Loana's attention, Ohtao (John Hubbard).
Eventually, Tumak steals the spear and is therefore expelled from this
tribe as well - but allowed to keep the spear. When he leaves, Loana comes
with him. Tumak returns to the Rock People, where his father has been
overthrown as the leader after a hunting accident, but with his spear,
Tumak quickly makes himself leader of the tribe - but Loana quickly
teaches the tribe love and compassion ... and even agriculture. Soon, the
Rock People are as civilized as the Shell People - and then disaster
strikes as the next door volcano breaks out ... This film
has a certain reputation since its dinosaur special effects were edited
into a gazillion of classic and not-so-classic B-movies for a good two
decades after its release - but that doesn't make the film's dinosaur effects good effects. In fact the
effects are horrible, just dressed up lizards, iguanas and the like doing
their thing in miniature landscapes, which even though well copied into
the "human" footage is about as confincing as
handpuppets would have been. That said though, special effects-wise the
volcano outbreak and its aftermath look pretty cool. But even apart from the dinosaur effects, One
Million B.C. is definitely less than a classic, its a simplistic story
told in an overly clichéed way without giving too much regard of pacing,
and the film is acted in a way that's more befitting to a silent movie
(due to the lack of dialogue) than a film from 1940 - all of which make
this so much fun to watch to be sure. Again, no classic, there's just
too much wrong with this one - but it's still a charming nostalgic stone
age flick that's sure to entertain those in a right state of mind.
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