Creatures the World Forgot

Their home destroyed by a volcanic eruption, a tribe of dark-haired cave-people cross the land looking for somewhere safe to put down roots. Along the way, they meet a tribe of friendly blonde cave-people, who are happy to share their women. Not one to say 'No' to a hot blonde, Mak (Brian O'Shaughnessy), chief of the dark-haired people, sires two boys: blonde Toomak and dark-haired Rool. On the same day, another baby is born: a dumb girl who is almost sacrificed, but who is saved by the tribe's shamen (Rosalie Crutchley). Toomak and Rool grow up as rivals vying for their father's attention. When Mak is killed by a yak (or some such beast), it is the blonde son who is chosen as his successor, leaving the bitter Rool to try and seize leadership...

Rather than feature cavemen versus dinosaurs, as in One Million Years B.C. and When Dinosaurs Ruled The Earth, this final prehistoric offering from Hammer takes a more realistic route -- if Julie Ege as a sexy cavewoman can be called realistic. Unfortunately, without the spectacle of an Allosaurus terrorising humans, or a bikini babe being carried off by a Pterodactyl, and with the dialogue between the cave-people consisting of lots of grunting, the film quickly becomes a bore.

To try and compensate for the plodding nature of his screenplay, director Don Chaffey loads his film with bums (from both sexes) and boobs, with Ege eventually making her entrance as Toomak's mate Nala, but even scantily clad cave-people cannot prevent Creatures the World Forgot from being a slog almost as arduous as that undertaken by Mak and his people. Not very exciting highlights include young Toomak catching a porcupine and a pig, a fight with a cave bear (played by a man in an unconvincing bear costume), a battle with some cannibals, and Ege being attacked by a big snake while Toomak and Rool fight to the death (although Rool is eventually stabbed by the dumb girl, his body falling off a cliff, looking all too much like an immobile shop dummy).

Oh well, at least the scenery is nice.

Disney fans N.B.: Mak presents the newborn Toomak to his tribe in a scene remarkably similar to that of Rafiki holding up Simba in The Lion King. Moreover, Nala is the name of both Toomak's woman and Simba's love interest. Coincidence? Who knows?

This is a great little film, Shot in Africa 32 years ago it brings back great memories for its star and my personal friend Tony Bonner........ who cares if they don't speak! Do they really have to?????????? Looking like that!!!!!

I didn't expect much of anything when I started the film. In fact I expected to hate it and fast-forward through most of it but I didn't. I was actually entertained to a degree by this one - which surprised me. It's not a good film but it was entertaining enough to watch on an otherwise boring morning.

5/10.

Hammer follows up their earlier Stone Age features "One Million Years B.C." and "When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth" with another epic about primitive man. As written by veteran Hammer producer & writer (and sometime director) Michael Carreras, it's not STRONG on story but is relatively easy to understand and take. There is nothing in the way of dialogue as we typically understand it; all the cave dudes and gals speak in grunts only.

Basically, the story can be simplified as thus: a power struggle between a "fair" caveman (Tony Bonner, "Quigley Down Under") and a "dark" one (Robin John), as they fight for control of a tribe. Assorted other tribesmen and women are played by the likes of Brian O'Shaughnessy ("The Gods Must Be Crazy"), Sue Wilson, Rosalie Crutchley ("The Haunting" '63), and Marcia Fox ("Old Dracula").

The performances are generally amusing. Bonner and John are fun as the macho opponents, as is Crutchley in what basically amounts to a "Stone Age witch doctor" role. The guys often take centre stage, although it's Norwegian sexpot Julie Ege ("The Seven Brothers Meet Dracula") that's top billed. She and Fox make for very fine eye candy, but they're never as in the foreground as the advertising would have you believe.

Accompanied by atmospheric music by Mario Nascimbene, who also did the score for those other pictures, the movie is attractively shot by Vincent G. Cox on various Namibia and South Africa locations (with some studio work as well). Much of its "creatures" are animals living today, with the exception of a goofy man-in-a-costume thing seen in a cave sequence.

While this isn't as effective overall as Hammers' previous forays into the genre, it still makes for some agreeable entertainment. It IS fairly realistic, however: at no point do humans share the screen with dinosaurs.

Six out of 10.

Of all the caveman movies I have seen, this one is the best because it choose to present early man as realistic as it could. Rather than have dinosaurs, this movie features animals and creatures that were actually around when early man was. Don't get me wrong; I enjoy dinosaurs very much and had I seen this movie as a kid, I might have thought it was a horrible one. However, now that I am able to recognize good acting and filmmaking, I really loved this movie. It presents the story of early man as a bleak time, a struggle for survival where death was around every corner. No doubt, that was how it was for early man. There are a few beautiful women here, but you won't see as much of their figures as you did in say, "1 Million Years B.C.". None the less, if you are a fan of history or anthropology, "The Creatures That Time Forgot" is a great way to spend your time.