Creatures the World Forgot

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.

One of my sci-fi/horror/fantasy reviews written 50 years ago: Directed by Don Chaffey. Produced by Michael Carreras for Hammer Films; Released by Columbia Pictures. Screenplay by Michael Carreras; Photographed by Vincent Cox; Edited by Chris Barnes; Music by Mario Nascimbene; Assistant Director: Ferdinand Fairfax. Starring Julie Ege, Tony Bonner, Robert John, Brian O'Shaughnessy, Rosalie Crutchley, Marcia Fox, Doon Baide, Sue Wilson, Gerard Bonthuys, Don Leonard, Ken Hare and Fred Swart.

Prehistoric tribes on the loose grunting their way across Africa, facing mini-cataclysm and indulging in non-stop savagery. In a "2001"-ish Dawn of Man mode, their customs are delineated well, although their beliefs in the supernatural and their origins are handled crudely. The big difference: no oversize creatures appear in this one other than a big grizzly bear.

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.

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.

CREATURES is a blast! It eschews the stop-motion dinosaurs of ONE MILLION YEARS BC and WHEN DINOSAURS RULED THE EARTH and concentrates on the struggles of primitive men in a bleak, prehistoric world. Despite the smirking ad campaign and much-ballyhooed adult rating, CREATURES spends far less time than its predecessors showcasing the anatomical blessings of its female cast members and places more emphasis on the brutality of early man's daily life. The girls are certainly an eyeful, but they are nowhere near as groomed or glamorous as Raquel Welch or Victoria Vetri.

The film stands out in many ways. There is no opening narration and no dialogue to speak of. Instead of using the gibberish language of the earlier films, the "Creatures" say very little, grunting and gesturing to communicate with one another. The solid performances make this surprisingly effective. The movie also inverts the formula established by its predecessors, moving the requisite cataclysmic volcanic eruption to the beginning and letting the human drama dominate the climax. This unusual structure lends extra weight to the finale.

I went in wondering how grunting cavemen(even the curvy kind like Julie Ege!) could hold my attention for 90 minutes without dinosaurs to fight. To my joy, the film is actually quite entertaining. The birth, life and struggle of two brothers vying for leadership of the tribe has an almost Biblical quality, and director Chaffey gives us plenty of fighting and conflict with nature to keep the film moving. Though much of the story consists of the tribe traveling from one fight to another, I found myself caught up in their journey and never once got bored. I don't know any of Don Chaffey's other work, but ONE MILLION YEARS BC and CREATURES THE WORLD FORGOT have convinced me that the man knows how to tell a story.

Bottom line? It's a caveman movie. If that ain't your bag, you probably won't like it. But if you can watch the other two Hammer prehistoric movies without fast-forwarding to the dinosaur scenes, you'll probably find CREATURES THE WORLD FORGOT a very pleasant surprise!