Tumak, der Herr des Urwalds

Just watched this classic Hal Roach production on the TCM site. It's the story of a man and woman and how they get their previously enemy tribes together. Actually, what I just said made the movie sound simplistic which, despite the prehistoric setting, it's not. In fact, I was surprisingly enthralled by the story, the acting of Victor Mature and Carole Landis (though Ms. Landis is also good eye candy), the fights of the "dinosaurs" (actually lizards, alligators, and armadillos), and the exciting special effects concerning the volcano eruption. Roy Seawright deserves mega-kudos for that last sequence and possibly for Mature's fight with what looked like a model dinosaur worthy of Willis O'Brien. Also loved the music score that was played throughout. That score might have broken whatever monotony the slower scenes may have had. So with all that said, I'm recommending One Million B.C. for anyone interested in these old-fashioned effects movies.

All right enough already, so they got the order of prehistoric life wrong in One Million BC. But it sure looked good to have Victor Mature tangling with that T-Rex and saving the shell people. And that's what the movie-going public paid to see, Victor Mature and Carole Landis scantily clad in front of the camera.

Small studio producer Hal Roach busted the budget for this one, released by United Artists. Conrad Nagel as an archaeologist interprets the cave drawings for a group of weary young people on a hike who take shelter where he's doing some research. The two protagonists Louanna of the shell people and Tumac of the rock people look a whole lot like Carole and Vic.

Vic's from the savage rock clan who basically operate on a survival of the fittest basis. After a quarrel with the head of the clan, Lon Chaney, Jr. he's exiled and he's found in the primeval forest by Carole Landis who definitely likes what she sees.

Her shell people are a bit far up the evolutionary scale and she and the rest strive mightily to break Vic of his individualistic and isolationist ways.

And that's the key to One Million BC. Think of the time it came out and what the world was facing. There's a lot of aggressive wildlife in the forest primeval and the savage wildlife in 1940 had two legs instead of four. Time for the clan and rock people of the day to put aside their differences and face the common foe of nature.

This was supposed to be D.W. Griffith's comeback film and it's open to speculation as to how much he did shoot on this. I think the protagonists have an innocence about them, even the savage Mature before he gets housebroken so to speak the way Griffith protagonists do.

For the next 30 years the footage of One Million BC was used over and over again in every kind of monster film going. Those lizards got to be old friends after a while. It also launched the careers of both Victor Mature and Carole Landis. Though both of them did have considerably more dialog in later films.

After over 60 years One Million BC is still a great film to watch and be enthralled by the special effects as they were originally done. One Million BC got two Oscar nominations for Special Effects and Best Music Score.

Will the rock and shell people find they have a common foe? Watch and find out.

A group of mountain travelers find refuge in a cave where professor Conrad Nagel is examining prehistoric wall drawings. Nagel soon goes into a lengthy examination of the meaning of these pictures for his newly arrived guests which turns into the flashback which is the film. The pictures are the story of two prehistoric peoples: the tribal, brute rock people and the pleasant, peaceful shell people. Naturally, the story is a romance between stars Victor Mature(just his second feature film) and the lovely blonde Carole Landis. This film, produced by Hal Roach, has some things going for it. I liked the division between the two tribes and how each sustained life in a prehistoric world. The acting was surprisingly good with Mature and Landis doing credible jobs despite spouting occasional gibberish meant to be taken as caveman lingo. Landis in fact is quite affable and charming(being in a mini-cave dress always helps too). Lon Chaney Jr. gets his start in this type of film so to speak as the head of the rock people and as Mature's father. Chaney is good and is able to emote lots of emotion while using little dialog. The special effects are unfortunately not too special as we are basically given Irwin Allen/Bert I Gordon dinosaurs. You know the type. Iguanas and other common lizards, as well as an alligator, dressed up in fins and the like. For the technology used, these effects are okay and predate my examples of movies using them. There are also some very non-scientific bits of information used throughout the film...like man has already got domesticated dogs for just one example. Overall, this movie is a pleasant fantasy of what life might have been back then. It should not be taken too seriously as it is in truth a fairly simple tale with a simple message of how man might change through the influence of another(Landis on Mature and his people).

I really enjoyed this movie as a kid, and it's still fun today. The dinosaur special effects were advanced for its day, and frequently "borrowed" by later films. The music score was nominated for an Oscar, and quite impressive. And Carol Landis was a babe!

I believe I saw One Million B.C. at the old Rialto Theater in New York City 65 years ago. "B" films always premiered at this small cinema, i.e., the Laurel & Hardy films were shown first here, along with others. Anyhow O.M.B.C. was a surprise hit in 1940. The special effects were crude compared with today, but nevertheless, they were well done for the period and all in all the film holds up very well today. The animal/"dinosaur" sequences are exciting: woolly mammoths, alligators with sailfins attached to resemble prehistoric Dimetrodons, the Rock People fighting hand to hand with horned animals -- all well done. Lon Chaney, Jr. has his best role (except perhaps for Lenny Small in Of Mice and Men) as the bullying, tyrannical leader of the Rock People that gets his comeuppance, Victor Mature, good as his son and the beautiful and athletic Carole Landis, an ideal cave-girl. Incidentally, I'd take Carole any day over Racquel Welch in her remake, One Million Years B.C.

The creatures are of course live, and recognizable as today's animals, despite attempts to disguise them. To me, the fact that they are living creatures adds excitement, whereas we know today's special effects, good as they are, are still only someone's artificial creation. The fight between the Dimetrodon (alligator) and the lizard is rousing and bloody and the finale "leecha" sequence --the giant dinosaur besieging the Shell People, provides excitement and is also well done.

Last but definitely not least, we should not forget the splendid musical background score for the film. While I give the 1940 One Million B.C. a 9 rating our of 10, the music deserves a 10 out of 10.