Teenage Caveman

It was made in two WEEKS, not two days as someone else's review stated. Please get the facts straight. Read Robert Vaughn's autobiography, he has some choice information about the background of the making of this movie.

Robert Vaughn recalled the filming of it. It took place entirely in Griffith Park in California and the animals involved refused to cooperate. Also, he was sent to the hospital twice. once when an animal bit him, and once when he fell off a log and stepped on broken glass. The glamor of show biz, it is intoxicating.

It was eventually released on a double-bill with the Michael Landon classic.....wait for it....."I Was a Teenage Werewolf."

Oh, Roger Corman, you've done it again!

Roger Corman's 1958 "Teenage Cave Man" (three words), retitled from its original "Prehistoric World" to capitalize on Herman Cohen's Teenage Werewolf and Frankenstein, was released to theaters on a double bill with Cohen's "How to Make a Monster," introducing the Paul Blaisdell costume that would be utilized for his next production "Night of the Blood Beast" (plus stock footage from "Day the World Ended" and "The She-Creature"). Screenwriter R. Wright Campbell was no stranger to Corman, having scripted his directorial debut "Five Guns West," going on to do the same for "Man of a Thousand Faces," "Machine-Gun Kelly," "The Young Racers," "The Secret Invasion," "Hells Angels on Wheels," "Captain Nemo and the Underwater City" and "The Masque of the Red Death." What at first appears to be a simple 50s retread of the Lon Chaney classic "One Million B.C." becomes actually quite watchable, as the tribe depicted here speaks English and lives in the familiar environs of Griffith Park, right there in front of Bronson Caverns. They could qualify as either Hill People or Rock People, though it's a bit jarring to see the Corman repertory company dressed in caveman togs, regulars like Jonathan Haze, Ed Nelson, Beach Dickerson, and lovely Barboura Morris (seen briefly twice, no dialogue). 25 year old Robert Vaughn made his starring debut as The Boy, hardly a teen but questioning the laws of his elders as his father (Leslie Bradley) tries to keep him from venturing across the river to the great beyond. Frank DeKova is naturally cast as the villain, eager to usurp the power of both father and son as tribal leader, and even murdering a visitor astride a horse rather than make peace as requested. Once The Boy journeys into the forbidden zone he finds dinosaurs (footage from both "One Million B.C" and 1948's "Unknown Island"), marauding dog packs, and a strange creature that walks on two legs, supposedly the one whose touch causes instant death. The small role of the blonde maiden is played by Darah Marshall, not to be confused with Sarah Marshall, British-born daughter of actor Herbert Marshall, enjoying a skinny dip under a waterfall to The Boy's approving flute. Vaughn was embarrassed enough to proclaim this his worst film, but by the 1990s there must have been stronger contenders for that title, like Christopher Lee's "Starship Invasions" or John Carradine's "Buried Alive." The final twist typical of a Roger Corman picture was quite a novelty at the time, but has grown tired from overuse in the decades since.

Strangely, I liked this movie. Okay: low budget, bad acting, cheesy spliced-in scenes from other "dinosaur" movies. Yet there is something innocent and compelling about it -- Roger Corman in his naive and earnest phase. It reminds me very much of the old Twilight Zone series (because of the ending). Just imagine Rod Serling saying, "For your consideration, a group of prehistoric cave dwellers ..." and you will truly enjoy this odd little film.

Teenage Caveman is an enjoyable Prehistoric adventure from Roger Corman and I taped this when BBC2 screened it during the early hours some years ago.

A young caveman goes against warnings and decides to explore the land beyond the river where his tribe live. There are plenty of dangers our there, including stock footage dinosaurs from One Million BC and Unknown Island, a pack of wild dogs and, best of all, a very strange looking "monster" that turns out to be a man in a radiation suit. We then learn that after a nuclear war, this part of the World went back to Prehistoric times.

Being made in the Atomic Age, this movie show was yet another theory what people thought could have happened in the event of any nuclear war. At the end, we also get to briefly see clips from other AIP movies including The She Creature.

The cast includes a young Robert Vaughn (The Man From UNCLE, The Magnificent Severn, Hustle) and sci-fi B movie regulars Jonathan Haze (Little Shop of Horrors, It Conquered the World), Ed Nelson (The Brain Eaters) and Robert Shayne (The Neanderthal Man, The Giant Claw).

Teenage Caveman is a good way to spend just over an hour one afternoon or evening. Low budget fun.

Rating: 3 stars out of 5.

Made during the "I was a teenage..." cycle, this is more thoughtful than those other teen exploitation films. The story is told simply and yet with a serious purpose that makes us look at our technology as the mixed blessing which it is.

Don't let the title put you off. This is better than average and has some surprises.