One Million B.C.

My brother and I first saw ONE MILLION B.C. in the 1960's. It was always shown in our area as part of a one (1) week Halloween celebration on the local channel. We liked it then and I still think highly of it now. This is a fun and for its subject matter gentle film and find it more enjoyable then the technically superior Ray Harryhausen remake. It is very easy on the eyes in B&W compared to the rather harsh color of ONE MILLION YEARS B.C. It also boasts a very enjoyable and sentimental musical score.

The acting is credibly done to the level of the subject matter. Mr. Chaney, Mature and Ms. Landis are not performing RICHARD III. We believe in their characterizations because they are sincere and not over the top. The Special Visual Effects of course could have used Willis O'Brien (yes, we knew they were lizards even back then in the 60s) but there are several convincing scenes. The drift down the river with various creatures in the background, the march through the jungle pursued by what appears to be a Armadillo, duel of the dinosaurs in the desert and finally the Volcano and the saving of the Shell People. All are well mounted and succeeded in their intent which we don't believe was to scare the audience but to involve them in the story line. You wanted these characters to succeed against nature and each other.

So take a chance on this one (1). In fact watch both versions and I bet you will come back with a better appreciation of what the Hal Roach Studio presented. Hopefully they will reissue (restored) on DVD. It needs it badly since like KING KONG it suffered much in re-releases and sale to television and bits and pieces that have been grafted into so many 1950's horror/sci-fi films. Like THINGS TO COME it would be nice to see it in its original premier release.

I just watched One Million B.C. I hadn't seen this in sixty years and it certainly brought back memories. I remember seeing it at the Rialto Theater in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. But no one called it the Rialto, everyone called it the Rat Hole. Why? Because rats ran across the floor in the dark, bats swooped down from the ceiling, and poor old winos slept and snored in the back row. Decent people didn't go there.

But on Saturday afternoons, kids took over the place to watch four to five hours of movies, cartoons, and 1930's serials -- which even by 1953 standards were corny – all for only 15 cents. I don't remember that any of us ever questioned whether we were decent people or not; the popcorn was great. How the winos could sleep with all the noise I have no idea. Child audiences were highly proactive with what was going on up on the screen.

It was safe then for kids to ride their bikes downtown. And every Saturday afternoon that place was packed. The winos never bothered us, and we'd never heard of child molesters. All we knew was not to accept candy from strangers and since no one ever offered us any, we all felt safe.

This movie stuck in my mind because it was unlike anything I'd ever seen. At ten years old it fulfilled my every dream of adventure ... dinosaurs, volcanoes, ancient peoples, jungles, snakes and morals that we could all understand and appreciate: It's better to be kind and unselfish than to be mean and brutal. I'd highly recommend this film but only if you think back to when you were 8 – 11 years old and watch it as you would have then. Even if you find it a tad corny, the child in you will love it.

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.

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!