The Primitive Man (1914)
"Brute Force" (original title)

A primitive tribe are attacked by apemen and menaced by various prehistoric monsters.

Director:

D.W. Griffith

Stars:

Robert Harron, Mae Marsh, William J. Butler

Cast

Credited cast:
Robert Harron	...	Harry Faulkner (Prologue) / Weakhands (The Old Days)
Mae Marsh	...	Lillywhite
William J. Butler	...	Priscilla's Father (Prologue)
Wilfred Lucas	...	Brute Force
Edwin Curglot	...	Caveman
Alfred Paget	...	In Club (Prologue) / Tribesman (The Old Days)
Jennie Lee	...	Cavewoman
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Edwin August
Lionel Barrymore
Harry Carey	...	In Womanless Tribe (The Old Days)
John T. Dillon	...	In Club (Prologue)
Frank Evans	...	In Club (Prologue) / Tribesman (The Old Days)
Harry Hyde	...	In Club (Prologue)
J. Jiquel Lanoe	...	In Club (Prologue) / Tribesman (The Old Days)
Elmo Lincoln	...	In Club (Prologue) / Tribesman (The Old Days)

Storyline

A gent in formal wear, amid a club or party, dozes off reading a book about primitive man; we see the dream enacted. Weakhands loses his girlfriend to Bruteforce, but chances upon a design for a weapon to vanquish his rival and win her back. His tribe sees this and sets him up as their leader. With the club, he fends off various creatures (a winged lizard, a snake, a dinosaur) and a rival tribe led by Monkeywalk. The women even manage to repel an attack. But the rivals discover the secret of the club themselves, and capture the women. Weakhands, sitting in despair, chances upon a new weapon: the bow and arrow. With this tool, he slays the rival tribe and restores domestic tranquility.

---

Plot Keywords:

bow and arrow | dinosaur | caveman | melodrama | two word title | 

---

Genres:

Short | Drama

---

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 April 1914 (USA)

Also Known As:

Primitive Man

Filming Locations:

Chatsworth Park, Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Biograph Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

32 min 33 min

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Follows Man's Genesis (1912)

User Reviews

Great Sequel

Brute Force (1914)

**** (out of 4)

D.W. Griffith's sequel to Man's Genesis has Weakhands (Robert Harron) and Lillywhite (Mae Marsh) living with a new family but the womanless tribe led by Bruteforce (Wilfred Lucas) attacks them and kidnaps all the woman. Since Bruteforce was able to beat the tribe with sticks and rocks, Weakhands must come up with a new invention to get revenge. He then comes up with a bow and arrow. This is another highly entertaining two-reeler from Griffith who pulls out all the stops and makes a really strong film, although the opening and closing sequences set in current times was pretty useless. Once again the cavemen look great with their make up and costumes. Another added bonus is that there's a terrific fight between the two sides, which goes on for quite a while. The action is very much real as Griffith paid the extras a few more dollars if they were willing to get hit upside the head. The one silly segment is Griffith showing some dinosaurs, which are obviously fake. I could tell one was an alligator dressed up as a dino but there's also a real dino skeleton used, which Griffith was able to borrow from a museum. Future Tarzan Elmo Lincoln plays one of the cavemen and Lionel Barrymore is also on hand but I wasn't able to spot him. AKA Primitive Man and In Prehistoric Days.