One Million Years B.C. (1966)

Prehistoric man Tumak is banished from his savage tribe and meets pretty Loana, who belongs to a gentler coastal tribe but he must fight caveman Payto to win her favors.

Director:

Don Chaffey

Writers:

Michael Carreras (screenplay), Mickell Novack (adapted from an original screenplay by) (as Mickell Novak)

Stars:

Raquel Welch, John Richardson, Percy Herbert

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Raquel Welch	...	Loana
John Richardson	...	Tumak
Percy Herbert	...	Sakana
Robert Brown	...	Akhoba
Martine Beswick	...	Nupondi
Jean Wladon	...	Ahot
Lisa Thomas	...	Sura
Malya Nappi	...	Tohana
Richard James	...	Young Rock Man
William Lyon Brown	...	Payto
Frank Hayden	...	1st Rock Man
Terence Maidment	...	1st Shell Man
Micky De Rauch	...	1st Shell Girl
Yvonne Horner	...	Ullah

Storyline

Caveman Tumak (John Richardson) is banished from his savage tribe. He finds a brief home amongst a group of gentle seacoast dwelling cave people until he is banished from them as well. Missing him, one of their women, Loana (Raquel Welch), leaves with him, deciding to face the harsh prehistoric world with its monsters and volcanoes as a couple.

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Plot Keywords:

remake | fur clothing | fur bikini | prehistoric times | caveman | 

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Taglines:

Recreated as never before - with all its realism, savagery, and scenic splendors captured on the Giant Screen in breathtaking COLOR by DeLuxe

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Genres:

Adventure | Fantasy

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Spanish DVD (U.S. Version) runs one hour and twenty-eight minutes. The U.K. DVD (Uncut Version) runs one hour and forty minutes.

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Goofs

In the sunlight, the women's hair is soft and shiny with obvious professional haircut.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Narrator: This is a story of long, long ago; when the world was just beginning.

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Crazy Credits

Characters and scenes appearing and names used are imaginary, and every reference to names, characters or facts really happened is purely fictional.

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Alternate Versions

The British version runs 100 minutes and features 9 minutes of footage cut from American prints. This includes a scene where Nupondi (Martine Beswicke) does a provocative dance; Tumak (John Richardson) tastes from the container of paint in the Shell Tribe's cave; and an extended violent scene of a fight among the ape-men while Tumak and Loana (Raquel Welch) hide, and extended scenes showing Tumak, as he leaves his tribe, shown wandering the valley, and coming across the skeleton of a giant lizard. The widescreen laser disc is the British version (which gives Richardson first billing), while the VHS release is the American version (which gives Welch first billing).

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Connections

Referenced in Goin' Down the Road (1970)

User Reviews

Cavewomen were stunning apparently.

One thing that newcomers to Hammer need to appreciate is that many of their films are low-budget, and kitsch, and One Million Years B.C scores high on the cheese-factor even by Hammer's yardstick. The film's tagline is laughably off-target – "This is the way it was!" – I am almost positive cavewomen didn't have immaculately coiffured hair, push-up loincloth bras, eyeliner, and waxed legs, while their primitive menfolk did battle with dinosaurs that scientifically speaking died out many millions of years earlier. Needless to say, a willing suspension of disbelief is a prerequisite to enjoyment of this movie.

Inappropriate marketing aside, if you can get past these hurdles, B.C is an entertaining, if mindless, action movie, and one which is elevated to ongoing cult status thanks to 2 main factors - Raquel Welch and Ray Harryhausen.

Even if you have never heard of this film, chances are at some point you have been exposed to "that picture". Raquel Welch is THE reason this film's cult following is 95% male, and seeing her in her loincloth bikini is quite honestly a sight to behold. Fleeing from giant dinosaurs, and fighting with cavewomen, this role in a low-budget British monster movie is the one that put her on the map and created one of the greatest sex symbols ever to light up the silver screen.

Only just losing out to Raquel Welch as the star of the show, are the creatures themselves. Animated by the inimitable, legendary Ray Harryhausen (as far as I know the only special effects guru to become a household name in his own right) the creatures are brilliantly realised, and integrated seamlessly with the live-action elements. Aside from Jason and the Argonauts, and Clash of the Titans, this is some of his best work – the Allosaur attack on the shell-people's village being a real technical accomplishment and highlight of the film. The results are slightly marred though by the the integration of real animals, shot and superimposed to look massive. An early attack from a giant, half-asleep looking iguana is hardly menacing, nor is a (thankfully very brief) appearance by a gigantic tarantula that is trying to eat an equally gigantic cricket. These negative moments are forgotten though when Harryhausen's flawless stop-motion takes center stage, bringing us the iconic triceratops fight amongst other great set-pieces.

Thanks to the jaw-dropping "talents" of Raquel Welch, the rest of the cast are pretty expendable. Even main star John Richardson's character of Tumak could have been played by a monkey in a spacesuit when Welch was on screen, no-one would have noticed. Everyone plays as well as they need to though, given the grunt-riddled, running-away-from-an-imaginary-monster screenplay. The storyline is simplistic, (primitive man learns tolerance and civility) and is basically a thinly veiled cover for a series of awesome action set-pieces and monster vs human battle sequences, and a vehicle for the scantily clad Raquel Welch to run around getting sweaty and dirty, which can only be considered a bonus.

In summary, leave your brain at the door and you are likely to have a great time. This is a cult classic; a camp, entertaining showcase for Harryhausen's skills, and while shallow, has enough action and sex-appeal to please the average testosterone-laden viewer. Worth watching for Raquel Welch's magnetic presence alone.

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 February 1967 (USA)

Also Known As:

One Million Years B.C.

Filming Locations:

Elstree Studios of Associated British Productions Limited, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

GBP422,816 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Associated British-Pathé, Hammer Films, Seven Arts Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1