Prehistoric Women (1967)

Jungle guide David Marchand is kidnapped by a tribe of natives who want to sacrifice him to their white rhino god. Just as he's about to be killed, however, he is thrown backwards in time ... See full summary »

Director:

Michael Carreras

Writer:

Michael Carreras (screenplay) (as Henry Younger)

Stars:

Martine Beswick, Edina Ronay, Michael Latimer

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Martine Beswick	...	Kari
Edina Ronay	...	Saria
Michael Latimer	...	David
Stephanie Randall	...	Amyak
Carol White	...	Gido
Alexandra Stevenson	...	Luri
Yvonne Horner	...	First Amazon
Sydney Bromley	...	Ullo
Frank Hayden	...	Arja
Robert Raglan	...	Colonel Hammond
Mary Hignett	...	Mrs. Hammond
Louis Mahoney	...	Head Boy
Bari Jonson	...	High Priest
Danny Daniels	...	Jakara
Steven Berkoff	...	John

Storyline

Jungle guide David Marchand is kidnapped by a tribe of natives who want to sacrifice him to their white rhino god. Just as he's about to be killed, however, he is thrown backwards in time to a kingdom of brunette women and their blonde slaves. David rejects the advances of Queen Kari and sides with the blondes, which leads to him being imprisoned in the dungeon. Can David find some way of returning to his own time? And if he does, what will be awaiting him when he returns?

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Plot Keywords:

big breasts | breasts | breast | cavewoman | psychotronic film | 

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Taglines:

Beaten into submission . . . turned into slaves . . . man at the mercy of a Kingdom of Prehistoric Women!

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Genres:

Adventure | Fantasy

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 January 1967 (USA)

Also Known As:

Prehistoric Women

Filming Locations:

Elstree Studios, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Seven Arts Productions, Hammer Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

74 min (cut)

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This was originally set to be the "A" feature on a double bill with The Old Dark House (1963), but after studio head James Carreras pronounced it not up to Hammer's standards, it was edited down from its original 91-minute length and released as a support feature on a double bill with The Devil Rides Out (1968).

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Goofs

Although it appeared some of the women had lipstick on, it is hardly likely they would have access to a cosmetics store in prehistoric times.

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Quotes

David: What makes you so cruel?
Kari: Cruelty has made me cruel.

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Alternate Versions

The UK version was 17 minutes shorter than the US cut, running 74 minutes instead of 91 minutes. This was shown as "Slave Girls" and billed as the weaker support feature with The Devil Rides Out (1968).

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Connections

Featured in The World of Hammer: Lands Before Time (1994)

User Reviews

Pre-hysterical!

In 1966, Hammer studios gave the world its cave-girl classic One Million Years B.C., which featured a bevy of fur bikini-clad beauties, including the pneumatic Raquel Welch and the lissom Martine Beswick. The next year, obviously unwilling to consign a wardrobe full of skimpy animal-skin costumes to the skip, they also made Prehistoric Women (AKA Slave Girls), a ridiculous jungle adventure which saw Beswick once again playing a wildcat with a nasty streak.

Written and directed by Michael Carreras, Prehistoric Women is technically one of Hammer's weakest efforts: a poorly scripted studio-bound clunker with an unbelievably daft plot and some mind-numbingly bad performances. However, it is also one of those rare films that manages to be consistently entertaining simply thanks to its unrelenting awfulness.

Michael Latimer plays David Marchand, a jungle guide who is taken captive by savage, white rhinoceros worshipping natives who intend to sacrifice him to their god. Just as he is about to be killed, David touches their sacred rhino statue, which freezes time and opens a doorway into a kingdom where a tribe of big-breasted, brunette beauties, led by the heartless Queen Kari (Beswick), have enslaved a tribe of equally-buxom blonde babes.

After falling for a slave girl named Saria (Edina Ronay), and witnessing Kari's cruelty, David vows to help the blonde women overthrow their oppressors, a task made all the more difficult when he is clapped in irons for spurning Kari's sexual advances.

Featuring loads of native song and dance numbers to pad out the action (including a nifty solo routine from Beswick, who might not be the prettiest of Hammer's women, but certainly has one hell of a hot bod!), the occasional cat-fight, a gloriously naff jungle battle, and a silly surprise ending that makes no sense whatsoever, this film is sheer nonsense from start to finish. But it's fun nonsense, which earns itself a rating of 6/10 from this easily pleased viewer.

And, if nothing else, I did learn a vital lesson in jungle survival: never bow down in front of a charging rhino (even if it looks like it is made from papier-mâché and is being pulled along on a trolley!).