At the end, we also get to briefly see clips from other AIP movies including The She Creature. 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. We then learn that after a nuclear war, this part of the World went back to Prehistoric times. 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. A young caveman goes against warnings and decides to explore the land beyond the river where his tribe live. 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. Like most Corman movies, this one is mostly of historical interest, but it does pack a bit more punch than most of his output, even if only by accident. ***SPOILER FOLLOWS*** By this I mean that the post-apocalyptic denouement actually does play fair with the viewer within the limits of the film, and the ending does give me a little shudder, even now. innovation, and yes, a puzzle with a "surprise twist" at the end which actually sort of works. And even though the special effects, scenery, costumes, dialog and acting are all badly underpowered, and the use of borrowed stock footage is really jarring and annoying, the movie does manage to incorporate a sense of youth vs. I'll give him this, though - in spite of the affected dialog and speech mannerisms he is forced to adopt, Vaughn does a decent job of portraying the restlessness, unhappiness and chafing of an original "thinker" trying to escape the confines of a closed traditional society. And the script makes him (and everyone else) talk in the affected, unconvincing, plodding Pidgin English speech that all "primitives" in movies seem to use, and these lines are incredibly unconvincing coming from this obviously civilized and educated person. With his narrow, refined features, skinny physique and elegant hairstyle, he looks less like a caveman - or a teenager, for that matter - than almost any male actor over 25 you can name. However, the "teenage caveman" role is not a role that calls for these qualities, so this is a pretty tough part for him. His presence adds an extra point to the ratings, since he is obviously a 'real' actor, even in this early role. (I don't blame him for "Superman III", either - he did what he could with that one). He's a fine,if limited, actor who manages to pack a certain sinister, vulpine energy and intelligence into even the silliest and most badly conceived parts. I've always liked Robert ("Man From UNCLE") Vaughn. But still, there is just a bit of an edge to this one, a little more depth and interest. "Teenage Cavemen" was obviously intended to be a cheapo "exploitation" film (in the manner of "I was A Teenage Werewolf" and "I Was A Teenage Frankenstein") and indeed, its origins as a Corman "3 Day Wonder" are obvious - it's so shabbily made and so obviously hacked out that it barely holds together as a movie at all. Vaughn's Caveman is not satisfied with the answers the elders give him, he says "I still wonder.", and shouldn't we too sometimes? Only annoying point is the monster scenes, as the cheapo lizards (I refuse to call them dinosaurs) seem to be cut in between from different movies. (oh, it's hard sometimes to write a spoiler-free review and don't tell too much!) "Teenage Caveman" has an unusual philosophical edge to it, asking questions like "why are we here" and "what is beyond our world", and it makes clear that curiosity and restlessness are the driving forces for mankind's progress. What they all discover in the land beyond the river is however not what the Word of the forefathers said. The elders decide the penalty for breaking the law twice must be death, and send a hunting party after him. Vaughn is restless, after his first trip to the forbidden lands he repeatedly says "I still wonder." and takes a second trip there. In their belief, the cave people must stay near their cave they shall neither cross the river nor the desert, because their forefathers left the "Word". Young Robert Vaughn, a few years before "The Magnificent Seven", stars as a caveman who is challenging the elders of the tribe by trespassing the forbidden lands beyond the river. The much older b/w flick "Teenage Caveman" was a real surprise therefore, remarkably ambitious for a B movie. Think of comedies like "Caveman" with Ringo Starr, monster movies like "One Million Years B.C." with Raquel Welch, or the unfortunate "Clan of the Cave Bear" with Daryl Hannah. Movies about the stone age are - with the honourable exception of Annaud's "Quest of Fire" - usually rather silly.
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