''The Caveman'', also styled as ''The Cave Man'', is a 1926 American silent

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

produced and distributed by

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

Lewis Milestone Lewis Milestone (born Leib Milstein (Russian: Лейб Мильштейн); September 30, 1895 – September 25, 1980) was a Moldovan-American film director. He is known for directing '' Two Arabian Knights'' (1927) and ''All Quiet on the Weste ...

directed the

Darryl Zanuck Darryl Francis Zanuck (September 5, 1902December 22, 1979) was an American film producer and studio executive; he earlier contributed stories for films starting in the silent era. He played a major part in the Hollywood studio system as one of ...

scripted story taken from the play ''The Cave Man'' by

Gelett Burgess Frank Gelett Burgess (January 30, 1866 – September 18, 1951) was an American artist, art critic, poet, author and humorist. An important figure in the San Francisco Bay Area literary renaissance of the 1890s, particularly through his iconoclas ...

. Matt Moore,

Marie Prevost Marie Prevost (born Marie Bickford Dunn; November 8, 1896 – January 21, 1937) was a Canadian-born film actress. During her 20-year career, she made 121 silent and sound films. Prevost began her career during the silent film era. She was d ...

, and

Hedda Hopper Hedda Hopper (born Elda Furry; May 2, 1885February 1, 1966) was an American gossip columnist and actress. At the height of her influence in the 1940s, her readership was 35 million. A strong supporter of the House Un-American Activities Committ ...

star. A small role is played by a young

Myrna Loy Myrna Loy (born Myrna Adele Williams; August 2, 1905 – December 14, 1993) was an American film, television and stage actress. Trained as a dancer, Loy devoted herself fully to an acting career following a few minor roles in silent films. ...

, who was just starting out in her long career. Vitagraph, a predecessor of Warner Brothers, produced a

version Version may refer to: Computing * Software version, a set of numbers that identify a unique evolution of a computer program * VERSION (CONFIG.SYS directive), a configuration directive in FreeDOS Music * Cover version * Dub version * Remix * ''Ve ...

of this story in 1915 with

Robert Edeson Robert Edeson (June 3, 1868 – March 24, 1931) was an American film and stage actor of the silent era and a vaudeville performer. Life and career Edeson was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, the son of manager and actor George R. Edeson. Afte ...

Plot

As described in a film magazine review, Myra Gaylord, an orphan with two million dollars, is seeking adventure one day and throws one half of a $100 bill out of a window, offering the other half if a person finding it comes to her apartment. Coal heaver Mike Smagg finds that half of the bill with a note attached promising the other half and giving the address of the apartment. When he arrives with one half, Myra decides to groom him and introduce him into society. His caveman methods attract the women. He balks at obeying Myra, who tells him that society will ostracize him if his background and identity become known. He doubts this, but discovers that it is true, and is forced to forego his top hat and suit and don the heavy clothes of a coal heaver. Eventually, after going back to his old haunts, he returns, kidnaps Myra, and rushes her away on a coal wagon to be married.

Cast

* Matt Moore as Mike Smagg *

as Myra Gaylord *John Patrick as Brewster Bradford *

as Maid *

Phyllis Haver Phyllis Maude Haver (January 6, 1899 – November 19, 1960) was an American actress of the silent film era. Early life Haver was born in Douglass, Kansas to James Hiram Haver (1872–1936) and Minnie Shanks Malone (1879–1949). When s ...

as Dolly Van Dream *

as Mrs. Van Dream * Virginia Fox as Party girl (uncredited)

Preservation

''The Caveman'' survives in the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...

with a reel missing.The Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Catalog: ''The Caveman''
/ref>

References

External links

* *
surviving Lobby poster
1926 films American silent feature films Films directed by Lewis Milestone 1926 comedy films Silent American comedy films American black-and-white films Warner Bros. films 1920s American films {{1920s-silent-comedy-film-stub