''Creatures the World Forgot'' is a

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events Ja ...

adventure film An adventure film is a form of adventure fiction, and is a genre of film. Subgenres of adventure films include swashbuckler films, pirate films, and survival films. Adventure films may also be combined with other film genres such as action, an ...

directed by Don Chaffey and produced and written for

Hammer Films A hammer is a tool, most often a hand tool, consisting of a weighted "head" fixed to a long handle that is swung to deliver an impact to a small area of an object. This can be, for example, to drive nails into wood, to shape metal (as wi ...

by Michael Carreras. The film concentrates on the daily struggle to survive of a tribe of

Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistoric period during which stone was widely used to make tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years, and ended between 4,000 BC and 2,000 BC, with t ...

men. Very little dialogue is spoken throughout the film, apart from a few grunts and gestures.

Plot

A volcano erupts and an earthquake opens up a crevasse, swallowing up many members of the 'Dark Tribe'. The tribal leader is killed and a fight for leadership between two survivors, Mak ( Brian O'Shaughnessy) and Zen, soon breaks out. Mak is victorious and leads the surviving tribe members across a desert in search of a new home. They meet and befriend a tribe of fair-haired people. The leader of the fair-haired people presents Mak with a girl, Noo, as a wife. Mak offers a girl in exchange, but she already has a mate. She tries to escape with her mate, but they are caught and killed. The Dark Tribe move on and eventually settle in a fertile valley, where they flourish. Noo gives birth to twin boys on the same day another woman gives birth to a mute girl. The tribe demand that the girl be sacrificed, but a lightning strike convinces the tribes' old witch woman to adopt her as her apprentice. Years later, the now-adolescent twins (the dark-haired Rool and fair-haired Toomak) fight for their father's attention. Rool tries to rape the mute girl. She escapes, but falls into the grasp of a marauding tribe. Toomak leads Mak and the other tribesmen to the marauders' cave. A battle ensues and the marauders' chief is killed by Toomak. Toomak rescues the mute girl and takes the defeated chief's daughter, Nala, as his wife. Mak names Toomak as his successor as tribal chief and then dies of wounds sustained in the battle. Rool disputes the decision and he fights with Toomak in a ritualised battle. On the brink of victory, Toomak spares his brother's life. Toomak decides to leave, taking Nala and half the tribe with him. Consumed with hatred for his brother, Rool decides to track Toomak down. Rool and his men are attacked by a forest tribe, but are rescued by Toomak. Rool, still hating his brother, abducts Nala. Toomak chases after Rool. At the top of a cliff, Rool stakes Nala to a pyre. Toomak and Rool fight whilst Nala frees herself (only to be caught in the grasp of a python). Toomak saves Nala whilst the mute girl stabs an effigy of Rool, sending him falling to his death.

Production

All of the exterior sequences were shot in Namibia and South Africa. The film is the fourth and last of Hammer's "Cave Girl" sequence of films, directed by Don Chaffey and assistant director Simon Petersen, preceded by '' One Million Years B.C.'' (1966) (also directed by Don Chaffey), '' Prehistoric Women'' (1967) and '' When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth'' (1970). Like the other films, it trades heavily on the audience appeal of scantily-clad tribeswomen. This film eschews the

stop-motion Stop motion is an animated filmmaking technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exhibit independent motion or change when the series of frames i ...

animated dinosaurs of the first and third films of the series.Sinclair McKay (2007): ''A Thing of Unspeakable Horror: The History of Hammer Films'', p. 105 ''Creatures the World Forgot'' is not related to two later, similarly titled films, '' The Land That Time Forgot'' (1975) and '' The People That Time Forgot'' (1977). These were made by Amicus Productions and both starred Doug McClure.

Cast

* Julie Ege – Nala * Tony Bonner – Toomak * Brian O'Shaughnessy – Mak * Robert John – Rool *Sue Wilson – Noo * Rosalie Crutchley – The Old Crone *Marcia Fox – The Dumb Girl *

Don Leonard Don Leonard (1925–2002) was a South African film actor. Career He appeared in ten films between 1965 and 1979.Database (undated)"Filmography by Type for Don Leonard" ''The Internet Movie Database''. Accessed 20 August 2010. Filmogr ...

– The Old Leader

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Creatures The World Forgot 1971 films British fantasy adventure films Films set in prehistory 1970s English-language films 1970s fantasy adventure films Films directed by Don Chaffey Hammer Film Productions films Films shot in Namibia Films scored by Mario Nascimbene 1970s British films