One Million Years B.C.

Dir: Don Chaffey

1966

**

Don Chaffey's 1966 One Million Years B.C. represents an interesting side-step for Hammer studios. It is firstly a remake of Hal Roach's 1940 One Million B.C. and secondly a venture into an alternative movement in cinema. The world hadn't quite had Exploitation (leaning towards Sexploitation) films by 1966 (although some 50's films could be considered so) but One Million Years B.C. is an obvious influence to the sub-genre of 'Slave Women' films (Indeed they followed the film up with 'Slave Girls' 2 years later). There is a basic story with One Million Years B.C. but essentially it is all about 2 things; the great Ray Harryhausen's stop motion monsters and Raquel Welch in that now infamous fur bikini. Without One Million Years B.C. you wouldn't have When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth, Creatures The World Forgot etc but you also wouldn't have Arena, Big Bird Cage and even relatively recent b-movies such as Teenage Cavegirl. Terror and titillation, the perfect combination it seems (I still don't understand why), it started here, well in the mainstream anyway. Unfortunately the genre was short lived and Hammer films such as Dinosaur Girl and Zeppelin vs. Pterodactyls never materialised. It's fun but if I'm being honest (and I am), apart from the great Harryhausen's effects and that Bikini, it's a bit long and monotonous.